| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 3/29/2005 4:18:34 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Rhode Island--Call to Defeat Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 29, 2005 Rhode Island--Call to Defeat Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers Dear HSLDA members and friends: Calls are needed immediately to stop a bill that would raise the age of compulsory attendance from 16 to 17. If this bill became law, school districts would have one more year to demand paperwork and "approve" homeschoolers. Senate Bill 169 was heard in the Senate Education Committee on March 17, but the committee took no action. The bill is on the committee's agenda for tomorrow, March 30, and we anticipate that the committee will vote on the bill. Proponents of raising the compulsory attendance age claim it will lead to a higher graduation rate. But the state with the highest graduation rate in the country, New Jersey, at 89%, only requires attendance to age 16. And Florida, which requires attendance to age 18, has one of the nation's lowest graduation rates, at 59%. The facts demonstrate that forcing unwilling students to stay in school longer does not increase graduation rates. And it does not reduce juvenile crime. In addition, it is certain that your tax bill will increase. When California raised its compulsory attendance age, taxpayers were forced to pay for a whole new school system to handle the numerous problems these unruly, unwilling students caused. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Please call all the members of the Senate Education Committee. Your message can be as simple as, "Please vote against Senate Bill 169, which would raise the compulsory attendance age. It will raise taxes, but statistics show it will not reduce juvenile crime or the dropout rate, and it will not increase the graduation rate. Students must already stay in school until age 18 unless the parents give written consent. Parents should be trusted." This bill affects all students, so DO NOT identify yourself as a homeschooler. Email addresses are listed below, but phone calls are more effective. The committee members are: Senator Leo R. Blais Member (401) 821-5721 sen-blais@rilin.state.ri.us Senator Frank T. Caprio Member (401) 861-6200 sen-caprio@rilin.state.ri.us Senator Hanna M. Gallo Vice Chairperson (401) 222-7829 sen-gallo@rilin.state.ri.us Senator Daniel J. Issa Chairperson (401) 222-4280 sen-issa@rilin.state.ri.us Senator Beatrice A. Lanzi Member (401) 946-7125 sen-lanzi@rilin.state.ri.us Senator Harold M. Metts Secretary (401) 222-1776 sen-metts@rilin.state.ri.us BACKGROUND 1. The statistics in the third paragraph come from the February, 2005, publication of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Civic Innovation, "Public High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991-2002," by Dr. Jay P. Greene. 2. Rhode Island students who are enrolled in school must attend until age 18 unless parents give written consent to leave at age 16. 3. States which compel attendance only to age 16 have higher high school completion rates than states that compel attendance to 17 or 18, on average. (Source: "Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000," pp. 9-10, 40-41; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Office of educational Research and Improvement, Doc. No. NCES 2002-114.) 4. States which compel attendance only to age 16 also have lower dropout rates than states that compel attendance to 17 or 18, on average. (Source: same as above.) 5. According to statistics published by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Dropout Prevention, a higher compulsory attendance age is not correlated to a reduction in juvenile crime. (Source: "Juvenile Arrests 1999." Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000.) Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many of your friends would pay your legal fees? As a member of HSLDA, you have 80,000 families standing with you to protect and advance homeschool freedoms in the United States and foreign countries. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
