| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/9/2007 10:35:03 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon: Calls Needed to Oppose Expanded Control Over Children |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== May 9, 2007 Oregon: Calls Needed to Oppose Expanded Control Over Children Dear HSLDA members and friends: Yesterday the House Education Subcommittee on Innovation moved Senate Bill 392 out of committee and to the full Education Committee. Due to your calls and opposition, they did not give the standard "do pass" recommendation. However, the full House Education Committee needs to hear from you immediately, as they will likely vote on the bill today. As you know, Senate Bill 392 would lower the compulsory school attendance age in Oregon from 7 to 6. The Senate has already passed this bill. By lowering the compulsory school age, 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 contact all of the House Education Committee members listed below and urge them to defeat this bill. While it would be best if you could contact all of the Committee members, the first three are key legislators in this battle. Short emails, personalized and in your own words, work best. This issue affects more than just homeschooling families, so you do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. If possible, you can also attend the House Education Committee meeting today at 1 p.m. in Hearing Room D. While no testimony will be heard, the committee does recognize opposition to the bill. REQUESTED ACTION: 1) Please email the House Education Committee members listed below and give them 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 ensure this bill is defeated." Do not identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and constituent. If your representative is on the committee, please make sure you let him or her know you are a constituent. You can use HSLDA's legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox to identify your state representative. House Education Committee Members: Representative Arnie Roblan (D) Email: rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us Representative Brian Clem (D) Email: rep.brianclem@state.or.us Representative John Lim (R) Email: rep.johnlim@state.or.us Representative Peter Buckley (D) (Chair) Email: rep.peterbuckley@state.or.us Representative Betty Komp (D), Vice-chair Email: rep.bettykomp@state.or.us Representative Mitch Greenlick(D) Email: rep.mitchgreenlick@state.or.us Representative John H Dallum (R) Vice-chair Email: rep.johndallum@state.or.us (Note: Representative Dallum is a strong supporter of parents' right to direct their children's education and voted against SB 392 in the Subcommittee. You can thank him for his opposition to this bill.) Representative Jerry Krummel (R) Email: rep.jerrykrummel@state.or.us Representative Gene Whisnant (R) Email: rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us (Rep. Whisnant is a strong supporter of the right of parents' to direct their children's education and voted against S.B. 392 in the Subcommittee. You can thank him for his opposition to this bill.) 2) If you are able, please come to the hearing on Senate Bill 392 today. 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. While there are better ways to handle this problem we have learned that the House might be willing to kill this bill and drop this entire issue. 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 email 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
