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| Date: From: Subject: | 4/24/2007 3:50:12 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon: Update on Home Education Freedom Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== April 24, 2007 Oregon: Update on Home Education Freedom Bill Dear HSLDA members and friends, We want to thank all of you who attended the hearing last week or called and emailed the House Education Subcommittee on Innovation in favor of the Home Education Freedom Bill. The Committee heard only favorable testimony for House Bill 2629 and the hearing room was filled to overflowing with those in support of the bill. As you know, 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. OCEANetwork reports that the hearing went extremely well and several committee members spoke favorably of home education. If you would like to hear the testimony given at the hearing you can find it at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4030 (requires RealPlayer: http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=downloadcom1 ) . You will need to fast forward to about the one hour mark for testimony on House Bill 2629. The Committee has not yet voted on H.B. 2629 so if you have not yet contacted the various Committee members, you may continue to do so. REQUESTED ACTION (1) If you have not already done so, 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 on May 10 for "Apple Pie Day." More information will be provided in a separate email shortly but Apple Pie Day is an excellent opportunity for you and your family to come to the Capitol, bring an apple pie, meet your elected officials and provide a positive face to home education for the entire legislature. For more information please visit: http://www.oceanetwork.org/publications/article.cfm?id=59 . 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.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/specialty/home/1999/percen99.pdf and http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/specialty/home/1998/scores98.pdf .) > 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 of your friends would pay your legal fees? As a member of HSLDA, you have 80,000 families standing with you to protect and advance homeschool freedoms in the United States and foreign countries. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
