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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/3/2008 4:46:27 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bills (Number 1) |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bills (Number 1) Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed to stop two bills that would subject 16- and 17-year-olds to compulsory attendance. This would mean two more years for homeschool families to be under the burden of homeschool regulations. Each will be discussed in a separate e-lert for clarity's sake. This is Number 1, Senate Bill 436. Senate Bill 436 will force compulsory school attendance for almost all 16- and 17-year-olds. None of the exceptions help homeschool families. (See details below.) Parents alone know whether it's best for their 16- and 17-year-olds to stay in a formal education setting or follow some other path. The government cannot know the needs of individual students. One size does not fit all when it comes to school attendance. Everyone will benefit if parents retain the authority to make individual decisions for their children. S.B. 436 wipes out parental authority and makes the erroneous assumption that compelling school attendance is the best answer for all 16- and 17-year-olds. Please call before Wednesday, March 5 at 1 p.m., when the hearing is scheduled in the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call members of the committee to express your opposition. 1. Call your own senator, if he or she is on the committee (see list below). Use our legislative toolbox to see who your senator is http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . 2. Whether or not your senator is on the committee, call several other committee members. If your name begins with A-G, call those we have listed in group 1. If your last name begins with H-M, call group 2. If your last name begins with L-R, call group 3. Others call group 4. (These groupings are our own, not the legislature's.) You can use the background information below to develop your own thoughts, or your message can be as simple as: "Please oppose Senate Bill 436. This costly bill will force unwilling, unmotivated older teens to remain in classrooms where they will cause disruption. Protect the right of parents to decide what educational or vocational path their 16- and 17-year-olds should follow." It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since this bill undermines the rights of all parents. Group 1 Joan Conway, Chair (410) 841-3145 Roy Dyson, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3673 Richard Colburn (410) 841-3590 Group 2 Janet Greenip (410) 841-3568 David Harrington (410) 841-3745 Group 3 Andrew Harris (410) 841-3706 Michael Lenett (410) 841-3151 Group 4 Paul Pinsky (410) 841-3155 James Rosapepe (410) 841-3141 BACKGROUND > One "exception" applies to students who have obtained a "Maryland High School Diploma." This phrase is not defined, but clearly would not include a parent-issued diploma, so this exception would be worthless to homeschool students who finish their secondary education before reaching age 18. They would be forced to follow the homeschool regulations until age 18. > One "exception" applies to a student currently receiving "regular, thorough instruction during the school year..." This exception is no exception at all! It essentially says that if you are following the compulsory attendance law, you are exempt from the compulsory attendance law. That's like saying you don't have to pay your taxes if you've already paid your taxes. It's no help at all. > There are other exceptions that will apply to so few people they are hardly worth mentioning (like if the student is pregnant and enrolled in an alternative program.) > Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. Some states with the lowest completion rates compel attendance to age 18. > Twenty-eight states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. > Mandating attendance until age 18 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the work force. (Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.) >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=4806 . For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3623. Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely Yours, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Remember the last time you wrote a term paper? Research can be grueling-digging through archives, wading through articles, conducting interviews. But if it's related to homeschooling, you can relax a little. There's a good chance that you'll find what you're looking for in HSLDA's bimonthly Home School Court Report. Providing in-depth, insightful articles on much of what affects the world of homeschoolers, the Court Report is a must-read for the serious homeschooler. This publication is provided free to each HSLDA member. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1933 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
