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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/7/2007 4:55:26 PM Home School Legal Defense Association South Dakota--Call to Stop the Expansion of State Control over Your Children |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 7, 2007 South Dakota--Call to Stop the Expansion of State Control over Your Children Dear HSLDA members and friends: Your calls are again needed to stop a bill that would expand compulsory school attendance to a student's 18th birthday. This will require homeschoolers to notify the state two more years and be under their supervision. Senate Bill 199 is presently in the Senate Education Committee, and is scheduled for a second hearing Thursday, February 8 at 7:45 a.m. S.B. 199 has been introduced by the Senate Education Committee at the request of Governor Mike Rounds. The members of the Senate Education Committee need to hear from families who oppose this expensive and unnecessary expansion of state control over education. Legislators need to know that families in South Dakota want to continue to make their own decisions about work and school choices for children who have reached the age of 16. The first hearing on February 6 resulted in a tie vote of 3-3, with Gray, Knudson, and Olson voting in favor of the bill, McNenny, Peterson and Jerstad voting against, and Nesslehuf excused. ACTION REQUESTED: 1. Please call as many members of the Senate Education Committee as possible and urge them to vote against Senate Bill 199 with this message: "Please vote against Senate Bill 199 which would raise South Dakota's compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18. 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 Senate Education Committee is as follows: Senator Bob Gray Party: Republican District: 24 Capitol: 605-773-3821 Senator Sandy Jerstad Party: Democrat District: 12 Capitol: 605-261-1044 Senator Dave Knudson (Vice Chairman) Party: Republican District: 14 Capitol: 605-224-6877 Senator Kenneth McNenny Party: Republican District: 29 Capitol: 605-773-3821 Senator Ben Nesselhuf Party: Democrat District: 17 Capitol: 605-773-3821 Senator Ed Olson (Chairman) Party: Republican District: 20 Capitol: 605-224-6877 7733011 Senator Jim Peterson Party: Democrat District: 04 Capitol: 605-695-0032 2. Please contact your own state senator and voice your opposition to Senate Bill 199. To find the name of your state senator, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3729 To view the text of Senate Bill 199, please visit: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3728 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. > It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the work force. (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=3623 . Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
