| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 6/6/2007 3:26:36 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Oregon: Urgent--Calls Needed to Prevent Mandatory School for 6-Year-Olds |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== May 6, 2007 Oregon: Urgent--Calls Needed to Prevent Mandatory School for 6-Year-Olds Dear HSLDA members and friends: As many of you know, Senate Bill 392, the bill that would lower the compulsory attendance age to 6, is awaiting a vote from the full House. OCEANetwork and OHEN have been working tirelessly on this bill. We believe the main reason for the delay has been due to the fact that the potential House vote is either tied or so close the proponents of the bill have not brought it to the floor. However, Senate Bill 392 has now been made part of the "special order of business" for Monday, June 11. We believe it is crucial for you to contact your representative again to voice your opposition to this bill. Please call and/or email representatives to let them know that you oppose Senate Bill 392 and would like them to vote against the bill. Even if you have contacted them in the past about Senate Bill 392 we would like you to contact them again. Thank you for your diligent effort this year in fighting this bill. Please pray that God would continue to show mercy in this battle and that this bill would be defeated. Senate Bill 392 is not as much a homeschool issue as it is a parental rights battle to determine when a child should go to school. REQUESTED ACTION: 1) Please call and/or email your state representative and tell him in your own words why you are opposed to this bill. The overall message could be something like: "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 and vote against the bill on Monday." You do not need identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and constituent. If you do not know who your representative is you can use HSLDA's legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox to identify your state representative and find his or her contact information. 2) Please pray that Senate Bill 392 would be defeated. 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. The House has amended the bill to have the Oregon State Board of Education establish some procedure that would permit that an exemption from compulsory attendance "may be granted to the parent or legal guardian of any child who is six years of age." However, this still prevents parents from making the decision of when their child is ready for school and places that authority with the State Board of Education. 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Who's knocking on your door? When a social service worker arrives at your door, tension can run high. Wouldn't it be nice to get your lawyer on the phone, providing you with immediate step-by-step guidance? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1099 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. 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. ====================================================================== | |
