Date: From: Subject:

3/20/2009 9:31:19 AM Home School Legal Defense Association North Dakota--Action Needed on Homeschool Freedom Bill!

====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 20, 2009 North Dakota--Action Needed on Homeschool Freedom Bill! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: House Bill 1171, legislation that would remove homeschool monitors and parental qualifications, is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education Committee this coming Wednesday, March 25, at 9:15 a.m. at the Capitol. That's where your help is needed right now. Senators on the Committee need to know that you support this bill and want them to vote for it. Also, your presence at the hearing will send an even stronger signal of your support for this much-needed legislation. This bill passed the House on February 18, 2009, so favorable action by the Senate is all that is needed to get this bill to the governor's desk. But members of the Senate Education Committee must know how important this bill is to homeschoolers. Don't wait; contact these senators today! ACTION REQUESTED: (1) Please call and/or e-mail as many members of the Senate Education Committee as possible and urge them to vote in favor of House Bill 1171 with this message: "Please vote for House Bill 1171 which would modernize North Dakota's homeschool law to bring it in line with the majority of states. Homeschooling parents have earned the right to less state oversight of their instructional programs." (2) Please attend the Senate Education Committee hearing at the State Capitol in Bismarck this coming Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. (3) Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact members of the Committee with this same message and to attend the hearing. The members of the Senate Education Committee are as follows: Sen. Layton Freborg, Chairman (701) 442-5712 lfreborg@nd.gov Sen. Gary Lee, Vice-Chairman (701) 282-3197 galee@nd.gov Sen. JoNell Bakke (701) 775-6031 jbakke@nd.gov Sen. Tim Flakoll (701) 367-5954 tflakoll@nd.gov Senator Ryan M. Taylor (701) 537-5660 rtaylor@nd.gov To view the text of House Bill 1171, please visit http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/61-2009/bill-text/JASA0200.pdf BACKGROUND: Forty-one states do not require homeschooling parents to possess a high school diploma or GED. Only nine states require parents to have a high school diploma or GED before they can teach their children at home. Studies conducted on homeschooling have concluded that there is little statistical difference between the academic performance of children whose parents have not finished high school and those who have a college education. Most significant, homeschool students whose parents are high school dropouts have average test scores higher than those of public school students. According to a study conducted by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, the degree of governmental regulation had no significant effect on the academic performance of homeschoolers. Whether a state imposed a high degree of regulation, low regulation, or no regulation, homeschool student test score averages were nearly identical. Such regulations may be legitimately questioned since there is no apparent benefit to student learning. Let your voice be heard today! Sincerely, Dewitt T. Black, III Senior Counsel HSLDA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many acorns can a chipmunk hold in its cheeks? We don't know! But we do know that gathering little by little enables ordinary folks to prepare for hard times. That principle is behind HSLDA's payment plan: by paying a month at a time, families can receive an annual HSLDA membership. Meanwhile, they can feel secure as they homeschool and focus on other priorities -- their children. Don't go nuts trying to pay for membership all at once. Choose one of our convenient payment plans. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1937 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ======================================================================