| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 3/23/2010 10:28:16 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Kentucky--Please Call Now on Bill that Raises Compulsory School Age! |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Kentucky--Please Call Now on Bill that Raises Compulsory School Age! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, House Bill 301 was introduced earlier this year in the Kentucky legislature to increase the graduation rate and to address the problem public schools have with students dropping out. This bill has gone through several changes, but it passed out of the House earlier this month. We need your calls in opposition of this bill, as it would raise the compulsory school attendance age in Kentucky from 16 to 17 in 2013, and then raise it again from 17 to 18 in 2014. While most of the changes in House Bill 301 would not impact homeschooling families, raising the compulsory school attendance age would require parents to report to their local school district two years longer than they are currently required to. This bill will also impact you as a taxpayer, since more funding will be required to keep those students in school who don't want to be there. House Bill 301 is currently in the Senate Education Committee, and they plan on discussing the bill at their meeting today. Please contact as many committee members as you can, and urge them to oppose House Bill 301. You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler but as a concerned parent and taxpayer. REQUESTED ACTION: 1) Please call and/or email the Senate Education Committee members listed below and give them this message in your own words: "Please oppose raising the compulsory attendance age in House Bill 301. Raising the compulsory attendance age takes away the right of parents to decide whether their children are ready for college or the workforce. If House Bill 301 is passed and the compulsory attendance age is raised, this would force students into the school system who don't want to be there and will do little to improve the local dropout rate. This bill will cost too much with little or no results, wasting taxpayers' money." You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler but instead can call as a concerned taxpayer and parent. Use the link below each member's name to send an email to their office. Senate Education Committee Sen. Ken Winters [Chair] Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 870 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S001.htm Sen. Vernie McGaha [Vice Chair] Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 656 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S015.htm Sen. Walter Blevins Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 793 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S027.htm Sen. David Givens Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 624 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S009.htm Sen. Jimmy Higdon Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 623 Email: Jimmy.Higdon@lrc.ky.gov Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 625 Email: Alice.Kerr@lrc.ky.gov Sen. Gerald A. Neal Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 718 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S033.htm Sen. R.J. Palmer Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 714 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S028.htm Sen. Tim Shaughnessy Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 621 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S019.htm Sen. Elizabeth Tori Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 645 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S010.htm Sen. Johnny Ray Turner Phone: (502) 564-6136 Email: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Mailform/S029.htm Sen. Jack Westwood Phone: (502) 564-8100 Ext. 615 Email: Jack.Westwood@lrc.ky.gov You can also call the Toll-Free Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 to leave a message for your state senator. BACKGROUND: Raising the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 would subject Kentucky home educators to the demands of the homeschool law two years longer than now required. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.) Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Twenty-nine states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. (Some 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 more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7918 . House Bill 301 has already passed the House. If passed, the bill would raise the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 17 on July 1, 2013 and then from 17 to 18 on 2014. If you would like to be put on our email list to receive vital e-lerts you may sign up at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7919 . Thank you for your calls on behalf of continued freedom in Kentucky. Sincerely, Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How long are you in for? Some families are facing what seems like a lifelong commitment to homeschooling, with children at both ends of the spectrum -- some graduating and some just reaching school age. If you're going to be "in" for a while, consider a lifetime membership with HSLDA. It's a good deal for families with more than 10 years of homeschooling ahead. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1936 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. 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. ====================================================================== | |
