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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/6/2007 1:42:45 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Mexico: Call to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschools |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 6, 2007 New Mexico: Call to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschools Dear New Mexico members and friends, Earlier we sent you an e-lert about Senate Bill 561 and House Bill 584, two bills which would change the compulsory attendance law in New Mexico. The law currently allows 17-year-olds to be excused from school if they are gainfully employed or engaged in an alternative form of education. The law also provides for children under 8 to be excused from attendance. However, both of these exceptions will be eliminated by these bills, and the compulsory attendance age will be from 5 to 18 years, period. Senate Bill 561 has already passed the Senate, and will be heard in the House Education Committee on Wednesday, March 7, 2007, at 8 a.m. REQUESTED ACTION Please call or email the members of the House Education Committee before tomorrow morning and give them this message: "Please vote against Senate Bill 561. It takes away from parents the option to choose what is best for their children. It would force unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom when valuable work experience or an alternative form of education is available for them." You do not need to mention that you homeschool. Legislators to call: Chair Rick Miera, 986-4852, rbmiera@comcast.net Vice Chair Richard D. Vigil, 986-4242, rrrvigil@plateautel.net Andrew J. Barreras, 986-4243 Nora Espinoza, 986-4221, noralee@cableone.net Mary Helen Garcia, 986-4435, maryhelen.garcia@nmlegis.gov Jimmie C. Hall, 986-4215, jimmie.hall@nmlegis.gov Dianne Miller Hamilton, 986-4221, dianne38john4132@zianet.com Rhonda S. King, 986-4438 Sheryl Williams Stapleton, 986-4774, sheryl.stapleton@nmlegis.gov Thomas E. Swisstack, 986-4254, tswiss1@msn.com W. C. "Dub" Williams, 986-4454 Teresa A. Zanetti, 986-4451, electzanetti@comcast.net BACKGROUND > According to the 2005 NAEP test scores, children from states that have low compulsory attendance ages (5-6) did not score any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects their average was actually lower. > 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. > A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on reading, math, or language arts test scores by fifth grade. The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten programs have statistically significant higher 3rd-grade test scores, but there is no impact on 5th-grade scores. This finding is consistent with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers short-term benefits at best. > 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 17-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. (Some 17-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/docs/nche/Issues/E/Early_Education.asp Sincerely, Christopher J. Klicka, Esq. HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Are you "organizationally challenged"? Finding the time to organize your home, your schedule, and your silverware drawer is difficult enough. We have something that will take the pressure off as you organize your homeschool. Home School Minder will help with your schedule, lesson plans, grades, transcripts, and much more . . . everything except those missing socks. Free to families who join HSLDA for two years. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1935 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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