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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/1/2006 4:44:17 PM Home School Legal Defense Association South Dakota--Last Chance to Stop Compulsory Attendance Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 1, 2006 South Dakota--Last Chance to Stop Compulsory Attendance Bill Dear HSLDA members and friends: We notified you previously about South Dakota House Bill 1234, which would lower the age of compulsory attendance from 7 to 5. H.B. 1234 was defeated in Senate committee, so it seemed we won. Unfortunately, on the Senate floor, after a tricky application of a procedural rule, the committee was forced to report an otherwise dead bill to the Senate floor! The bill was defeated again. The bill's proponents did not give up. Next, a conference committee "hog housed" the language of H.B. 1234 by adding it to a previously benign bill, H.B. 1175. H.B. 1175 now includes all of the problematic language of H.B. 1234. The amended H.B. 1175 just passed both houses in the legislature and will be sent to the governor for his signature. If H.B. 1175 is signed into law, homeschoolers will be required to submit to state requirements two years earlier since it expands public schools authority over all 5 and 6 year olds. The bill goes into effect in 2010. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call Governor Mike Rounds' office in South Dakota immediately and ask him to veto South Dakota H.B. 1175. You can express your opposition in your own words. Please be concise and courteous. Here is an example: "Please veto House Bill 1175, which would lower the age at which children must start school from 7 to 5. This bill will raise taxes, will force students to start school too early, and will take away parental freedom to determine when their children should start school." This bill affects all students, so do not identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can call Governor Rounds' office at (605) 773-3212 and ask for the message line. You can write to the governor at Office of the Governor, 500 E. Capitol Ave. Pierre, SD 57501. BACKGROUND: Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child's formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later. Lowering the compulsory attendance age also erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child's formal education should begin. In addition, it is certain that your tax bill will increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. Under current law, 6 is the nominal age of compulsory attendance, but parents have a right to waive compulsory attendance for their 6-year-old, so attendance is not actually required until age 7. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum "Mandatory Kindergarten Is Unnecessary" at http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000028.asp . Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Are you "organizationally challenged"? Finding the time to organize your home, your schedule, and your silverware drawer is difficult enough. We have something that will take the pressure off as you organize your homeschool. Home School Minder will help with your schedule, lesson plans, grades, transcripts, and much more . . . everything except those missing socks. Free to families who join HSLDA for two years. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
