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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/2/2007 5:17:11 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Missouri--Calls Needed Now to Stop Homeschool High School Registration Bills |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Missouri--Calls Needed Now to Stop Homeschool High School Registration Bills Dear HSLDA members and friends: Two bills that interfere with the ability of parents to supervise their children will receive a public hearing Tuesday, March 6. House Bill 708 would require homeschool families to file a certificate every year certifying that their student has adequate attendance and grades if they want their student to have a driver's license or learner's permit. This would amount to de facto homeschool registration for families of older teens. H.B. 694 initially gives school districts power to create standards their students would be required to meet for a learner's permit or driver's license. But then a student not satisfying those standards would be prohibited from getting a learner's permit or license even if he began homeschooling--and even if he fully satisfied all his parents' standards. The label of "failure" would follow him after he tried to get a fresh start. Families of those labeled "failure" would, in effect, be forced to register and enforce public school standards on their student. Current law puts parents in the driver's seat on licenses. Students under 18 can only get--and keep--a learner's permit or license with their parents' permission. H.B. 708 and H.B. 694 are attempts to yank the steering wheel away from parents. Families for Home Education (FHE) joins HSLDA in opposing these bills. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Committee members probably do not understand how these bills would impact homeschool families, but your calls can help. Please call them with the message, "Please do not support H.B. 708 or H.B. 694. These bills will have unintended consequences for homeschool families and reduce the ability of parents to supervise their children." 2. Come to the hearing on Tuesday morning and explain how these bills would affect you. Both bills are scheduled for a public hearing beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, March 6, in Hearing Room 1 in the basement of the state Capitol. Contact Information for Members of the House Transportation Committee: St. Onge, Neal C., Chair, 573-751-5568 Faith, Sally, Vice Chair, 573-751-1452 Daus, Michael, 573-751-6736 Denison, Charles, 573-751-2210 Fallert, Joe, 573-751-7735 Kuessner, J. C., 573-751-2112 Meadows, Tim, 573-751-1311 Munzlinger, Brian, 573-751-7985 Onder, Jr., M.D., Robert F., 573-751-3572 Quinn, John, 573-751-2917 BACKGROUND There is a trend nationwide to use the threat of losing a driver's license to motivate students to study hard in school. Giving a student a permit or license should be based on their ability to drive safely--not on how smart they are in school. No safe driver should be denied a license if his parents approve. The driver's license must not be degraded into a tool for enforcing social policy that has nothing to do with driving safely. It is far too important. We may sympathize with the goal of encouraging students to study hard, but his is the wrong way to do it. H.B. 694 requires students to prove every semester that they have satisfied whatever standards the school creates. This requirement would continue to apply even to families who start to homeschool, if the student was below school standards when the homeschool program was initiated. This would interfere with parents' ability to provide the student with the education they believe is best for him. H.B. 708 requires students--including homeschool students--to keep a 1.75 grade point average. This raises numerous problems for homeschool families. School officials may use this as an opportunity to intrude into families and demand "proof" that the grades parents assigned were justified. Some families do not use grades to evaluate their students. Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney Link to H.B. 708 http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/biltxt/intro/HB0708I.htm Link to H.B. 694 http://www.house.mo.gov/bills071/biltxt/intro/HB0694I.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> You can get a little latte or a lotta legal. With our new payment options, you can join HSLDA for as little as $8/month, less than the price of a cup of coffee a week. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1109 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
