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From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
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March 28, 2005
New York--Calls Needed to Support the Homeschool Freedom Bill
Dear HSLDA members and friends:
For the last three years, we have passed the Homeschool Freedom Bill
in the New York Senate but it has been held up in the Assembly.
We are not going to give up on homeschool freedom for New York and
will continue to press for legislation which will remove the burdens
from homeschool families.
A key reason the Assembly has not acted is because our sponsor,
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, has told us he only received calls from
people who were opposed to the Homeschool Freedom bill. In deference
to his support, we had asked you not to contact him last year.
Now we are shifting our strategy and asking everyone to call
Assemblyman Weisenberg so there can be no mistake we want the
Homeschool Freedom bill to pass this year.
The Homeschool Freedom bill has been re-introduced in the Senate by
State Senator George Winner as Senate Bill 3641. The bill is needed
to provide homeschooling families in New York the freedom to devote
more time to teaching their children at home rather than spending it
filling out unnecessary paperwork. If passed, this legislation would
eliminate over 75% of the present restrictions governing home
instruction programs in New York. Few states have as many regulations
as New York and the trend in other states is to reduce paperwork
burdens.
ACTION REQUESTED
(1) Please contact Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg with this message:
"Please sponsor the Homeschool Freedom bill again this year and work
to have it brought up for a vote in the Assembly. Homeschoolers need
relief from burdensome and unnecessary restrictions. It has been
reintroduced in the Senate as S. 3641 by Senator Winner. Home
educators have earned the right to regulatory relief after
demonstrating their overwhelming success under the current law for the
past 15 years. It will also save each public school district
thousands of dollars in administrative costs."
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg
731 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-3028
weisenh@assembly.state.ny.us
Letters are most effective.
2) Please call your state senator and give him this message:
"Please vote for Senate Bill 3641 which will relieve public school
officials and homeschooling parents from burdensome and costly
administrative tasks. Home educators have earned the right to
regulatory relief after demonstrating their overwhelming success under
the current law for the past 15 years. This bill must be passed. We
need relief."
The link below is for the website that lists all the senators in New
York and their contact information. If you do not know who your
senator is, then there is a link on this page that will allow you to
search for your senator by zip code.
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2223
3) Plan to attend the Loving Education at Home (LEAH) annual
Homeschool Rally and Lobby Day, which is scheduled for May 3rd in
Albany. It's a great opportunity for a homeschool field trip for your
children. Please reserve this day and watch for more information on
this crucial event.
4) Please pray for the Legislature and for the Homeschool Freedom
bill. Pray that God would give us favor and grant homeschooling
families greater freedom in New York.
BACKGROUND
Senate Bill 3641 would make the following changes in the current law:
- eliminate the requirement of an Individualized Home Instruction Plan
(IHIP);
- eliminate the requirement of quarterly reports;
- eliminate required subjects at all grade levels;
- permit an alternative method of evaluation (instead of standardized
testing) every year;
- permit parents who wish to test their children to choose any
nationally-normed standardized achievement test, in addition to a
State Education Department test or another approved test;
- eliminate the requirement that the local superintendent consent to
the person who administers a standardized achievement test or who
conducts the alternative method of evaluation;
- lower the minimum standardized test score from above the 33rd
percentile to above the 23rd percentile; and
- eliminate the provision for home visits while a home instruction
program is on probation.
If this legislation is enacted into law, it will not only relieve
parents and public school officials of time-consuming administrative
tasks, it will significantly increase the freedom of home educators in
New York to direct the education of their children.
For more information on these and other bills HSLDA is monitoring in
New York, visit our website at:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2224
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel
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-> What's the shortest distance between two homeschoolers?
HSLDA's elert service! When threats to homeschool freedoms arise,
you want to be able to respond. We make it possible.
More reasons to join HSLDA...
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1101
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