| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 4/6/2011 2:48:22 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida: Important-Possible Impact of SB 2156 |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Florida: Important-Possible Impact of SB 2156 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, There are some concerns with the governmental reorganization bill, Senate Bill 2156, that is on the Senate Special Order Calendar today. The bill currently does three things that are concerning and have the potential to impact parents and homeschoolers in Florida. As currently written it would: 1. Move the Office of Early Learning from the Agency for Workforce Innovation to the Department of Education, 2. Establish the Division of Early Learning within the Department of Education with a Deputy Commissioner, and 3. Move school readiness programs, such as voluntary pre-kindergarten and other child care programs, under the control of the Department of Education. The main concern with SB 2156 is that by moving the Office of Early Learning from Agency for Workforce and Innovation, the Department of Education would control a significant amount of the policy and state standards for child care and early educational programs for children from birth to school age. While the Office of Early Learning is already a governmental agency, the reorganization under the Department of Education could lead to additional regulations. Senate Bill 2156 would allow the Department of Education to have an influence over programs that are predominantly privately run. While Senate Bill 2156 would not directly affect homeschool freedom, some in Florida believe that this move could push voluntary kindergarten programs further along the path of becoming mandatory for all. POSSIBLE ACTION The following information is provided to assist you. You may call or email your own state senator and give him or her the following message in your own words: "Please do not move the Office of Early Learning to the Department of Education as proposed by Senate Bill 2156. I believe that privately run early education programs should remain as they are under the Agency for Workforce Innovation. I urge you to oppose any attempt to create a Division of Early Learning within the Department of Education." Please remember to be courteous as you contact your legislators and their staff, as they could be receiving many calls. You do not identify yourself as a homeschooler or identify yourself with any organization; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and constituent. To find the contact information for your state senator visit HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at: http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . BACKGROUND Senate Bill 2156 is over 700 pages long and is a governmental reorganization bill. The move to relocate the Office of Early Learning to the Department of Education is only a small part of the bill. If you would like to read the bill you can find it at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10830 . The section related to the Office of Early Learning begins on line 437. While the Department of Education wouldn't have the ability under Senate Bill 2156 to impose requirements on a child care or early childhood education providers that do not deliver service under the school readiness programs (or receive state or federal funds), they will be able to establish the standards and outcome measures for children from birth to 5 that could have some influence on privately run programs. If you are not already a member of HSLDA and would like to help support our mission to protect, defend and advocate on behalf of parental rights, please join now: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10610. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Very truly yours, Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Is customer service an art or a science? For us, good customer service is both an art and a science -it should appeal to our members and be effective. Consider what our members say about us: We're thankful for the support HSLDA membership provides us. We'd never homeschool without them. We highly recommend HSLDA to all homeschoolers. - North Tonawanda, NY I cannot imagine our homeschool journey without HSLDA's strong leadership, protection, and guidance. God bless HSLDA! - Alta Loma, California More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1940 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
