| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 10/17/2012 11:57:05 AM Mike Smith HSLDA--Roy Hanson FPM Our California Legislative Advocate Urgently Needs Your Help |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Our California Legislative Advocate Urgently Needs Your Help Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Family Protection Ministries' (FPM) operating funds have dropped dangerously low. Unless they receive increased financial support, they will not be able to meet all their expenses and payroll these next few months. They are very frugal in their spending, despite the increasing workload to defend your freedoms in the California Legislature. Let me explain. First, HSLDA has been partnering with Family Protection Ministries (FPM) since they began in 1986. FPM is the only organization with a full-time presence in Sacramento dedicated to protecting the freedoms of private homeschoolers and their parental rights in the California Legislature. Second, this year FPM was overwhelmed with a record-setting number of difficult and complex legislative battles that consumed a significant amount of their financial resources. Third, I can tell you that they are very dedicated and have worked very long hours to defend your freedoms. They are committed to serve God and the ministry that He has given them. God has given them expertise, experience, and key relationships to uniquely equip them for this critical work. However, they must have the necessary resources to continue to protect the freedoms of home educating parents in this very challenging California Legislature. I am thrilled with all the great victories this year due largely to the work of Family Protection Ministries on the front lines at the Capitol in Sacramento. The following dangerous bills, which FPM opposed, were amazingly defeated in the California Legislature: AB 2203 - would have lowered the age of compulsory education from age 6 to 5. AB 1772 - would have instituted mandatory kindergarten that would have the same practical effect as AB 2203 above. Both AB 2203 and AB 1772 would have effectively taken away the current right of parents to wait until their child is age 6 before enrolling them into a formal education program. And both bills would have taken California another dangerous step toward universal preschool for children ages 3 and 4. The preponderance of good research demonstrates the long-term harm of formalized early education to young children. SB 1551 - would have inappropriately required all adults, most of whom do not understand the complex legal definitions of sexual abuse in California law, to report any "reasonably suspected" child sexual abuse, even when based only upon a rumor. Penalties for failure to report all "suspected" child sexual abuse could have included imprisonment. We strongly agree with protecting children who are sexually abused but strongly disagreed with this bill's proposed methods. Known child sexual abuse is a hideous and perverse crime that needs to be reported! We favor cracking down on known child sexual abusers. Current law already requires everyone who has observed child sexual abuse to report it and encourages everyone to report suspected child sexual abuse. The approach in SB 1551 is unnecessary and would have done great harm to the lives and freedoms of everyone. AB 889 - would have burdened parents who hire a babysitter age 18 or older (even occasionally) with the requirement to comply with all laws that govern domestic workers, including overtime pay, income tax withholding, payroll and tax reports, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, and sleep and rest periods. AB 1564 - would have severely threatened non-profit organizations such as churches, PSPs, support groups and CHEA. This bill would have caused the loss of tax-exempt status for nonprofit organizations with any activities involving children in California, should a single volunteer fail to report a case of child sexual abuse based only upon suspicion. This penalty would have been levied without any court finding of cover-up or complicity in not reporting child sexual abuse by either the organization's staff or board of directors. An additional important victory, AB 1799 - was passed and signed by the governor. As of this coming January 1, it requires that a pupil's previous school transfer a pupil's records to the pupil's new school of enrollment within 10 school days from the time the request is received. In the past there were no deadlines for transferring the school's pupil records to their new school of enrollment. This caused a hardship for many homeschooling parents who withdrew their child from a public school and had a hard time getting their child's pupil records from the previous public school their child attended. This is a drop in the bucket compared to all they have done in the past to successfully defeat many dangerous bills, which would have greatly reduced your freedoms. Following are examples of these other defeated bills. These bills would have: (1) Sent parents to jail for homeschooling; (2) Sent good parents to jail for non-abusively spanking their child as a means of discipline; (3) Added "educational neglect" as a category of child abuse, leading to social workers being given power to investigate your homeschool and possibly take your children from you; (4) Mandated mental health examinations for every Californian every three years; (5) Required at-risk screening and intrusive home visitations of newborn babies; and (6) Added habitual truancy as a new category of child abuse, resulting in CPS social workers investigating homeschoolers. This type of legislation is repeatedly reintroduced. Despite these victories, the downturn in the economy and the complacency of many homeschoolers has reduced both the number of donors and the overall giving to FPM at a time when they are in great need. Victories like these are becoming more difficult because of the liberal stronghold of the California Legislature. Without sufficient financial support, FPM will lack the resources to meet all the challenges that are bound to arise in the months ahead. FPM is at risk of having to cut back on the number of bills they can handle using all the various skills and strategies they currently employ. At any time, the California Legislature could attempt to eliminate the current level of freedom for private home education as they have tried to do in the past. Yet, God continues to bless the hard work and dedication of FPM with the amazing result of a continued 100% preservation of our homeschool freedoms for the 26 years since they began!! FPM monitors around 5,000 bills each legislative session to make sure that your freedoms are protected. When FPM discovers a bill that would affect your homeschool freedoms, they consult with us at HSLDA, and together we determine an effective strategy before going into action to oppose dangerous legislation. Family Protection Ministries is funded solely by tax-deductible donations from homeschool families in California. Without FPM's past and current efforts, we would be living under the oppression of highly restrictive and burdensome homeschool laws. Without your giving, FPM will not exist, and home education will be in peril in California. FPM is your eyes, ears, and leaders on the front lines in Sacramento! In order for FPM to have the proper resources to continue to provide this outstanding advocacy in your behalf, they need both immediate generous donations and an increase in average monthly giving of about $2,500 per month. I am asking you to give sacrificially and generously today to ensure our continued freedom to homeschool in California. Please also consider becoming a monthly donor to FPM. For those of you who are already giving regularly to FPM, I commend you and ask you to please consider giving an extra amount at this time. Please forward this request on to other homeschoolers. Make your tax-deductible gift payable to FPM, and mail it today to: FPM P.O. Box 730 Lincoln, CA 95648-0730 Family Protection Ministries needs your help now! Thank you for your consideration of FPM's urgent need as they work diligently for the Lord on your behalf. Your freedoms as you know them today depend upon having a strong voice in Sacramento to keep the liberal legislators from imposing their radical views on home education and families. God Bless, Mike Smith President, HSLDA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Remember the last time you wrote a term paper? Research can be grueling-digging through archives, wading through articles, conducting interviews. But if it's related to homeschooling, you can relax a little. There's a good chance that you'll find what you're looking for in HSLDA's bimonthly Home School Court Report. Providing in-depth, insightful articles on much of what affects the world of homeschoolers, the Court Report is a must-read for the serious homeschooler. This publication is provided free to each HSLDA member. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1933 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
