| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/15/2006 11:51:50 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Alabama--CORRECTED: Calls Needed to Stop Compulsory Attendance Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 15, 2006 Alabama--CORRECTED: Calls Needed to Stop Compulsory Attendance Bill Dear HSLDA members and friends: We inadvertently listed the wrong committee members in our e-lert this morning for House Bill 259. The list of committee members below has been corrected. Your calls are needed today to stop a bill that would raise the compulsory attendance age in Alabama from 16 to 18. Alabama House Bill 259 is receiving a hearing today at 1:30 p.m. in the House Education Committee. A favorable recommendation from the Committee would send this bill to the full House for a vote. If this bill is passed, it would mean that students receiving home instruction through a church school or private tutor would be subject to the compulsory attendance requirements for two additional years. This would require parents whose children are enrolled in a church school to pay tuition fees and remain compliant with their church school's requirements until the child turns 18 years old. Parents who educate their child under the provisions of the private tutor statute would have to maintain attendance and academic records until the child turns 18 years old. This is an unnecessary expansion of state control over education. Please call members of the House Education Committee now to stop this bad bill! ACTION REQUESTED 1. Please call (no time to write) as many members of the House Education Committee as possible and urge them to vote against House Bill 259 with this message: "Please vote against House Bill 259 which would raise Alabama's compulsory school attendance age. This bill restricts the right of parents to choose educational or work options for their children. This bill will also waste taxpayer dollars in requiring the attendance of students who are unwilling to remain in school." Please do not identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since this issue is broader than just homeschooling. The contact information for the members of the House Education Committee is as follows: Rep. Yvonne Kennedy (D), Chairman (334) 242-7737 Rep. Terry Spicer (D), Vice Chairman (334) 242-7773 Rep. Albert Morton (R), Ranking Minority Member (334) 242-7763 Rep. Scott Beason (R) (334) 242-7720 Rep. Barbara Boyd (D (334) 242-7692 Rep. Randy Davis (R) (334) 242-7724 Rep. Priscilla Dunn (D) (334) 242-7702 Rep. Lea Fite (D) (334) 242-7728 Rep. H. Mac Gipson (R) (334) 242-7695 Rep. Randy Henshaw (D) (334) 242-7733 Rep. Jim McClendon (R) (334) 242-7749 Rep. Joseph Mitchell (D) (334) 242-7735 Rep. Jerry Oden (R) (334) 242-7722 Rep. Sue Schmitz (D) (334) 242-7704 Rep. Tommy Shearer (D) (334) 242-7694 To find the name of your state representative, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=2921 . 2. Please forward this email to every homeschooling family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact their state representatives with this same message. BACKGROUND Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Twenty-nine states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2051. Sincerely, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> You can only do so much... No one can be everywhere at once. And you can't be at home, teaching your children, while monitoring your state's legislature. Through electronic legislative services, HSLDA is monitoring state legislation for you-watching and listening carefully for any proposed laws that could erode your right to homeschool. Join HSLDA today-we'll watch out for your future. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1942 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
