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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/8/2013 10:43:42 AM Tj Schmidt--HSLDA New Mexico: 4-Year-Olds to be Required to Attend School--Calls Needed! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== New Mexico: 4-Year-Olds to be Required to Attend School--Calls Needed! Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: At the beginning of this month Senator Linda Lopez introduced Senate Bill 380. This bill would change the compulsory attendance age in New Mexico to only 4 years old! The bill amends the definition of a school-age child to anyone who is 4 years old by September 1. Senate Bill will apply to every 4-year-old child, including homeschoolers. This means that you will have to begin reporting for your children one year earlier than you currently do. Many 4-year-old children are not ready for school. Senate Bill 380 will take the decision of whether a child is ready for school out of parents' hands and force them to send their children to school. If Senate Bill 380 passes, New Mexico would have the youngest compulsory school attendance age in the country. Please contact the sponsor of the bill and your state senator in opposition of Senate Bill 380. You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschool family if you don't want to, as this bill will apply to all families in New Mexico. REQUESTED ACTION: Please call and email Sen. Lopez and your state senator and give him or her this message in your own words: "Please oppose Senate Bill 380. Lowering the compulsory school attendance age from 5 to 4 will force many students who aren't ready into school. While some children attend pre-school before 5, Senate Bill 380 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 Senate Bill 380." There is no need to identify yourself as a homeschooler; instead you can identify yourself as a concerned parent and taxpayer. Sponsor: Linda M. Lopez (D) Phone: (505) 986-4737 Email: linda.lopez@nmlegis.gov You can find your legislator by going to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17139 and searching by the name of your legislator, by your address, or by your district. BACKGROUND Lowering the compulsory attendance age from 5 to 4 would subject New Mexico home educators to the requirements of the homeschool statute one year earlier than now required. (You do not need to share this reason with your legislators.) 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 New Mexico please visit http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17140 . 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 New Mexico! Sincerely, Thomas J. Schmidt 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. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
