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| Date: From: Subject: | 6/6/2005 5:35:58 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Hampshire--Calls Needed--Harmful Amendment added to Good Homeschool Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== New Hampshire--Calls Needed--Harmful Amendment added to Good Homeschool Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: The Senate Education Committee has added an unacceptable amendment to House Bill 406, the bill written to remove the requirement that homeschoolers submit detailed information about their curriculum each year, including table of contents, scope and sequence, and book list for all subjects. This amendment will: 1) Force families to wait 30 days to homeschool; 2) Require families to get the commissioner of education's "permission" to homeschool; and 3) Force first-time homeschool parents to submit the detailed curriculum information from which all others would be exempt. We need your help in removing this unacceptable amendment. The full senate is scheduled to vote on the bill this Thursday, so our time for action is very short. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Please call all members of the Senate Education Committee, and especially Chairman Bragdon, and ask them to restore the version of the bill as passed by the house. Your message can be as simple as: "Please restore the House version of HB 406. The House version is a good bill that will eliminate unnecessary paperwork and restriction on families who choose to homeschool." 2. Since the bill will probably come up for a vote in the full senate on Thursday, please also call your own senator. Your message to your senator who is not on the education committee can be as simple as: "Please support HB 406 as passed by the house. It is a good bill that will eliminate needless paperwork and restrictions on families who choose to homeschool." To find contact information for your senator, go to http://capwiz.com/hslda/home/ . The members of the senate education committee and their contact information are: Sen. Peter Bragdon, Chairman (603) 271-6933 (H) (603) 673-7135 peter.bragdon@leg.state.nh.us or SenatorBragdon@Verizon.net Sen. Carl Johnson, Vice Chairman (603) 271-3041 (H) (603) 279-6492 carl.johnson@leg.state.nh.us or carljean@worldpath.net Sen. Richard Green (603) 271-3080 (H) (603) 332-1567 richard.green@leg.state.nh.us Joseph Foster (603) 271-3569 (H) (603) 891-0307 joseph.foster@leg.state.nh.us Theodore Gatsas (603) 271-3081 (H) (603) 668-1233 t.gatsas@leg.state.nh.us Iris Estabrook (603) 271-2675 (H) (603) 868-5524 iris.estabrook@leg.state.nh.us BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1. I traveled to Concord on April 26 to testify in favor of HB 406 in the senate education committee hearing. Many homeschool leaders also testified in support of it. One senator suggested amending the bill so that only first time homeschool parents would be required to file the detailed curriculum information. The committee subsequently voted 6-0 in favor of HB 406, with this amendment. The amendment had not, however, been put in writing when the committee voted on it. 2. This weekend was the first time the actual text of the amendment became available. Shockingly, the amendment not only requires first time families to be subjected to the needless hassle of describing their curriculum in detail, which we were not surprised to see, but requires families to get the commissioner's "approval," and forbids them from homeschooling until they have waited 30 days after filing their notice. 3. We do not definitely know who inserted the "permission" and "waiting period" requirements into the amendment text out of the public eye. Some senate education committee members are as surprised as we are to find the "permission" and "waiting period" language in the bill. You may want to ask about this when you call Senator Bragdon, the education committee chairman. It is possible that senate rules were violated. 4. Families must not be forced to await the commissioner's "approval" before they can homeschool. Home education is a right, not a privilege. Being forced to wait for approval could harm the children. 5. Families must not be forced to wait 30 days. There is absolutely no justification for this arbitrary waiting period. Some families homeschool after their children have been traumatized by violence, threats and intimidation, and even one more day in that unhealthy environment would be totally unacceptable. Others have health reasons for switching to homeschooling immediately. Officials might use the 30 day waiting period to try to coerce parents out of their decision to homeschool, or launch a punitive investigation of the family or child in hopes of scaring them out of their choice. 6. We have asked Senator Gatsas to introduce a floor amendment to remove the most troublesome amendments added in the senate education committee. Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Scott A. Woodruff ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Is customer service an art or a science? For us, good customer service is both an art and a science -it should appeal to our members and be effective. Consider what our members say about us: The freedom HSLDA allows me to have as I homeschool is wonderful! They handle the law and I get to dedicate the time to my daughter. - National City, CA HSLDA members since 1993, our membership is just as important to us as our children's curriculum. Thank you HSLDA for all you do on our behalf! - West Valley, NY More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
