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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/26/2007 11:12:25 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida: Calls Needed Now to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschooling |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 26, 2007 Florida: Calls Needed Now to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschooling Dear Florida members and friends, Tomorrow morning the House Committee on 21st Century Competitiveness will have a hearing for H.B. 277, a bill that would extend state control over children for another two years. H.B. 277 would extend the age of compulsory attendance from 16 to 18 years. In addition, the bill would not allow minors to renew their licenses until they prove they were attending school. REQUESTED ACTION Please call as many members of the Committee on 21st Century Competitiveness as you can and give them this message: "Please vote against H.B. 277. Raising the compulsory attendance age only serves as a waste of taxpayers' money; it would force unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom, and take away the right of parents to decide whether their 16-year-old is ready for valuable work experience or college." You do not need to mention that you homeschool. MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON 21ST CENTURY COMPETITIVENESS David Simmons, Chair, (850) 488-2231 Seth McKeel, Vice Chair, (850) 488-9890 Martin David Kiar, (850) 487-1588 Faye B. Culp, (850) 488-2770 Joseph A. Gibbons, (850) 488-0145 Dick Kravitz, (850) 488-1304 Rick Kriseman, (850) 488-9337 Stephen L. Precourt, (850) 488-0256 Anthony Trey Traviesa, (850) 488-9910 REASONS FOR OPPOSING HIGHER COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AGE: > Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates (Maryland, 94.5%, and North Dakota, 94.7%) compel attendance only to age 16, but the state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon, 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (These figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) > Most states (28) only require attendance to age 16.Older children who do not want to learn cause classroom discipline problems, disruptions, and violence, making learning harder for those who truly want to learn. > Unwilling students who are forced back into the classroom are unlikely to benefit from one year of additional schooling. > It would require homeschool families to submit to two more years of governmental red tape, and be exposed to two more years of the threat of legal action or subpoena in the event of an accusation of a violation. > It would take away the parental freedom to decide if a 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than 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 increased the upper age limit 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 HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you call your attorney at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning? 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
