| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/14/2013 2:27:52 PM Mike Donnelly--HSLDA Wyoming: Calls Needed to Protect Parental Freedom |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Wyoming: Calls Needed to Protect Parental Freedom Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Your calls are needed urgently to stop a bill that would raise the ending age for compulsory school attendance in Wyoming from 16 (or completion of 10th grade) to 18 (or completion of 12th grade). Senate File 96 has already passed the Senate Education Committee. The next step for this bill is a vote on the floor of the Senate, which will likely take place tomorrow. Call your senator today to make sure your voice is heard in opposition to this bill! The supporters of this legislation in the Wyoming Legislature appear to believe that the state, rather than parents, knows what is best for their children. They argue that such an action would increase the graduation rate. In reality there is no evidence that this is true, and raising the age imposes significant burdens on our community as well as on the state budget, its school system, teachers and administrators. If SF 96 passes, we homeschoolers would suddenly be required to submit a curriculum outline for an additional two years--until a student turns 18 or graduates. Those who do not continue filing notification during the additional time could be charged with truancy by school districts. Increasing the age of compulsory school attendance further restricts the right of parents to decide what is best for their children who are 16 and 17 years old and who may prefer to work or pursue some alternative form of education. Requested Action 1. Please call your Wyoming state senator immediately and ask him or her to oppose the bill. Visit our Legislative Toolbox http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=14159 and type in your ZIP Code to find out who your senator is and his or her contact information. In your own words, convey the message that you oppose raising the age of compulsory attendance in Wyoming because it will: > Not accomplish the intended objective of increasing high school completion rates; > Create classroom difficulties overburdening teachers and administrators; > Place new and unnecessary burdens and restriction on the liberty of all parents; > Unnecessarily restrict the liberty of 16-year-olds who, with their parent's permission, wish to enroll in post-secondary education or pursue a vocational calling; and > Redirect funds needed from other more important programs. 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 their senator as well. Background Statistics show that raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Even with possible exemption language, 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 who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom.) 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. A study by Cornell University on raising the age of compulsory school 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. For more information, please see our Issues Library entry http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=13556 on compulsory school attendance. Thank you for your calls on behalf of freedom in Wyoming. Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many of your friends would pay your legal fees? As a member of HSLDA, you have 80,000 families standing with you to protect and advance homeschool freedoms in the United States and foreign countries. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
