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| Date: From: Subject: | 12/8/2011 10:58:26 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Alabama--Compulsory Attendance Bills for 2012 |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Alabama --Compulsory Attendance Bills for 2012 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: I want to bring to your attention four bad bills that have been prefiled in the Alabama Legislature for the upcoming 2012 legislative session beginning February 7. All of these bills would lower the compulsory school attendance age in Alabama from 7 to 6. If any one of these bills passes, it would add another year of homeschooling for every child, regardless of the child's level of maturity or readiness to begin formal instruction at age 6. This is just another example of the state applying a one-size-fits-all approach to every child and disregarding the judgment of parents who are in the best position to ascertain the individual needs of their child. In the House of Representatives, the bills are House Bill 6 and House Bill 42, both sponsored by Representative John Merrill (R) of the 62nd District. On the Senate side, the bills are Senate Bill 28 and Senate Bill 71, both introduced by Senator Priscilla Dunn (D) of the 19th District. The only difference between the bills is that House Bill 42 and Senate Bill 71 would both make slight changes in the ages at which a child may attend a public kindergarten or elementary school if the parent so chooses. In 2009 the Alabama Legislature increased the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 17 for most students. Representative Merrill and Senator Dunn need to know that Alabama parents do not want any further expansion of state control over education. You can do that by contacting them now before the legislative session begins and before any of these bills gains too much momentum to be stopped. Action Requested: 1. Please contact Representative Merrill with this message or something similar in your own words: "Please withdraw House Bill 6 and House Bill 42, which would lower Alabama's compulsory school attendance age from 7 to 6. Parents, not state officials, are best able to determine when their child is ready for formal education." 2. Please contact Senator Dunn with this message or something similar in your own words: "Please withdraw Senate Bill 28 and Senate Bill 71, which would lower Alabama's compulsory school attendance age from 7 to 6. Parents, not state officials, are best able to determine when their child is ready for formal education." When contacting these legislators, it is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooler. This issue is broader than homeschooling. This is a parental rights issue affecting all Alabama families with children. The contact information for these legislators is as follows: Representative John Merrill email: john@tuscaloosagop.org Office address: Alabama House of Representatives Room 205-B 11 South Union Street Montgomery, AL 36130 Office telephone: 334-242-7554 Senator Priscilla Dunn email: none shown on state website Mailing address: Alabama State Senate Room 737 11 South Union Street Montgomery, AL 36130 Office telephone: 334-242-7793 Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA and urge them to contact these two legislators. Background: 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. These bills would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their children are ready for school. 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. To view the text of these bills, please go to House Bill 6: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13051 House Bill 42: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13052 Senate Bill 28: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13053 Senate Bill 71: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13055 For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum "Early Education Shows No Benefit" at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13054 Please call, email, or write these legislators today! Very truly yours, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Who's knocking on your door? When a social service worker arrives at your door, tension can run high. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
