| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 5/30/2008 3:49:47 PM Home School Legal Defense Association D.C.--Calls Needed to Stop Unnecessary Regulation of Homeschoolers |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== May 30, 2008 District of Columbia--Calls Needed to Stop Unnecessary Regulation of Homeschoolers Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Calls are needed immediately to stop what would be one of the most onerous changes to homeschool regulations anywhere. The District of Columbia is poised to enact restrictive homeschool regulations. One particularly onerous provision in Section 5208 gives the Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) the discretion to terminate a homeschool program. The section then requires that parents re-enroll their children in a public or private school at the discretion of the OSSE. This approach fails to duly respect a parent's fundamental right to educate their children and gives the government too much authority and discretion. Even if you do not live in the District of Columbia, we are asking you to call because the federal government has jurisdiction over the city and HSLDA has exhausted all our behind-the-scenes efforts to seek reasonable accommodations for homeschoolers in D.C. If we do not act collectively as a homeschool community, these regulations will go into effect and severely restrict homeschool freedom for District homeschoolers and potentially set a damaging precedent. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call the people listed below and express your opposition in your own words. Be concise and courteous. Here is an example: "If enacted, the proposed D.C. homeschooling regulations would be among the most onerous in the country. They give too much discretion and authority to education officials to determine whether a family may homeschool. We support the D.C. homeschoolers' request that the OSSE and other education officials continue to work to improve the regulations, in ways such as removing the high school diploma requirement, increasing assessment options (if indeed any are needed), and providing for real due process in the event of a dispute between homeschoolers and education officials." The regulations should not be passed in their current form. Please ask the OSSE to go back and work with homeschoolers to improve them. For an analysis of the proposed DC regulations, see http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5185 Office of the Mayor Mayor Adrian M. Fenty Phone: (202) 727-2980 Email webpage: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5186 Victor Reinoso, Deputy Mayor for Education Phone: (202) 727-3636 Email: victor.reinoso@dc.gov Office of the State Superintendent Deborah A. Gist, State Superintendent of Education Phone: (202) 727-6436 Email: Deborah.gist@dc.gov Fonda Sutton, Director of Policy, Research and Analysis Office of the State Superintendent of Education Phone: (202) 727-9882 Email: fonda.sutton@dc.gov DC State Board of Education: (202) 442-4289 Robert Bobb Elected Board Member Term Expires December 2008 Email: Robert.Bobb@dc.gov William Lockridge, Elected Board Member District 4 Member (Wards 7 & 8) Term Expires December 2008 Email: William.Lockridge@dc.gov Lisa Raymond, Elected Board Member District 3 Member (Wards 5 & 6) Term Expires December 2008 Email: Lisa.Raymond@dc.gov Laura Slover, Appointed Board Member Email: Laura.Slover@dc.gov Ted Trabue, Appointed Board Member Term Expires December 2008 Email: Ted.Trabue@dc.gov Sekou Biddle, Elected Board Member District 2, Wards 3 & 4 Email: Sekou.biddle@dc.gov Mary Lord, Elected Board Member District 1 (Wards 1 & 2) Email: Mary.lord@dc.gov BACKGROUND: 1. Responding to the Banita Jacks case, the District of Columbia embarked on a crackdown of homeschoolers. D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty publicly promised to regulate homeschooling. See http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=5187 . 2. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has authority to propose regulations and did work with HSLDA and other D.C. homeschoolers. They agreed to include certain language and provisions. However, the published regulations fail to deliver on assurances and promises that were given to D.C. homeschoolers. 3. Numerous homeschool families have testified before the State Board of Education (SBOE) and received high praise from Board members. The State Board has authority to approve the proposed regulations. In its hearing, the State Board was interested and seemed receptive to finding a solution that dealt fairly with homeschoolers. We want them to direct the OSSE to go back and work with homeschoolers to improve the regulations further. 4. Current D.C. regulations call for parents to simply notify the District that they are homeschooling. We support this approach as an excellent way to solve the current impasse. Thank you for standing with us for homeschooling freedom! Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. 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. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. 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. ====================================================================== | |
