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| Date: From: Subject: | 6/20/2011 3:29:40 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maine: Call By Thursday to Stop Compulsory School Age Expansion |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Maine: Call By Thursday to Stop Compulsory School Age Expansion Dear Maine HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed immediately to stop a bill that would lower the starting age for compulsory school attendance in Maine from 7 to 6 and raise the ending age from the 17th to 18th birthday. LD 1503 would take away your freedom to decide whether school or some other path is best for your 17-year-old to follow. It would take away your freedom to decide if your 6-year-old is ready for mandatory education. And it would result in higher taxes as unprepared 6-year-olds and unwilling older students are forced to stay in schools. The bill also takes away the exception that currently allows a student who has graduated from high school to be exempted from compulsory attendance. The bill is currently before the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs, which can kill it by giving it no funding. REQUESTED ACTION 1. Call members of the committee according to the first letter of your last name (see list below). Ask them to give no funding to the bill. 2. Your message can be as simple as: "Please give no funding to LD 1503. Parents, not state officials, know whether their young adult should pursue formal education or some other preparation for life responsibilities. The extra cost of forcing unwilling young adults into a formal school setting should not be added to our tax burden. Parents know best whether a 6-year-old is ready for school." 3. If your senator or representative is on the committee, call him or her as well. Use our Legislative Toolbox to determine who your senators and representatives are. http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=11565 This bill would undermine the freedom of all parents. It is not necessary for you to identify yourself as a homeschooler. Contact Information--Committee Members If your last name begins with A through E, call these members: Senator Richard W. Rosen (R-Hancock), Chair Home Telephone: (207) 469-3779 rrosen113@aol.com Senator Roger J. Katz (R-Kennebec) Home Telephone: (207) 485-2394 RKatz@lipmankatzmckee.com Senator Dawn Hill (D-York) Home Telephone: (207) 337-3689 SenDawn.Hill@Legislature.Maine.Gov If your last name begins with F through J, call: Representative Patrick S. A. Flood (R-Winthrop), Chair Home Telephone: (207) 395-4915 RepPatrick.Flood@legislature.maine.gov Representative Tom J. Winsor (R-Norway) Home Telephone: (207) 527-2233 RepTom.Winsor@legislature.maine.gov Representative Kathleen D. Chase (R-Wells) Home Telephone: (207) 646-2118 Cell Phone: (207) 468-9747 RepKathleen.Chase@legislature.maine.gov If your last name begins with K through O, call: Representative Tyler Clark (R-Easton) Home Telephone: (207) 488-2633 Cell Phone: (207) 227-6971 RepTyler.Clark@legislature.maine.gov Representative Kenneth Wade Fredette (R-Newport) Home Telephone: (207) 368-4242 fredlaw@myfairpoint.net Representative Dennis L. Keschl (R-Belgrade) Home Telephone: (207) 495-2973 Cell Phone: (207) 441-3701 RepDennis.Keschl@legislature.maine.gov If your last name begins with P through S, call: Representative Margaret R. Rotundo (D-Lewiston) Home Telephone: (207) 784-3259 mrotundo@bates.edu Representative John L. Martin (D-Eagle Lake) Home Telephone: (207) 444-5556 RepJohn.Martin@legislature.maine.gov If your last name begins with T through Z, call: Representative David C. Webster (D-Freeport) Home Telephone: (207) 865-4311 RepDavid.Webster@legislature.maine.gov Representative Sara R. Stevens (D-Bangor) Home Telephone: (207) 942-8900 RepSara.Stevens@legislature.maine.gov Background Not all 17-year-olds belong in a formal school setting. Some would be better off in a work training program, apprenticeship, obtaining valuable work experience, etc. This decision belongs to parents, not state officials. Pushing unwilling older students into the classroom will disrupt the other students who truly want to learn. Since many older students have the size and strength of adults, classrooms could become even more violent. Raising the compulsory age does not help young people. Some of the states with the highest graduation rates have the lowest compulsory attendance cut-off age. Most states have a compulsory attendance cut-off age of 16 or less. Taxes would inevitably rise to pay for more classroom space and teachers. When California raised the upper age limit of compulsory attendance, taxpayers were forced to pay for the building of new schools just to handle the older, unwilling students and their behavior problems. For more information on compulsory attendance, and why many 6-year-olds are better off waiting a year before school, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=11566 . Thank you for your calls on behalf of freedom in Maine! Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you call your attorney at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning? Our members can get in touch with their attorney even after business hours, when they have a legal emergency. Wouldn't you like this level of service? 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
