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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/30/2013 4:39:46 PM Tj Schmidt--HSLDA Washington--Please Call in Opposition to Compulsory School Attendance Bill! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Washington--Please Call in Opposition to Compulsory School Attendance Bill! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: The House Education Committee will have a hearing on House Bill 1283 tomorrow, January 31, at 8 a.m. This bill will lower the compulsory school attendance age from 8 years old to 6 years old. We need your calls now to oppose this bill. While House Bill 1283 exempts homeschool parents from having to report to their local school district until their child is 8 years old, this will likely cause several problems in the future. First, contrary to what some have said, homeschool students will be required to be in school when they turn 6. Under the bill, a homeschool family will only be exempted from reporting until their child turns 8. This is because the compulsory school attendance age will be lowered to 6 and a child will only be exempt from attending public school if he or she is "receiving home-based instruction." So, to be exempt the child must be homeschooled at 6. Second, when a report is made that a 6- or 7-year-old is not in school, a parent won't be able to simply claim they are homeschooling them. Instead, a homeschool family will likely have to provide some proof that they are in fact educating their child. Currently in Washington, if someone reports that your child is not in school you would only need to demonstrate that he or she is not 8 yet or have the police/social worker verify with the local school district that you have filed your notice of intent. In a lot of situations the investigation is dropped before the parent is contacted because social services can simply contact the school district to verify the child is being homeschooled. Similarly, officials often don't bother investigating allegations involving 6- or 7-year-old children. Now that will have to change. Finally, under House Bill 1283, a special exemption is being created for homeschool parents reporting until their child is 8. Once the compulsory attendance age is lowered to 6 a future bill will only need to remove this exemption for homeschool families reporting, and they will have to submit a notice when their child is 6. For these reasons and more, we don't believe House Bill 1283 is in the best interest of parental rights in Washington. It will require all children to begin school at 6. While most students will begin at that age, or earlier, this bill will prevent parents from being able to decide when their child is ready to start school. Please contact the House Education Committee now and oppose House Bill 1283. 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 1283. Lowering the compulsory school attendance age from 8 to 6 will force many students who aren't ready into their local school. While most children begin school before 8, House Bill 1283 will take away the right of parents to decide when their children should begin school. As my child's parent, I should determine when my child is ready for school. Please oppose House 1283." There is no need to 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 beings with N-Z please call the second group. House Education Committee Members Group One Chairman Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos (D) Phone: (360) 786-7944 Email: SharonTomiko.Santos@leg.wa.gov Representative Cathy Dahlquist (R) Phone: (360) 786-7846 Email: Cathy.Dahlquist@leg.wa.gov Representative Steve Berquist (D) Phone: (360) 786-7862 Email: Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov Representative Kathy Haigh (D) Phone: (360) 786-7966 Email: Kathy.Haigh@leg.wa.gov Representative Brad Hawkins (R) Phone: (360) 786-7832 Email: Brad.Hawkins@leg.wa.gov Representative Sam Hunt (D) Phone: (360) 786-7992 Email: Sam.Hunt@leg.wa.gov Representative Kristine Lytton (D) Phone: (360) 786-7800 Email: Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov Representative John McCoy (D) Phone: (360) 786-7864 Email: John.McCoy@leg.wa.gov Representative Kevin Parker (R) Phone: (360) 786-7922 Email: Kevin.Parker@leg.wa.gov Representative Gerry Pollett (D) Phone: (360) 786-7886 Email: Gerry.Pollet@leg.wa.gov Representative Judy Warnick (R) Phone: (360) 786-7932 Email: Judy.Warnick@leg.wa.gov Group Two Vice-Chairman Representative Monica Stonier (D) Phone: (360) 786-7994 Email: Monica.Stonier@leg.wa.gov Representative Chad Magendanz (R) Phone: (360) 786-7876 Email: Chad.Magendanz@leg.wa.gov Representative Susan Fagan (R) Phone: (360) 786-7942 Email: Susan.Fagan@leg.wa.gov Representative Mark Hargrove (R) Phone: (360) 786-7918 Email: Mark.Hargrove@leg.wa.gov Representative Dave Hayes (R) Phone: (360) 786-7914 Email: Dave.Hays@leg.wa.gov Representative Brad Klippert (R) Phone: (360) 786-7882 Email: Brad.Klippert@leg.wa.gov Representative Marcie Maxwell (D) Phone: (360) 786-7894 Email: Marcie.Maxwell@leg.wa.gov Representative Tina Orwall (D) Phone: (360) 786-7834 Email: Tina.Orwall@leg.wa.gov Representative Liz Pike (R) Phone: (360) 786-7812 Email: Liz.Pike@leg.wa.gov Representative Larry Seaquist (D) Phone: (360) 786-7802 Email: Larry.Seaquist@leg.wa.gov BACKGROUND Lowering the compulsory attendance age from 8 to 6 will force Washington home educators to begin teaching their children two years earlier then they are currently required. House Bill 1283 will just keep the reporting deadline at 8 years old for homeschoolers. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators but can if they want to get into a technical review of the bill.) According to the 2005 NAEP test scores, children from states that have low compulsory attendance ages (5-6) did not score any higher than children from the other states, and in some subjects their average was actually lower. Many education experts have concluded that beginning a child's formal education too early may actually result in burnout and poor scholastic performance later. Lowering the compulsory attendance age erodes the authority of parents who are in the best position to determine when their child's formal education should begin. A report published February 6, 2007 by the Goldwater Institute examines Stanford 9 test scores and finds Arizona kindergarten programs initially improve learning but have no measurable impact on reading, math, or language arts test scores by 5th grade. The data show that students in schools with all-day kindergarten programs have statistically significant higher 3rd-grade test scores, but there is no impact on 5th-grade scores. This finding is consistent with previous research. Forcing children into school early delivers short-term benefits at best. 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 Washington please visit http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17047 . 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=17048 . Thank you for your part in fighting for freedom in Washington! Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt 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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