| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/3/2008 4:54:05 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bills (Number 2) |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory Attendance Bills (Number 2) 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 2, House Bill 1040. H.B. 1040 would apply the increased school attendance age of 18 only in Prince George's County, but otherwise it is just as harmful as Senate Bill 436. H.B. 1040 will force compulsory attendance for all 16- and 17-year-olds living in Prince George's County. 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. H.B. 1040 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 House Ways and Means Committee. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call members of the committee to express your opposition. 1. Call your own delegate, if he or she is on the committee (see list below). Use our legislative toolbox to see who your senator is at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . 2. Whether or not your delegate 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 House Bill 1040. This costly bill will force unwilling, unmotivated older teens to remain in classrooms in Prince George's County 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 Sheila Hixson, Chair (410) 841-3469 Ann Doory, Vice-Chair (410) 841-3476 Joseph Bartlett (410) 841-3080 Kumar Barve (410) 841-3464 Jon Cardin (410) 841-3833 Group 2 D. Page Elmore (410) 841-3433 C. William Frick (410) 841-3454 Ron George (410) 841-3439 James Gilchrist (410) 841-3744 Carolyn Howard (410) 841-3919 Group 3 Jolene Ivey (410) 841-3478 J. B Jennings (410) 841-3698 Anne Kaiser (410) 841-3036 Susan Krebs (410) 841-3200 Peter Murphy (410) 841-3247 Group 4 John Olszewski (410) 841-3458 Craig Rice (410) 841-3090 Justin Ross (410) 841-3652 Melvin Stukes (410) 841-3544 Frank Turner (410) 841-3246 Jay Walker (410) 841-3581 BACKGROUND > 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=4087 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, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How long are you in for? Some families are facing what seems like a lifelong commitment to homeschooling, with children at both ends of the spectrum -- some graduating and some just reaching school age. If you're going to be "in" for a while, consider a lifetime membership with HSLDA. It's a good deal for families with more than 10 years of homeschooling ahead. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1936 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
