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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/14/2011 11:47:06 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Hawaii: Urgent--Calls Needed to Stop Two Mandatory Kindergarten Bills! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Hawaii: Urgent--Calls Needed to Stop Two Mandatory Kindergarten Bills! Dear Hawaii Members and Friends; The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hear two mandatory kindergarten bills that need to be stopped. Senate Bill 86 and Senate Bill 1384 are scheduled to be heard in committee today at 1:15 p.m. in Conference Room 225. We need your calls and emails to the members of the Senate Education Committee to let them know that you are opposed to mandatory kindergarten! Both bills would lower the compulsory attendance age in Hawaii from 6 to 5 if passed. Senate Bill 86 would require a child who turns 5 years old by August 1 to attend kindergarten beginning in the 2013-2014 school year. Senate Bill 1384 would require any child who turns 5 by December 31 to attend kindergarten beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. Senate Bill 1384 would also require any child who was enrolled in an alternative educational program or in a homeschool program to successfully pass a standardized admission test before they would be allowed to enter grade one in a public school. Please call now and let the Senate Education Committee that you are opposed to these bills! ACTION 1) Please call and email the Senate Education Committee Members listed below and give them this message in your own words: "Please oppose Senate Bill 86 and Senate Bill 1384. Lowering the compulsory attendance age will prevent parents from determining when their child is ready for school. Research has also shown that by the 3rd grade there is no academic advantage for mandatory kindergarten programs. Please vote against both bills." You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. Instead you can indicate that you are a concerned parent and taxpayer. Senate Education Committee Members Sen. Jill N. Tokuda, Chairman Senatorial District 24 Phone: 808-587-7215 Email: sentokuda@Capitol.hawaii.gov Sen. Michelle Kidani, Vice Chairman Senatorial District 17 Phone: 808-586-7100 Email: senkidani@capitol.hawaii.gov Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland Senatorial District 13 Phone: 808-586-6130 Email: senchunoakland@Capitol.hawaii.gov Sen. Clarence K. Nishihara Senatorial District 18 Phone: 808-586-6970 Email: sennishihara@Capitol.hawaii.gov Sen. Brian T. Taniguchi Senatorial District 10 Phone: 808-586-6460 Email: sentaniguchi@Capitol.hawaii.gov Sen. Sam Slom Senatorial District 8 Phone: 808-586-8420 Email: senslom@Capitol.hawaii.gov BACKGROUND Lowering the compulsory attendance age from 6 to 5 would subject Hawaii home educators to the requirements of the homeschool statute one year earlier than now required. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.) If Hawaii were to lower the compulsory attendance age, it would join only eight other states that have their compulsory attendance age that low. Twenty-four states, including Hawaii, have their compulsory attendance age at 6. Sixteen states have it at 7 and two states wait until 8. According to the 2005 NAEP test scores of children from states that have low compulsory attendance ages (5-6) did not score any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects their average was actually lower. Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child's formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later. Lowering the compulsory attendance age erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child's formal education should begin. A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on reading, math, or language arts test scores by fifth grade. The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten programs have statistically significant higher 3rd-grade test scores, but there is no impact on 5th-grade scores. This finding is consistent with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers short-term benefits at best. 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. For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10302 Thank you for your action to help stop these bills! Sincerely, Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "We've been a Liberty Mutual customer for over 12 years. We called and asked about our HSLDA member discount and they lowered our premium by approx $95 per year...coincidentally the same amount as our HSLDA annual membership fee. Thought you'd want to know!!'" More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1107 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
