| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/2/2009 5:01:51 PM Home School Legal Defense Association West Virginia--Call to Stop Sports Trojan Horse |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== West Virginia--Call to Stop Sports Trojan Horse Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Delegate Margaret Anne Staggers has filed a bill that offers the "perk" of allowing homeschoolers to play on public school sports teams, but could force families to stop homeschooling. Right now, families can use either a portfolio or test at year end. Either way, if the child falls short, homeschooling can continue. The family simply submits additional evidence showing they are giving the child appropriate instruction. Staggers' bill, H.B. 2749, makes two devastating changes. First, it abolishes the portfolio option, so all children would have to submit a standardized test. Second, it contains a provision automatically terminating homeschooling because of a low test score. Since 50th percentile is the lowest "passing" score, your child could be forced to stop homeschooling if his score fell in the bottom 50 percent of all students who took the test. It's a classic big-government strategy: asking people to give up freedom in exchange for goodies. Thanks, but no thanks. Christian Home Educators of West Virginia joins HSLDA in opposing this bill. ACTION REQUESTED Please call to oppose this bill. Your message can be as simple as, "Please oppose H.B. 2749. Sports access is not worth some families being forced to stop homeschooling." If your last name begins with A-F, call group 1. If it begins with G-L, call group 2. If it begins with M-R, call group 3. Others call group 4. Also, if you live in Del. Staggers district (Fayette County area), please call her and ask her to withdraw the bill. Your message can be as simple as "Please withdraw H.B. 2749. Sports access is not worth some families being forced to stop homeschooling." CONTACT INFORMATION Group 1 Delegate Paxton -Putnam, Mason Counties (304) 340-3337 Delegate Andes--Putnam, Mason Counties (304) 340-3121 Delegate Duke -Martinsburg (304) 340-3151 Delegate Sumner -Raleigh, Summers Counties (304) 340-3180 Delegate Moye--Raleigh, Summer Counties (304) 340-3162 Delegate Beach--Monongalia County (304) 340-3153 Group 2 Delegate Crosier--Monroe County (304) 340-3188 Delegate Ennis--Brooke County (304) 340-3126 Delegate Fragale--Harrison County (304) 340-3114 Delegate Lawrence--Jefferson County (304) 340-3152 Delegate Louisos--Fayette County (304) 340-3170 Delegate Perry--Fayette County (304) 340-3117 Group 3 Delegate Pethtel--Wetzel County (304) 340-3158 Delegate Rodighiero--Logan County (304) 340-3154 Delegate Shaver--Preston, Tucker Counties (304) 340-3146 Delegate Williams--Preston, Tucker Counties (304) 340-3160 Delegate Smith--Lewis County (304) 340-3123 Delegate Stowers--Lincoln County (304) 340-3384 Group 4 Delegate Walker--Clay County (304) 340-3135 Delegate Canterbury--Greenbrier County (304) 340-3131 Delegate Ireland--Ritchie County (304) 340-3195 Delegate Romine--Tyler County (304) 340-3226 Delegate Rowan--Hampshire County (304) 340-3157 Delegate Shott--Bluefield-Bramwell area (304) 340-3179 BACKGROUND HSLDA is neutral on the issue of access to public school sports. However, when a sports access bill threatens to hurt all homeschoolers--like this one--we encourage members to unify and oppose it. Some states have given homeschoolers access to sports in an appropriate manner without hurting all families. Even in those states, however, only a minority of homeschoolers put their children in public school sports. Before 2003, parents could not homeschool unless they had four years more education than their child. In 2003, however, the legislature passed a bill abolishing that rule and making several other changes. In the area of year-end assessments, the "passing" score for a standardized test was raised from the 40th percentile to the 50th percentile. This was unhelpful. However, HSLDA supported the bill because of two very helpful features. A score below the 50th percentile was adequate if the student's score showed improvement from the previous year's, adding some flexibility. And most importantly, the public school could not force parents to stop homeschooling. Instead, if a portfolio or test did not show adequate progress, the focus would shift from the child to the adequacy of the instruction. Parents were simply required (after a year of remediation) to submit information showing that they were providing adequate instruction. Both of these features showed sensitivity to the struggling learner, the child with special needs, and the child who does not test well. H.B. 2749 keeps all the unhelpful features of the 2003 bill while abolishing all the helpful testing features. It threatens all West Virginia families. Your calls will help prevent the bill from being placed on the agenda of the House Education Committee. Thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> What do you look like when you get out of bed? 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
