| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 6/22/2005 11:29:43 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Louisiana--Legislative Update - Many Victories This Year |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== June 22, 2005 Louisiana--Legislative Update - Many Victories This Year Dear HSLDA members and friends: Thank you for your prompt calls this year. Since the Louisiana legislature was very active this session sometimes it seemed as if they were needed every day. However, with your help Louisiana families achieved three solid victories this year. Compulsory Attendance Bill - House Bill 476 was stopped from even making it out of the Education Committee due in part to your calls. Had this bill passed it would have lowered the compulsory attendance age from 7 to 5. Homeschool parents would have had to report two years earlier than they do now under both homeschool options in Louisiana. While this bill has been defeated for this year, we must remain vigilant as future bills are likely. The sponsor of the bill, Representative Jackson, testified in committee that he would be proud to send even his two-year-old child to school. Reducing TOPS Eligibility for Homeschool Graduates - House Bill 120 passed with unanimous support through both the House and Senate. Under this bill a homeschool graduate who has been enrolled in a home study program for at least the last two years of high school must score 2 points higher on the ACT than the public school average in Louisiana. A homeschool graduate used to have to score 3 points higher. Several legislators mentioned in various committee hearings that the difference should be eliminated completely but that will have to wait for another year. Right of Parents to Provide Education for their Children - House Concurrent Resolution 131 passed quietly through both the House and Senate with much of the work done behind the scenes so no phone calls were necessary. With this resolution the Louisiana legislature stated that they recognize the inalienable right of parents to provide for the education of their children. They also recognized that no law or ruling in Louisiana should curtail or restrain the inalienable right of every parent to choose the appropriate educational setting for his or her children. The next step is to pursue a constitutional amendment to fully protect this right. Tax Credit for Educational Expenses - While House Bill 834 has been withdrawn by the sponsor, Representative LaBruzzo, he has vowed to reintroduce this bill to help lift the tax burden on parents who are teaching their children at home. Representative LaBruzzo withdrew the bill to amend it to only apply to homeschool families due to the large fiscal impact of the original bill. With the revised bill Representative LaBruzzo hopes to find majority support among the House Ways & Means Committee members. We also want to thank CHEF of Louisiana for their presence in the Capitol and for all their hard work on these bills. With all of us working together homeschool families in Louisiana have greater liberty and freedom has been protected. To become a member of HSLDA and help us continue to fight for homeschool freedom in Louisiana please visit http://www.hslda.org/join/apply.asp . Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> For as little as 27 cents a day... There's not much you can get for 27 cents a day. Why not put your money toward peace of mind for yourself and your family? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1110 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
