| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 3/6/2007 1:48:37 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bill |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bill Dear HSLDA members and friends: Your calls are needed to stop a bill that would expand compulsory school attendance for some students to their 18th birthday. Senate Bill 688 would require students between the ages of 16 and 18 who withdraw from public or private school to take a diploma examination. If they fail, they would be subject to compulsory attendance requirements until age 18. This bill is in the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, and is scheduled for a hearing Wednesday, March 7 at 1 p.m. The committee members need to hear from families who oppose this expensive and unnecessary expansion of state control over education. Legislators need to know that families in Maryland want to continue to make their own decisions about work and school choices for children who have reached the age of 16. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call the members of the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee immediately and urge them to vote against Senate Bill 688 with this message: "Please vote against Senate Bill 688. It restricts the right of parents to choose educational or work options for their children. This costly bill will also force unwilling, unmotivated older teens to remain in classrooms where they will cause disruption." Please do not identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since this issue is broader than just homeschooling. CONTACT INFORMATION Joan Carter Conway, Chair (410) 841-3145 Roy P. Dyson, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3673 Gwendolyn T. Britt (410) 841-3745 Richard F. Colburn (410) 841-3590 Janet Greenip (410) 841-3568 Andrew P. Harris (410) 841-3706 J. Robert Hooper (410) 841-3603 Michael G. Lenett (410) 841-3151 Paul G. Pinsky (410) 841-3155 James C. Rosapepe (410) 841-3141 Robert A. Zirkin (410) 841-3131 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. > Mandating attendance until age 18 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 school. To view the text of this bill, please go to: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3839 For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3623 . Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely Yours, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How long are you in for? Some families are facing what seems like a lifelong commitment to homeschooling, with children at both ends of the spectrum -- some graduating and some just reaching school age. If you're going to be "in" for a while, consider a lifetime membership with HSLDA. It's a good deal for families with more than 10 years of homeschooling ahead. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1936 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
