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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/21/2008 3:51:53 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Louisiana: Calls Needed--Bill Limits Parental Rights! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== May 21, 2008 Louisiana: Calls Needed--Bill Limits Parental Rights! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: House Bill 1091 will be heard in the House Education Committee Thursday, May 22. This bill would prohibit a student who is 17 or 18 from being withdrawn from public or private school except for one of five specific reasons. Even then, in order to withdraw a student would have to obtain the written consent of the chief administrator of the school and undergo an exit interview. This bill is not a homeschool issue, but it will severely limit when parents can decide that their children should be withdrawn from school to work or move on to other educational options. House Bill 1091 will not prohibit parents from removing their children from public school to educate them in a private school or home study program. House Bill 1091 has appeared on the Senate Education Committee agenda for Thursday, May 22. We need your calls now to urge the committee to stop this bill as restrictive of parents' rights to direct their children's education, unnecessarily requiring them to remain in school unless officials grant permission to withdraw. Please call and email today and tomorrow all of the Senate Education Committee members listed below. ACTION SUGGESTED: You may contact each of the Senate Education Committee members listed, with this message, in your own words: "Please oppose House Bill 1091. This bill greatly limits when parents can withdraw their 17- or 18-year-olds from school for work or other educational opportunities other than secondary school. Parents have a fundamental right to direct their children's education, and House Bill 1091 will restrict that right." Senate Education Committee Senator Ben Nevers (Chairman) Phone: (985) 732-6863 Email: websen@legis.state.la.us Senator Eric LaFleur (Vice-Chairman) Phone: (337) 363-5019 Email: lafleure@legis.state.la.us Senator Bill Cassidy Phone: (225) 925-2522 Email: Lasen16@legis.state.la.us Senator Jack Donahue Phone: (985) 727-7949 Email: donahuej@legis.state.la.us Senator Yvonne Dorsey Phone: (225) 342-9700 Email: dorseyy@legis.state.la.us Senator Ann Duplessis Phone: (504) 243-7795 Email: duplessisa@legis.state.la.us Senator Gerald Long Phone: (318) 628-5799 Email: longg@legis.state.la.us BACKGROUND: Currently, parents can withdraw their 17- or 18-year-old children from school by providing written consent. Often, in situations where this occurs, the parent feels the student would get a better education in the workplace, an apprentice-type situation, or an alternative education opportunity. Under House Bill 1091, in order to withdraw a 17- or 18-year-old student from school, parents would have to: 1) provide written consent to the withdrawal, 2) participate in a exit interview with their child and sign a written acknowledgement that withdrawal from school would likely reduce the student's future earning potential, 3) obtain the written consent for the student's withdrawal from the chief administrator of the school. The withdrawal must be due to one or more of the following: (a) student is pregnant or actively parenting, (b) student is incarcerated or adjudicated, (c) student is institutionalized or in a residential facility, (d) student has chronic physical or mental illness, or (e) student has family or economic hardships. No other reason for withdrawal would be permitted. The purpose of House Bill 1091 is to address the dropout rate. However, just as raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate, neither with will an attempt to further restrict who may withdraw from school. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Twenty-nine 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. House Bill 1091 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 17- or 18-year-olds are ready for college or the workforce. (Some 17-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.) This bill has already passed the House so we need your action now to stop it. Please call now to urge the Senate Education Committee to defeat House Bill 1091. Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Who's knocking on your door? When a social service worker arrives at your door, tension can run high. Wouldn't it be nice to get your lawyer on the phone, providing you with immediate step-by-step guidance? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1099 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
