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| Date: From: Subject: | 4/11/2007 5:01:28 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Michigan: Urgent! Calls Needed for Thursday Hearing |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== April 11, 2007 Michigan: Urgent! Calls Needed for Thursday Hearing Dear HSLDA Members and Friends in Michigan, It has finally happened! H.B. 4042 is beginning to move. This bill will expand government control over your homeschool child another two years. House Bill 4042 will raise the age of compulsory attendance from where it is currently at age 16 to age 18. It is one of the major themes of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's agenda for this legislative session. If enough calls come into the committee, we could stop this bill before it even gets started. Since there are so many House Education Committee members, we thought it would be best to split the calls according to the first letter of your last name. We urge everyone to call the chairman of the committee, as well as at least seven members, as divided below. We are working closely with INCH, legislative staff, and the Home School Legislative Action Committee. REQUESTED ACTION: Please call or email specified members of the House Education Committee and give them this message: "Please oppose H.B. 4042. Please oppose any effort to raise the age of compulsory school attendance. It only serves as a waste of taxpayer's money; it would force unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom." You do not need to reveal that you homeschool--just that you are a concerned parent and taxpayer. HOUSE EDUCATION MEMBERS: Chair Tim Melton (D), 517-373-0475, timmelton@house.mi.gov Those with the last name beginning with the letters A through G: Vice-Chair Mary Valentine (D), 517-373-3436, maryvalentine@house.mi.gov Kathy Angerer (D), 517-373-1792, kathyangerer@house.mi.gov Terry L. Brown (D), 517-373-0476, terrybrown@house.mi.gov Barb Byrum (D), 517-373-0587, barbbyrum@house.mi.gov Brenda Clack (D), 517-373-8808, brendaclack@house.mi.gov Marc R. Corriveau (D), 517-373-3816, marccorriveau@house.mi.gov Robert Dean (D), 517-373-2668, robertdean@house.mi.gov Those with the last name beginning with the letters H through N: Judy Emmons (R), 517-373-0834, judyemmons@house.mi.gov Jacob Hoogendyk (R), 517-373-1774, jackhoogendyk@house.mi.gov Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D), 517-373-0852, hoon-yunghopgood@house.mi.gov Marty Knollenberg (R), 517-373-1783, martyknollenberg@house.mi.gov Steven Lindberg (D), 517-373-0498, stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov Andy Meisner (D), 517-373-0478, andymeisner@house.mi.gov John Moolenaar (R), 517-373-1791, johnmoolenaar@house.mi.gov Those with the last name beginning with the letters O through Z: Fred Miller (D), 517-373-0159, fredmiller@house.mi.gov Paul E. Opsommer (R), 517-373-1778, paulopsommer@house.mi.gov Gino Polidori (D), 517-373-0847, ginopolidori@house.mi.gov Tom Pearce (R), 517-373-0218, tompearce@house.mi.gov Bettie Cook Scott (D), 517-373-1776, bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov Glenn Steil Jr. (R), 517-373-0840, glennsteil@house.mi.gov Dave Hildenbrand (R), 517-373-0846, rephildenbrand@house.mi.gov Tonya Schuitmaker (R), 517-373-0839, tonyaschuitmaker@house.mi.gov BACKGROUND: > Raising the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18 would subject home educators to the requirements of the homeschool statute two years later than now required. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.) > 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 workforce. (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 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 Thanks for taking the time to call or email! Sincerely, Christopher J. Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Who are the nation's best lobbyists? We don't know that this has ever been determined; but we do know that HSLDA's National Center for Home Education is the only national organization lobbying on behalf of homeschoolers on Capitol Hill. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1102 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
