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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/7/2011 2:31:50 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Iowa--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory School Attendance Expansion |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Iowa--Calls Needed to Oppose Compulsory School Attendance Expansion Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed immediately to stop a bill that would subject families to two more years of government regulation of their education. House File 116 would extend the age at which compulsory school attendance stops from 16 to 18. Parents alone know whether it's best for their 16-year-olds to stay in a formal education setting or follow some other path. The government cannot know the needs of individual students. One size does not fit all when it comes to school attendance. Please call before Wednesday, February 9, when a hearing is scheduled in a House Education subcommittee. ACTION REQUESTED: Please call and email members of the committee to express your opposition. 1. Contact your own representative, if he or she is on the committee (see list below). Use our Legislative Toolbox to see who your representative is at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox 2. Whether or not your representative is on the committee, call the other committee members. You can use the background information below to develop your own thoughts, or your message can be as simple as: "Please oppose House File 116. This multimillion dollar proposal will force unwilling, unmotivated older teens to remain in classrooms where they will cause disruption. Protect the right of parents to decide what educational or vocational paths their 16-year-olds should follow." It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since this bill undermines the rights of all parents. 3. Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA, and urge them to contact members of the committee. CONTACT INFORMATION Representative Ron Jorgensen (515) 281-3221 (House switchboard) Ron.Jorgensen@legis.state.ia.us Representative Curtis Hanson (515) 281-3221 (House switchboard) Curt.Hanson@legis.state.ia.us Representative Kevin Koester (515) 281-3221 (House switchboard) kevin.koester@legis.state.ia.us BACKGROUND > Raising the compulsory school attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. Some states with the lowest completion rates compel attendance to age 18. > More than 20 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. > Mandating attendance until age 18 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the work force. 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 school. >The bill gives public schools and accredited private schools--but not homeschool families--the power to waive compulsory attendance for 16- and 17-year-olds. For more information on compulsory school attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3623 The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators and HSLDA are united in opposing this bill. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely Yours, Scott Woodruff 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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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. ====================================================================== | |
