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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/21/2009 4:48:54 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Missouri: Update--Army of Homeschoolers Thwarts Power Grab |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Missouri: Update--Army of Homeschoolers Thwarts Power Grab Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: When a last-minute legislative maneuver threatened to give the state power to decide when a homeschooler can graduate and how he must earn a high school credit, thousands of homeschoolers dropped everything and rushed to Jefferson City. Senate Bill 291 began innocently enough as a new dose of public education reforms. But as lawmakers hurried to pass bills before the legislature closed on May 15, a provision was quietly inserted into S.B. 291 changing the end date for compulsory education from a child's 16th birthday to the date he had completed 16 high school credits toward graduation. This would have given the state power to define "graduation" and "credit" for homeschoolers, possibly with devastating consequences. Alert Families for Home Education's (FHE) regional director learned of the change and put the spotlight on it. FHE and HSLDA worked quickly and on the evening of May 13 asked homeschoolers to rally to protest this attempted power grab. On incredibly short notice, more than 2,500 homeschoolers set everything else aside and gathered at the steps of the Capitol in Jefferson City at 1 p.m. on May 14. Lawmakers and reporters were astonished that homeschoolers could organize such a large group less than 24 hours after the word went out! With this crowd on his doorstep, the lawmaker who had inserted the provision in S.B. 291 publicly apologized to the assembled families. He agreed to either fix the problem or withdraw the bill. In negotiations with FHE's lobbyist, Kerry Messer, he agreed to include a special definition of a "credit" for homeschoolers: 100 hours of instruction or more in a course. With this definition in place, state officials are blocked from imposing their own. As finally passed, the bill also exempted any student reaching age 17. The new law will go into effect August 28, assuming the governor signs it. HSLDA is reviewing the final language carefully to see if any additional changes should be sought next year. We will send out a bulletin soon with practical guidance about applying the new law. Thank you for your willingness to sacrifice to come to Jefferson City. A new generation will have stories to tell about what you did to protect freedom, and how God used one ordinary person to sound an alarm just in the nick of time. Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Extreme makeovers are for extreme circumstances... Most homeschools don't need an extreme makeover, but there is something to be said for attention to detail and recognition of accomplishments. Watch the media and you'll soon see that not everyone wants home educators and homeschooling to look good. HSLDA works hard to shed light on the good work of home educators so it's obvious that we don't need someone "making-over" our homeschools. Join HSLDA and help us show the world that we're fine as we are . . . thank you! More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1943 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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