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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/30/2013 10:35:35 AM Tj Schmidt--HSLDA Arizona--Calls Needed Now Against Compulsory School Attendance Bill! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Arizona--Calls Needed Now Against Compulsory School Attendance Bill! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: House Bill 2168 was heard on Monday, but due to your calls and other issues Chairwoman Goodale of the House Education Committee has held the bill. This means that the bill was not voted on but could be brought up for a vote at any time. If you were not able to contact the committee members below, please do so now. Besides raising the compulsory school attendance age in Arizona from 16 until the student turns 18, House Bill 2168 will also limit parents' freedom to decide what is best for their child in several other ways. Under current Arizona law a student can be excused from school attendance once he completes a high school course of study necessary to complete the 10th grade as prescribed by the state Board of Education. House Bill 2168 will require completion of 12th grade before allowing the student to be excused. House Bill 2168 will also change another exemption for students who are employed with parental consent in a lawful wage-earning occupation. While current law would allow a 15-year-old to be exempted from school attendance in this situation, House Bill 2168 would require the student to be at least 16. House Bill 2168 is scheduled to be heard in the House Education Committee at 2 p.m. today. Please act now and contact the Committee to let them know your position on this bill. REQUESTED ACTION: Please call and email the House Education Committee members listed below to give them this message in your own words: "Please oppose House Bill 2168. Raising the compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18 will force many students who don't want to be there back into the school system--creating a disruptive environment. This bill also takes away the right of parents to decide when their children should remain in school or get valuable experience in the work place. Please oppose House 2168." Do not identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and taxpayer. If your last name begins with A-M please call the first group. If your last name begins with N-Z please call the second group. House Education Committee Members Group One Chairman Representative Doris Goodale (R) Phone: (602) 926-5408 Email: dgoodale@azleg.gov Representative John Allen (R) Phone: (602) 926-4916 Email: jallen@azleg.gov Representative Paul Boyer (R) Phone: (602) 926-4173 Email: pboyer@azleg.gov Representative Heather Carter Phone: (602) 926-5503 Email: hcarter@azleg.gov Representative Eric Meyer (D) Phone: (602) 926-3037 Email: emeyer@azleg.gov Group Two Vice-Chairman Representative Doug Coleman (R) Phone: (602) 926-3160 Email: dcoleman@azleg.gov Representative Catherine Miranda (D) Phone: (602) 926-4893 Email: cmiranda@azleg.gov Representative Lisa Otondo (D) Phone: (602) 926-3002 Email: lotondo@azleg.gov Representative Justin Pierce (R) Phone: (602) 926-5495 Email: jpierce@azleg.gov BACKGROUND 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.) Twenty-seven states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. House Bill 2168 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 15-year-old is ready to finish high school, go to college, or go to work. Some 15-year-olds who are not academically inclined will benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom. In addition, under House Bill 2168 a public school student who turns 18 but has not completed 12th grade would not be permitted to withdraw from school unless he or she signs and submit a notarized consent form developed by the school. While this bill might have minimal effect on homeschool families who have already reported to the county superintendent and intend to have their children complete 12th grade, it would require families moving into Arizona to report two years later than they would have been required to do so under current law. You do not need to mention this fact to your legislator For more information on compulsory school attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6131 If you are not yet a member of HSLDA and would like to help us fight for greater homeschool freedom in Arizona please visit http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17001 . If you would like to be put on our email list to receive vital e-lerts you may sign up at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17002 . Thank you for your part in fighting for freedom in Arizona! Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> What's the shortest distance between two homeschoolers? HSLDA's elert service! When threats to homeschool freedoms arise, you want to be able to respond. We make it possible. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
