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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/31/2008 1:47:38 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Discriminatory Compulsory Attendance Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Maryland--Calls Needed to Oppose Discriminatory Compulsory Attendance Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed to stop a discriminatory bill that would subject 16-year-olds to compulsory school attendance, and force families to be under the burden of the homeschool regulations one more year. Senate Bill 436 discriminates against homeschoolers. Sixteen-year-olds who have graduated from public school would be exempt from the law, but those who have graduated from private school or a homeschool would not. This is illogical and unfair. Studies universally show that private school and homeschool students perform better on tests. Why should the students in the group with the lowest test scores be allowed to be exempt, but not those with the highest? This is outrageous! All 16-year-old graduates should be treated the same. Parents alone know whether it's best for their 16-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. Please call before Wednesday, April 2 at 1 p.m., when the hearing is scheduled in the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill has already passed the Senate. 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 delegate 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. 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. It discriminates against homeschool and private school graduates. This multimillion dollar proposal 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 paths their 16-year-olds should follow." It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since this bill undermines the rights of all parents. COMMITTEE MEMBERS 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 John Olszewski (410) 841-3458 Group 4 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 > The graduation "exception" applies to students who have obtained a "Maryland High School Diploma." This means a public school or state-issued diploma. > You may be told there is an "exception" for homeschoolers. That is not true. The bill simply moves the homeschool statute from one location in the lawbooks to a different one. > Raising the compulsory school 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 17 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. The fiscal note attached to this bill indicates Maryland taxpayers should expect to pay probably at least $40 million more per year. To view the text of this bill, please go to: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=4806 . For more information on compulsory school 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> What do you look like when you get out of bed? It's hard to look our best all the time. HSLDA works to present homeschooling in an engaging, dynamic, and informative light to the public news media. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1104 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
