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From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
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October 10, 2007
Pennsylvania: Calls Needed to Stop Expansion
of Government Control Over Homeschools
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
Your calls are needed to stop a bill to expand the compulsory
attendance law before it goes any further.
House Bill 118, legislation which would lower the compulsory school
attendance age from 8 to 6 in the Philadelphia school district, is on
the calendar for its second reading by the full House of
Representatives this coming Monday, October 15.
Although this bill will only affect the Philadelphia school district,
we are concerned that the next step the General Assembly will take is
expanding this compulsory attendance requirement to all school
districts in Pennsylvania. This has been the pattern that similar
legislation has followed in other states.
There is a qualified exemption in the bill for homeschooling parents
whose children are between age 6 and 8, in that they would not have to
comply with the home education statute until their children reach the
current compulsory attendance age of 8. However, these parents would
still have to notify the local school district that they intend to
provide their child's education between ages 6 and 8. How the state
would determine that a parent is providing this education is yet to be
determined.
Home School Legal Defense Association opposes any legislation lowering
the compulsory attendance age because it further erodes parental
rights in making decisions which affect the educational preparedness
of their children.
ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Please contact your state representative with this message:
"Please vote against House Bill 118. This bill restricts a parent's
right to choose when a child is ready for formal education. This bill
will also waste taxpayer dollars, since there is nothing to indicate
that early schooling results in any educational advantage for the
child."
You can find the name and telephone number of your state
representative by using HSLDA's legislative toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2182 .
2. Please forward this e-mail to every family you know who is not a
member of HSLDA and urge them to contact their state representative
with this same message.
BACKGROUND:
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. The bill 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 school.
To view the text of this bill, please go to
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=4471 .
For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our
memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=2051.
Sincerely,
Dewitt T. Black, III
HSLDA Senior Counsel
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-> How many acorns can a chipmunk hold in its cheeks?
We don't know! But we do know that gathering little by little
enables ordinary folks to prepare for hard times. That principle
is behind HSLDA's payment plan: by paying a month at a time,
families can receive an annual HSLDA membership. Meanwhile, they
can feel secure as they homeschool and focus on other priorities
-- their children. Don't go nuts trying to pay for membership all
at
once. Choose one of our convenient payment plans.
More reasons to join HSLDA...
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1937
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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
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