| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 4/30/2007 2:38:30 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon: Calls Needed on Bill That Lowers School Age to 6 |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== April 30, 2007 Oregon: Calls Needed on Bill That Lowers School Age to 6 Dear HSLDA members and friends: Your calls are urgently needed to help stop a compulsory school attendance bill that has already passed the Senate. The House Education Subcommittee on Innovation has scheduled a hearing and work session on Senate Bill 392 for Thursday, May 3. We have been closely following Senate Bill 392, which would lower the compulsory attendance age from 7 to 6. The Senate passed the bill in March by a vote of 19 to 8. According to the sponsors, the purpose of Senate Bill 392 is to allow public school officials to enforce attendance of 6-year-olds who are enrolled in school. Officials say that some parents who enroll their 6-year-olds in public school cause problems by subsequently acting as if attendance is voluntary. However, by lowering the age of compulsory school attendance, this bill could force many parents to send their children to school before they are ready. Additionally, homeschool parents would be required to submit their documentation a whole year earlier than they do now. Please email all of the members of the Subcommittee on Innovation. If your representative is on the committee, please call him or her as well. Finally, if you can, please attend the hearing on Thursday. REQUESTED ACTION: 1) Please email the House Education Subcommittee on Innovation members listed below and give this message in your own words: "Please oppose Senate Bill 392. This bill will prevent parents from deciding when their child is ready for school. Please amend the bill to require compulsory attendance once parents enroll their 6-year-old in a public school." Do not identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and constituent. If your representative is on the subcommittee please call him or her as well. You can use HSLDA's legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox to find the name and phone number for your state representative. House Education Innovation Subcommittee Members: Representative Betty Komp (D), Chair Email: rep.bettykomp@state.or.us Representative Karen Minnis (R), Vice-Chair Email: rep.karenminnis@state.or.us Representative Arnie Roblan (D), Vice-Chair Email: rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us Representative Peter Buckley (D) (Chair of the House Education Committee) Email: rep.peterbuckley@state.or.us Representative Ben Cannon (D) Email: rep.bencannon@state.or.us Representative John H Dallum (R) Email: rep.johndallum@state.or.us Representative Gene Whisnant (R) Email: rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us 2) If you are able, please come to the hearing on Senate Bill 392 on Thursday, May 3. The hearing is scheduled to begin a 1 p.m. in Hearing Room D at the state Capitol. Directions to the Capitol are available at http://www.leg.state.or.us/capinfo/ . BACKGROUND: As mentioned in earlier e-lerts, Senate Bill 392 would require all children who are 6 years old by September 1 to enroll in school. This would mean that homeschool parents would have to submit their notice to their local Education Service District (ESD) a year earlier. Additionally, since the Oregon Administrative Rules require homeschool parents to test their children in the 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th year a child has been in school, if the compulsory attendance age is lowered, you might have begin testing your children a year earlier then you have to now. According to the sponsors of Senate Bill 392 the main purpose of the legislation is to enable school officials to take action when parents enroll their children in the public school and then treat their child's attendance as voluntary, taking them to school whenever they please. This is disruptive to the school and the affected class and students. However, there are better ways to handle this problem and several other states have enacted legislation to deal with this problem. Minnesota has a compulsory attendance age of 7 and has dealt with this problem with a provision that states: Once a pupil under the age of 7 is enrolled in kindergarten or a higher grade in a public school, the pupil is subject to the compulsory attendance provisions. This has the effect the public school system needs but protects parents from having to enroll their children in a school setting before they are ready for school. Some of the problems with lowering the compulsory attendance are listed below. > Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child's formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later. > Lowering the compulsory attendance age erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child's formal education should begin. > It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their children are ready for school. > 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. While the Oregon Department of Education stated in the public hearing that the impact will be minimal, many states have found otherwise. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=1421 . If you are not yet a member of HSLDA and would like to help us fight for greater parental rights and homeschool freedom in Oregon please visit http://www.hslda.org/join/apply.asp . If you would like to be put on our e-mail list to receive vital e-lerts you may sign up at https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe . Thank you for your part in fighting for freedom in Oregon! Sincerely, Thomas Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Are you "organizationally challenged"? Finding the time to organize your home, your schedule, and your silverware drawer is difficult enough. We have something that will take the pressure off as you organize your homeschool. Home School Minder will help with your schedule, lesson plans, grades, transcripts, and much more . . . everything except those missing socks. Free to families who join HSLDA for two years. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
