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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/29/2008 2:34:01 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Kansas--Battle Moves to House to Stop Greater State Control Over 6-Year-Olds |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Kansas--Battle Moves to House to Stop Greater State Control Over 6-Year-Olds Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Yesterday the Kansas Senate voted in favor of Senate Bill 399, a bill that would make 6-year-olds subject to a blanket government mandate of school attendance. School might be right for some 6-year-olds--but exactly the wrong thing for others. Parents know best whether their 6-year-old is ready, not the government. In addition, this bill will extend the state's truancy and oversight power over your homeschool another year. The battle now moves to the House. We expect the bill will be assigned to the House Education Committee. We need your calls! ACTION REQUESTED Please call members of the House Education Committee and ask them to reject this harmful bill. 1. Call your own representative if he or she is listed below and give the message below (in your own words). Use our Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox to find the name of your representative. 2. In addition to calling your own representative, call several others. If your last name begins with A-G, call those in group 1; if your last name begins with H-M, call group 2; N-R, call group 3; S-Z, call group 4. Your message can be as simple as: "Please vote NO on S.B. 399. It will hurt children because many 6-year-olds are not developmentally ready for school. Parents know their children best. Parents, not the government, should decide whether they start school at 6 or 7." Since this bill undermines the authority of all parents, not just homeschoolers, it is not necessary to state that you are a homeschooler. House Education Committee Members: GROUP 1 Clay Aurand, Chairperson 785-296-7672 Deena Horst, Vice-chairperson 785-296-7501 Pat Colloton 785-296-7631 Barbara Craft 785-296-1754 Owen Donohoe 785-296-7682 John Faber 785-296-7500 GROUP 2 Don Hill 785-296-7641 Benjamin Hodge 785-296-7642 Steve Huebert 785-296-1754 Bill Otto 785-296-7636 Ted Powers 785-296-6014 Marc Rhoades 785-296-7696 GROUP 3 Sheryl Spalding 785-296-7680 Bill Wolf 785-296-7678 Sue Storm, Ranking Minority Member 785-296-7650 Marti Crow 785-296-7643 Geraldine Flaharty 785-296-7651 Judith Loganbill 785-296-7669 GROUP 4 Ann Mah 785-296-7668 Shirley Palmer 785-296-7698 Eber Phelps 785-296-7691 Ed Trimmer 785-296-7122 Valdenia Winn 785-296-6838 BACKGROUND > You may be told that there is an exemption or exception. This is misleading. There is NO exemption based on age. Once a child turns 6, compulsory attendance would immediately begin. The only "exemption" is that an amendment was added yesterday allowing parents to have a say in whether the 6-year old is enrolled in kindergarten or first grade. > The bill establishes a new level of state control over 6-year-olds and undermines parental authority to make decisions on an individual basis. Compulsory attendance starts at age 7 now. >Studies show that some children fail because they are forced into school too young. And sometimes they never recover. Rather than forcing a clumsy and expensive one-size-fits-all approach, parents--and parents alone--should have the right to decide whether a 5-year-old is mature enough emotionally, physically and socially to start school. Studies have also shown that the academic benefits of starting school earlier disappear after the child has been in school a few more years. > According to the 2005 NAEP, test scores of children from states which have low compulsory school attendance ages (5-6) did not score any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects their average was actually lower. > Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child's formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later. > A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on reading, math, or language arts test scores by fifth grade. The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten programs have statistically significant higher third-grade test scores, but there is no impact on fifth-grade scores. This finding is consistent with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers short-term benefits at best. > Another significant impact of expanding the mandatory schooling is the inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the upper age limit of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/E/Early_Education.asp Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely yours, Scott A. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
