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| Date: From: Subject: | 10/18/2006 11:59:23 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Pennsylvania--Calls Needed to Oppose Expanding Compulsory Attendance Age |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== October 18, 2006 Pennsylvania--Calls Needed to Oppose Expanding Compulsory Attendance Age Dear HSLDA members and friends: Bad news! Yesterday House Bill 377 passed the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration. This bill would lower the compulsory attendance age in Pennsylvania from 8 to 6 for school districts of the first class. House Bill 377 passed the House of Representatives in June of 2005. Homeschooling families in Pennsylvania strongly opposed the bill and since that time it has remained dormant in the Senate Education Committee. Now, at the 11th hour, it has the momentum for quick passage by the Senate. Your calls are needed to stop this bad bill before it becomes law, perhaps even this week. Since Philadelphia is the only school district of the first class in Pennsylvania at this time, it is the only school district that would be affected by this legislation. However, we are concerned that the next step the General Assembly will take is expanding this compulsory attendance requirement to all school districts in Pennsylvania. HSLDA opposes any legislation lowering the compulsory attendance age because it further erodes parental rights in making decisions which affect the educational preparedness of their children. ACTION REQUESTED: 1. Please contact your state senator with this message: "Please vote against House Bill 377. This bill restricts a parent's right to choose when a child is ready for formal education. This bill will also waste taxpayer dollars, since there is nothing to indicate that early schooling results in any educational advantage for the child." You can find the name and telephone number of your state senator by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3376 . 2. Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact their own state senator with this same message. BACKGROUND: There is a qualified exemption in House Bill 377 for homeschooling parents whose children are between ages 6 and 8, in that they would not have to comply with the home education statute until their children reach the current compulsory attendance age of 8. However, these parents would still have to notify the local school district that they intend to provide their child's education between ages 6 and 8. How the state would determine that a parent is providing this education is yet to be determined. The House Education Committee amended this bill to exempt from compulsory attendance children under 17 who have completed the graduation requirements of a home education program. While this amendment was favorable to homeschoolers, the primary purpose of the bill remains unacceptable. 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. The bill would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their children are ready for school. 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 school. To view the text of this bill, please go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3377 . For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2051 . Please call today! Sincerely, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you call your attorney at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning? Our members can get in touch with their attorney even after business hours, when they have a legal emergency. Wouldn't you like this level of service? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
