| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/15/2006 12:13:04 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Colorado--Compulsory Attendance Bill Hearing Friday: Keep Calling! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 15, 2006 Colorado--Compulsory Attendance Bill Hearing Friday: Keep Calling! Dear HSLDA members and friends: We still need your calls to Appropriations Committee members, as Senate Bill 73 is scheduled to be heard Friday, March 17. This bill will put your homeschool students under government control for two more years---at ages 6 and 17. This is an uphill fight. But your persistence in contacting legislators has helped us win more difficult battles, so don't give up! ACTION REQUESTED: Please contact the senators below on the Appropriations Committee and give them this message: "Please vote to not fund Senate Bill 73, which expands the compulsory attendance age. This bill is unnecessary. It restricts parental choice and wastes taxpayer money." This bill affects all taxpayers, so you do need to not identify yourself as a homeschooler. If the Committee members ask where the bill is, say, "Ask Senator Tapia." You can contact the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee by calling the numbers listed below: Committee Chair: Senator Tapia 303-866-2581 Committee Vice-Chair: Senator Keller 303-866-4856 Members: Senator Brophy-opposes S. 73--no need to call 303-866-6360 Senator Groff 303-866-4864 Senator Grossman 303-866- 4852 Senator Lamborn 303-866-4835 Senator Owen 303-866-2586 Senator Teck 303-866-3077 Senator Veiga 303-866-4861 Senator Williams 303-866-3432 BACKGROUND: Lowering the compulsory attendance age from 7 to 6 and raising it from 16 to 17 would subject Colorado home educators to the requirements of the homeschool statute one year earlier and one year later than now required. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.) 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 erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child's formal education should begin. Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the best 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. It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom. 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=2791, or you can see our previous e-lert at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=2828 . Sincerely, Chris Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Extreme makeovers are for extreme circumstances... Most homeschools don't need an extreme makeover, but there is something to be said for attention to detail and recognition of accomplishments. Watch the media and you'll soon see that not everyone wants home educators and homeschooling to look good. HSLDA works hard to shed light on the good work of home educators so it's obvious that we don't need someone "making-over" our homeschools. Join HSLDA and help us show the world that we're fine as we are . . . thank you! More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1943 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
