Date: From: Subject:

4/30/2009 2:24:28 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Tennessee--Calls Needed to Pass Diploma Bill

====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== April 30, 2009 Tennessee--Calls Needed to Pass Diploma Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: We need your help to stop discrimination against homeschool and church-related school graduates in Tennessee. House Bill 431 and Senate Bill 433, companion bills, would require the state to recognize high school diplomas awarded by any legal form of education in Tennessee. These bills are scheduled to be voted on next week in their respective chambers. Senate Bill 433 is on the calendar for Monday, and House Bill 431 is scheduled for a vote on Thursday. In order to be most effective and efficient in this lobbying effort, please contact only your own state senator about Senate Bill 433 and only your own state representative about House Bill 431. We want legislators to know that their own constituents are behind these bills. Please contact your state senator and state representative today! Action Requested: 1. Please call and/or email your state senator and state representative with this message in your own words: "Please vote for Senate Bill 433/House Bill 431 to eliminate discrimination against homeschool and church-related school graduates. High school diplomas awarded by any legal form of education in Tennessee should be recognized by the state." To get the name and contact information for your state senator, please go to http://www.capitol.tn.gov/senate/members/ To get the name and contact information for your state representative, please go to http://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/members/ 2. Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact their state senator and state representative with the same message. Background: College admission and both public and private employment are often conditioned upon the applicant's having a state-recognized high school diploma. In recent years in Tennessee, graduates of homeschools and church-related schools have been denied these opportunities because their diploma was not approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. S.B. 433 and H.B. 431 would eliminate this discrimination by requiring the state to recognize high school diplomas awarded by any legal form of education in Tennessee. To view the text of House Bill 431, please go to http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/HB0431.pdf To view the text of Senate Bill 433, please go to http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/106/Bill/SB0433.pdf Please call or email today! Sincerely, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you look at the clouds and tell the direction of the wind? An interesting phenomenon of wind is that it can blow in multiple directions at the same time, at different heights from the ground. But usually there is a prevailing wind. HSLDA watches the gusts and monitors the prevailing trends of change in the legal climate of home education. So no matter which way the wind is blowing, we're there to protect your family. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1938 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ======================================================================