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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/7/2005 3:24:50 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida--Calls Needed to Stop Increase in State Control Over Homeschools |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 7, 2005 Florida--Calls Needed to Stop Increase in State Control Over Homeschools Dear HSLDA members and friends: Florida Senate Bill 1506 and House Bill 1115 would raise the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18. If either of these bills become law homeschoolers would have to notify the school district and be subject to its jurisdiction for two more years. This means two more years of paperwork, portfolios, and tests. We need your calls to your state senator and representative to stop the increase of state control over your homeschool. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Please contact your state senator and urge him to vote against Senate Bill 1506 by giving him this message: "Please vote against Senate Bill 1506 which would raise Florida's compulsory school attendance age. This bill restricts the right of parents to choose educational or work options for their children. This bill will also waste taxpayer dollars because more teachers and classrooms will be required to teach children who are unwilling to remain in school." To find the name of your state senator, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox You can also call 800-342-1827 for contact information for your senator. 2. Please contact your state representative and urge him to vote against House Bill 1115 by giving him this message: "Please vote against House Bill 1115 which would raise Florida's compulsory school attendance age. This bill restricts the right of parents to choose educational or work options for their children. This bill will also waste taxpayer dollars because more teachers and classrooms will be required to teach children who are unwilling to remain in school." You can use the HSLDA Legislative Toolbox to find your state representative, or you can call 850-488-1157 for contact information for your representative. 3. Please forward this email to every homeschooling family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact their state senator and representative. BACKGROUND Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the best high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. These figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998. Twenty-nine states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2051 . Sincerely, Chris Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you call your attorney at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning? Our members can get in touch with their attorney even after business hours, when they have a legal emergency. Wouldn't you like this level of protection? 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
