| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/18/2010 4:29:12 PM Home School Legal Defense Association West Virginia--Please Call to Defend Freedom! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== West Virginia--Please Call to Defend Freedom! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your action is needed, once again, to defeat attempts to increase the age of compulsory school attendance in West Virginia. We have been informing you of the status of Senate Bill 343, which would increase the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17. SB 343 has been referred to the Finance Committee. The House Education Committee will discuss the issue of compulsory attendance tomorrow, February 19. Those in favor of raising the compulsory school attendance age feel that it will increase graduation rates and reduce the number of dropouts. However, statistics and studies show that raising the compulsory school attendance age does not accomplish this result. In fact, several states with the lowest compulsory school attendance ages have the highest graduation rates. Please take action as requested below to prevent unnecessary 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=7705) ACTION REQUESTED Please call members of the House Education Committee as soon as possible and ask them to oppose increasing the compulsory school attendance age to 17. Because this legislation would affect all students, you should not identify yourself as a homeschooler. Use the following message in your own words: "Please oppose all legislation that would increase the age of compulsory school attendance. 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 their children are ready to leave school--not the government. Many children are ready to leave school at 16 and are able to get a GED or start college early. Increasing the compulsory attendance age interferes with parents' ability to decide what best meets the needs of their children. Furthermore, I'm concerned this 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 taxpayer I oppose increasing the age of compulsory attendance." Members of the House Education Committee are listed below. Please be sure to call your delegate if listed. Otherwise, please contact the delegates as instructed: If your last name begins with A-H call the following delegates; Delegate Mary Poling, Chair (304) 340-3265 marypoli@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Brady Paxton, Vice-Chair (304) 340-3337 bpaxton@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Walter Duke (304) 340-3151 wduke@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Linda Sumner (304) 340-3180 lsumner@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Robert Beach (304) 340-3153 bob.beach@wvhouse.gov Delegate Gerald Crosier (304) 340-3188 gcrosier@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Timothy Ennis (304) 340-3126 tennis@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Ron Fragale (304) 340-3114 rfragale@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Tiffany Lawrence (304) 340-3152 lawrencefordelegate@hotmail.com If your last name begins with I-Q call the following delegates. Delegate Tom Louisos (304) 340-3170 tlouisos@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Ricky Moye (304) 340-3162 rickymoye@wvhouse.gov Delegate David Perry (304) 340-3117 d.perry@wvhouse.gov Delegate Dave Pethtel (304) 340-3158 dpethtel@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Ralph Rodighiero (304) 340-3154 rrodigh@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Stan Shaver (304) 340-3146 sshaver@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Margaret Smith (304) 340-3123 peggydonaldsonsmith@wvhouse.gov Delegate Josh Stowers (304) 340-3384 jstowers@mail.wvnet.edu If your last name begins with R-Z call the following delegates Delegate David Walker (304) 340-3135 dwalker@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Larry Williams (304) 340-3160 lwillia1@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Troy Andes (304) 340-3121 troy.andes@wvhouse.gov Delegate Ray Canterbury (304) 340-3131 rcanter1@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate Lynwood Ireland (304) 340-3195 lireland@mail.wvnet.edu Delegate William Romine (304) 340-3226 roger.romine@wvhouse.gov Delegate Ruth Rowan (304) 340-3157 ruth.rowan@wvhouse.gov Delegate John Shott (304) 340-3179 jhshott@mail.wvnet.edu BACKROUND 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=7706 HSLDA is working closely with CHEWV to oppose this legislation. We are standing with you to defend your freedom! Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> 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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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. ====================================================================== | |
