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| Date: From: Subject: | 4/16/2007 4:34:30 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon--Your Action Needed on Favorable Homeschool Bill! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== April 16, 2007 Oregon--Your Action Needed on Favorable Homeschool Bill! Dear HSLDA members and friends, Good News! The home education freedom bill, House Bill 2629, is scheduled to be heard by the House Education Subcommittee on Innovation tomorrow, Tuesday April 17, at 1 p.m. We need you to contact the committee members listed below and, if at all possible, attend the hearing tomorrow to help pass this bill which would bring greater freedom to homeschooling parents in Oregon. House Bill 2629 has been jointly requested by OCEANetwork and the Oregon Home Education Network (OHEN) to make a number of positive steps forward in the cause of freedom for parents teaching their children at home. Among other things, House Bill 2629 will repeal the testing requirements for homeschool students unless they seek to participate in interscholastic activities at the public school. Your attendance at key legislative hearings in the past has had a positive impact on the Oregon Legislature. While most of these previous bills would have had a negative impact on homeschooling families, your presence is needed to help support a bill that will make Oregon an even better state to homeschool your children in. Please contact the legislators listed below and consider coming to the hearing tomorrow at the Capitol at 1 p.m. REQUESTED ACTION (1) Please email the members of the House Education Subcommittee on Innovation listed below with this message in your own words: "Please vote for House Bill 2629 which will relieve homeschooling parents from unnecessary state oversight. Home educators have earned the right to more freedom after demonstrating their success under the law for the past 20 plus years." If your own representative is on this committee please call instead of emailing and let him or her know that you are a constituent. To find the name of your representative, use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . Feel free to include additional reasons why you support this bill using the background information below or your own experience as a homeschooler. House Education Innovation Subcommittee Members: Representative Betty Komp (D), Chair Phone: 503-986-1422 Email: rep.bettykomp@state.or.us Representative Karen Minnis (R), Vice-Chair Phone: 503-986-1449 Email: rep.karenminnis@state.or.us Representative Arnie Roblan (D), Vice-Chair Phone: 503-986-1409 Email: rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us Representative Peter Buckley (D) (Chair of the House Education Committee) Phone: 503-986-1405 Email: rep.peterbuckley@state.or.us Representative Ben Cannon (D) Phone: 503-986-1446 Email: rep.bencannon@state.or.us Representative John H Dallum (R) Phone: 503-986-1459 Email: rep.johndallum@state.or.us Representative Gene Whisnant (R) Phone: 503-986-1453 Email: rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us 2) Please come to Salem for the hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, in Hearing Room D. Feel free to bring your (well-dressed, well-behaved) children. You should plan to arrive early. You may need to park in the underground parking structure just to the north of the Capitol Building. Bring coins for the meters and put in a little extra money just in case. OCEANetwork suggests planning on putting 2-3 hours into the meter. Directions to the Capitol are available at http://www.leg.state.or.us/capinfo/ . If you cannot come to the hearing, streaming video should be available at http://www.leg.state.or.us/listn/ . THE REASONS WE SUPPORT THIS BILL ARE: House Bill 2629 would make the following changes in the current law: > Expand the educational options for homeschoolers by providing that a child may be educated by the parent or legal guardian or "at the direction of" a parent or legal guardian, thereby permitting parents or guardians to appoint someone else to conduct some or all of the instruction; > Repeal the requirement that parents notify the public school officials of their decision to homeschool; > Repeal the testing requirements of the homeschool law, except for students participating in interscholastic activities at a public school; and > Remove the requirement that the education service district or school district determine that a child under 18 is being homeschooled in order to get a driver's license. Instead a parent can simply verify that their child is being taught at home. BACKGROUND Oregon first enacted a homeschool law in 1985, approximately 22 years ago. Since that time, numerous efforts have been made to enact amendments providing more freedom to parents. The most recent change in the law occurred in 1999 when significant progress was made in reducing state oversight of homeschooling. House Bill 2629 represents a continuation of legislative efforts to gain total freedom for parents. Additional reasons why House Bill 2629 should be supported: > Oregon does not regulate private schools but it currently regulates homeschoolers. > Home education works, with few home-educated students scoring low on standardized tests and many scoring high. (See http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4012 and http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4013 .) > Additional regulation does not help home educators: Home-educated students' test scores are the same in low-control, moderate-control and high-control states. (See http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray1997/12.asp.) If House Bill 2629 is enacted, Oregon will join a growing majority of states requiring no standardized testing of homeschooled students. Further, public school officials will have no record of children being homeschooled, because parents will not be required to even notify public school officials of their decision to conduct home instruction. Oregon has the potential through this legislation to go from a state with a good homeschool law to a state with a great homeschool law. Let's work hard together to get this done this year. Please pray for favor with the committee and the Legislature on this bill and home education in general. To see more information on this and other bills HSLDA is monitoring in Oregon, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/OR/default.asp . If you are not already a member, please consider joining HSLDA and help support home education freedom in Oregon and beyond. You can join online at: http://www.hslda.org/join/apply.asp . Sincerely, Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many news articles did you read this morning over your oatmeal? We live in a world where concise information presented at the right time can make a big difference in the outcome of important legislative efforts. Yet it's tough to keep up with all the issues that affect you. HSLDA does this for you in the areas that affect your homeschool. Our emails and website enable you to take quick, decisive action. Please consider becoming a part of this team. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1923 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
