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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/1/2012 4:43:49 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Take Action NOW to Defend Homeschool Freedom |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Take Action NOW to Defend Homeschool Freedom Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Please take action today to encourage the New Hampshire House Education Committee to act favorably on HB 1571 at their executive session on Thursday, February 2, 2011. The Education Committee's executive session is open to the public and is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Legislative Office Building Room 207. HB 1571 is sponsored by Representative J.R. Hoell of Merrimack-District 13 and changes the homeschool law to require parents to simply keep a copy of an evaluation rather than having to send it to a participating agency. The bill also repeals 193-A:7 and A:8, which provide for a "due process hearing" and permits an order terminating a homeschool program following a due process hearing. HSLDA supports due process rights for homeschoolers, but by eliminating these two sections of 193-A, HB 1571 removes the authority of the commissioner of education to terminate a home education program, authority which has virtually never been used in New Hampshire. If HB 1571 were passed homeschoolers would still have due process protections if their home education was questioned by authorities. New Hampshire is among the more regulated states for homeschoolers, and we believe that this legislation is a reasonable and legitimate attempt to bring New Hampshire homeschool regulations in line with more mainstream practices among the states. We also want to let you know that at the public hearing on HB 1571 on January 25 the only person to testify against the bill was Assistant Majority Leader Shawn Jasper on behalf of the majority office of the House. In his testimony Representative Jasper defended his opposition to changing the law by saying parents could not be relied on to properly assess their children. During his testimony he said that because homeschool parents were not certified teachers it was legitimate to require that they still assess their children every year and send those assessments to someone else for oversight. He said that it is the state's responsibility to protect children and to give them the "best education we can." I was shocked to hear that the majority office of the House opposed this common sense bill that would increase freedom and recognize the natural right of parents to direct their child's education. When I told Representative Jasper that I was deeply disappointed with his testimony, he told me that homeschool parents should have to "prove they are doing a good job." We think that the leadership of the New Hampshire House should hear from homeschoolers in New Hampshire on this issue. Regardless of how you feel about HB 1571, Representative Jasper's comments are like those used by then-House Education Chair Emma Rouse and Representative Judith Day who sought to impose draconian new regulations on homeschoolers through HB 367 and 368 in 2009. These sentiments need to be opposed, so we are asking you to send a message to the majority leader and Representative Jasper regarding his comments. Action Requested: 1. Please contact members of the House Education Committee and encourage them to support this bill. You can email each member of the committee by using the following email address: ~HouseEducationCommittee@leg.state.nh.us: Consider giving them the following message in your own words: "Please support HB 1571, which simplifies home education reporting requirements and improves freedom for homeschoolers in New Hampshire. New Hampshire parents have demonstrated they can be relied on to provide an excellent education without burdensome state-directed oversight. Furthermore, by removing the commissioner's authority to hold a hearing and terminate a home education program, authority which has virtually never been used in New Hampshire, HB 1571 recognizes the natural and fundamental right of parents to determine and direct their children's education." 2. Contact the majority leader and Representative Jasper and share with them your thoughts about House majority office opposition to increasing homeschool freedom. It's important that we refute the idea that parents should have to prove they are doing a good job and that they should be certified teachers or else they can't be trusted to assess their children without oversight. Consider giving them the following message (please be as polite as possible): "I am greatly concerned to hear that the majority office opposed HB 1571 on the grounds that parents can't be trusted to assess their children, must have state oversight and must prove they are doing a good job. Parents have the natural fundamental right to direct their children's education. While the state may set up public schools, parents who opt out of public education are responsible for their children's education, not the state. The majority office should retract these comments and should stand for less government and in favor of increased freedom - not against it." Majority Leader David Bettencourt betts24@gmail.com (603) 271-3665 Shawn Jasper shawn.jasper@leg.state.nh.us (603)595-9621 Without your support we could not stand for freedom in New Hampshire! 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 at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13431 Very truly yours, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you look at the clouds and tell the direction of the wind? An interesting phenomenon of wind is that it can blow in multiple directions at the same time, at different heights from the ground. But usually there is a prevailing wind. HSLDA watches the gusts and monitors the prevailing trends of change in the legal climate of home education. So no matter which way the wind is blowing, we're there to protect your family. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1938 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
