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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/30/2012 1:58:08 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New Jersey: Act Now to Stop Expanding Government Control over Education |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== New Jersey: Act Now to Stop Expanding Government Control over Education Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed immediately to stop a bill that would raise the ending age for compulsory school attendance in New Jersey from the 16th to 18th birthday. A1411, introduced by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, has a hearing scheduled in the Assembly Education Committee this Thursday, February 2 at 2:00 p.m.. This bill would take away your freedom to decide whether school or some other path is best for your 16-year-old to follow, and it would result in higher taxes as unwilling older students are forced to stay in schools. REQUESTED ACTION 1. If you live in the district of one of the committee members listed below, please call them right away. Use our Legislative Toolbox http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13555 to find out who your assemblyman is. Even assembly members who you think already oppose the bill need to hear from you. Your message can be as simple as: "Please vote no on A1411, which would raise the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18. Parents, not state officials, know whether their 16-year-old young adult should pursue formal education or some other preparation for life responsibilities. The cost of forcing unwilling young adults into a formal school setting should not be added to our tax burden." Diegnan, Patrick J. - Chair (908) 757-1677 Watson Coleman, Bonnie - Vice-Chair (609) 292-0500 Caputo, Ralph R. (973) 450-0484 Jasey, Mila M. (973) 762-1886 Jimenez, Angelica M. (201) 223-4247 Rumana, Scott T. (973) 237-1362 Singleton, Troy (856) 461-3997 Wagner, Connie (201) 576-9199 Wolfe, David W. (732) 840-9028 2. This bill would undermine the freedom of all parents. It is not necessary for you to identify yourself as a homeschooler. 3. Forward this email on to all of your friends, and ask them to call the committee members as well, if they live in their districts. BACKGROUND Although this bill exempts children who have graduated from high school, this exemption will not apply to homeschoolers. Not all 16- and 17-year-olds belong in a formal school setting. Some would be better off in a work training program or apprenticeship, obtaining valuable work experience. 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 17-year-olds have the size and strength of adults, classrooms could become even more violent. Raising the compulsory school 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, please see our Issues Library entry on compulsory attendance: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13556 Thank you for your calls on behalf of freedom in New Jersey. Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Will your friends stand by you in trouble? They will if you're an HSLDA member and your homeschool is threatened. HSLDA is ready to stand by your side along with 80,000 other homeschool families. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
