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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/5/2010 10:50:01 AM Home School Legal Defense Association West Virginia--Please Keep Calling to Defeat Increased Government Regulation! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== West Virginia--Please Keep Calling to Defeat Increased Government Regulation! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Thank you for your effort to defend freedom in West Virginia. Because of your calls, the Senate Education Committee decided to delay a vote on Senate Bill 343 until next Tuesday, February 9. If passed, this bill would increase the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17. We have heard reports that there are a high number of calls in opposition to SB 343. One staff member reported that people are giving reasons why they oppose the bill instead of just saying they are against it. Your calls are making a difference. Many senators agree that increasing the compulsory school attendance age does not bring positive results. However, calls are still needed to defeat this burdensome piece of legislation. ACTION REQUESTED Please call members of the Senate Education Committee before Tuesday, February 9, and ask them to vote against SB 343 and oppose increasing the compulsory school attendance age. Because this legislation would affect all students, you should not identify yourself as a homeschooler. Use the following message in your own words: "Please vote against Senate Bill 343. Increasing the compulsory attendance age will neither increase graduation rates nor decrease dropout rates. It will, however, raise taxes and unnecessarily subject families to government control for an additional year. Parents should be the ones making decisions about when children should leave school not the government. Many children are ready to leave school at 16 and are able to do just fine by getting a GED or starting college early. This bill would interfere with parents' ability to make the decision that is best for each child based on their individual circumstances. Furthermore, I'm concerned that this bill will increase taxes and turn classrooms into jail cells, further eroding the quality of education provided in West Virginia's public schools. As a West Virginia tax payer I oppose this bill. Please vote no on SB 343." Members of the Senate Education Committee are listed below. If your name begins with A-K call the last seven senators (8-14), and if your name begins with L-Z call the first seven Senators (1-7). Please be sure to call your senator also if listed below. Senator Robert Plymale - Chair 304-357-7937 robert.plymale@wvsenate.gov Senator Erik Wells - Vice-Chair 304-357-7841 erik.wells@wvsenate.gov Senator Richard Browning 304-357-7807 richardbrowning@verizon.net Senator Larry Edgell 304-357-7827 larry.edgell@wvsenate.gov Senator Dan Foster 304-357-7866 daniel.foster@camc.org Senator Mike Green 304-357-7831 mike.green@wvsenate.gov Senator William Laird 304-357-7849 william.laird@wvsenate.gov Senator Michael Oliverio II 304-357-7919 michael.oliverio@wvsenate.gov Senator Ron Stollings 304-357-7939 ron.stollings@verizon.net Senator John Unger II 304-357-7933 john.unger@wvsenate.gov Senator Randy White 304-357-7906 randy.white@wvsenate.gov Senator Clark Barnes 304-357-7973 clark.barnes@wvsenate.gov Senator Donna Boley 304-357-7905 donnaboley@suddenlink.net Senator Jesse Guills 304-357-7959 jesse.guills@wvsenate.gov BACKROUND Those in favor of raising the compulsory school attendance age feel that it will help graduation rates and reduce the number of dropouts. However, statistics and studies show that raising the compulsory school attendance age does not accomplish this. In fact, several states with the lowest compulsory school attendance ages have the highest graduation rates. This bill unnecessarily imposes government regulation on the authority of parents to make decisions about what is in the best interest of their children. To learn more you can read the following article "Raise the Bar, Not the Age" (http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7639) Additional reasons to oppose increasing the compulsory school attendance age: Children who are compelled to stay in school against their will cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. This bill restricts parents' ability to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. Many 16-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 raised the upper age limit 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. For additional information, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7640 HSLDA continues to work closely with CHEWV to oppose this legislation. We are standing with you to defend your freedom! Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. 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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If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
