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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/25/2012 5:14:54 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Vermont: Freedom Update--Possible Threat Looming |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Vermont: Freedom Update--Possible Threat Looming January 25, 2012 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, The Vermont Senate Education Committee will be hearing testimony on Senate Bill 233 this Thursday, January 26, 2012. Retta Dunlap of the Vermont Home Education Network (VHEN) will be in testifying in opposition to the bill. While we are not requesting any action at this time, we plan to keep you informed on the status of this legislation. As a reminder, Senate Bill 233 would increase the maximum age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18. This bill would subject homeschool families to the current requirements of notifying the Department of Education for two more years. Although many families continue to homeschool students after age 16, it is parents, not the government, who should determine when children are ready to complete their formal secondary education and focus on work or college. This is an important freedom we must preserve. Please be prepared to take action on this bill in the coming weeks if necessary. BACKGROUND: 1. According to an October 2011 study released by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In the 2008-2009 school year, the most recent date for which statistics are available, five of the top six states with the highest high school completion rates - Vermont (89.6%), Minnesota (87.4%), North Dakota (87.4%), Iowa (85.7%), and New Jersey (85.3%) - compel attendance only to age 16. Conversely, the state with the lowest completion rate - Nevada, at 56.3% - compels attendance to age 18. In fact, of the five states with the lowest graduation rates in the country, all five compel attendance to either age seventeen - Mississippi (62.0%) and South Carolina (66.0%) - or age 18 - Nevada (56.3%), New Mexico (64.8%), and Louisiana (67.3%). Complete state-by-state results are available on page 25 of NCES's October 2011 report: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012006.pdf 2. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. 3. Passing this bill would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. (Some 16-year-olds benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.) 4. Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age is an inevitable tax burden to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. 5. A study by Cornell University on raising the age of compulsory attendance found that there was no correlation between passing a law to raise the age of compulsory attendance and high school completion rates. The study shows that specific programs targeting at risk youth can help improve completion rates, but a law raising the age of attendance does not. To view the report click here: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13526 For more information, please see our Issues Library page on compulsory attendance age legislation: http://hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/S/State_Compulsory_Attendance.asp We greatly value you and your support--it is a privilege to serve you! If you or someone you know is not a member of HSLDA, will you consider taking a moment today to join or recommend us and support our work defending individual families threatened by government officials and protecting homeschooling freedom for all? Join now: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13525 Sincerely, Peter K. Kamakawiwoole, Jr. 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: The freedom HSLDA allows me to have as I homeschool is wonderful! They handle the law and I get to dedicate the time to my daughter. - National City, CA HSLDA members since 1993, our membership is just as important to us as our children's curriculum. Thank you HSLDA for all you do on our behalf! - West Valley, NY More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
