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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/30/2009 1:39:34 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Michigan--Calls Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== January 30, 2009 Michigan--Calls Needed to Stop Expansion of State Control Over Homeschoolers Dear Michigan Members and Friends: Here we go again! We need your calls once again to stop the expansion of the state's control over homeschoolers and all other children. We have helped defeat similar bills in the past--we can do it again. If House Bill 4030 is enacted into law, the government would have control over children for an additional two years. This bill would raise the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 years to 18 years. House Bill 4030 was introduced on January 22, 2009, by Representative Douglas Geiss and on the same day was referred to the Education Committee. Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has declared that she is in favor of raising the dropout age. REQUESTED ACTION Please call or email the members of the House Education Committee and in your own words, give them this message: "Please vote against H.B. 4030, which raises the age of compulsory school attendance. It only serves as a waste of taxpayers' money--in a time of economic crisis, it would also force unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom and take away the right of parents to decide whether their 16-year-old is ready for valuable work experience or college." You do not need to mention that you homeschool. If your last name begins with A - E, please call (or email) the representatives numbered 1 - 5; if it begins with F - J, call 6 - 10; if K - O, call 11 - 15; if P - S, 16 - 20; if T - Z, 21-23. House Education Committee: 1. Tim Melton (D-Pontiac), Chair 517-373-0475 timmelton@house.mi.gov 2. Lisa Brown (D-Bloomfield Hills), Vice Chair 517-373-1799 LisaBrown@house.mi.gov 3. Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe) 517-373-0154 TimBledsoe@house.mi.gov 4. Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) 517-373-0587 barbbyrum@house.mi.gov 5. Marc Corriveau (D-Northville) 517-373-3816 marccorriveau@house.mi.gov 6. Doug Geiss (D-Taylor), Bill Sponsor 517-373-0852 DouglasGeiss@house.mi.gov 7. Jennifer Haase (D-Richmond) 517-373-8931 JenniferHaase@house.mi.gov 8. Deb Kennedy (D-Brownstown) 517-373-0855 DebKennedy@house.mi.gov 9. Steve Lindberg (D-Marquette) 517-373-0498 stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov 10. David Nathan (D-Detroit) 517-373-3815 DavidNathan@house.mi.gov 11. Gino Polidori (D-Dearborn) 517-373-0847 ginopolidori@house.mi.gov 12. Sarah Roberts (D-St. Clair Shores) 517-373-0113 SarahRoberts@house.mi.gov 13. Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch) 517-373-3817 joelsheltrown@house.mi.gov 14. Mary Valentine (D-Norton Shores) 517-373-3436 maryvalentine@house.mi.gov 15. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township), Minority Vice Chair 517-373-1790 phillippavlov@house.mi.gov 16. Justin Amash (R-Kentwood) 517-373-0840 JustinAmash@house.mi.gov 17. Richard Ball (R-Laingsburg) 517-373-0841 richardball@house.mi.gov 18. Larry DeShazor (R-Portage) 517-373-1774 LarryDeShazor@house.mi.gov 19. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) 517-373-1773 TomMcMillin@house.mi.gov 20. Tom Pearce (R-Rockford) 517-373-0218 tompearce@house.mi.gov 21. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc) 517-373-1780 PaulScott@house.mi.gov 22. Sharon Tyler (R-Niles) 517-373-1796 SharonTyler@house.mi.gov 23. John Walsh (R-Livonia) 517-373-3920 JohnWalsh@house.mi.gov REASONS FOR OPPOSING HIGHER COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AGE: Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates (Maryland, 94.5%, and North Dakota, 94.7%) compel attendance only to age 16, but the state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon, 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (These figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Most states (28) only require attendance to age 16. Older children who do not want to learn cause classroom discipline problems, disruptions, and violence, making learning harder for those who truly want to learn. Unwilling students who are forced back into the classroom are unlikely to benefit from one year of additional schooling. It would require homeschool families to submit to two more years of governmental red tape, and be exposed to two more years of the threat of legal action or subpoena in the event of an accusation of a violation. It would take away the parental freedom to decide if a 16- or 17-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. Some 16-year-olds and 17-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 schools. When California increased the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. Three years after implementing policy that increased the compulsory attendance age to 18, Texas reported only a .3% reduction in the dropout rate and a .1% increase in the completion rate. Four years after implementing a similar policy, Kansas reported a .89% reduction in the dropout rate, but no change was reported in the completion rate. Both policies failed to meet even a 2% improvement in dropout and completion rates. Therefore, neither can be considered effective--especially considering the huge cost to taxpayers of over $7,000 average per student. Thank you for taking the time to make a difference! Yours for freedom, Chris Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Is customer service an art or a science? For us, good customer service is both an art and a science -it should appeal to our members and be effective. Consider what our members say about us: The freedom HSLDA allows me to have as I homeschool is wonderful! They handle the law and I get to dedicate the time to my daughter. - National City, CA HSLDA members since 1993, our membership is just as important to us as our children's curriculum. Thank you HSLDA for all you do on our behalf! - West Valley, NY More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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