| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/14/2013 4:14:26 PM Scott Woodruff--HSLDA Calls Needed Quickly to Oppose Expanding Compulsory School Attendance Age |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Calls Needed Quickly to Oppose Expanding Compulsory School Attendance Age Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: Two bills that would expand government control over children are moving in the Illinois Legislature. Please call to help bring them to a halt! HB 2762 would lower the starting age for compulsory school attendance from 7 to 6 and repeal the graduation exemption. It received a favorable vote in committee and will go the House floor quickly. SB 1307 would lower the starting age from 7 to 5. It passed Senate committee and the full Senate could vote on it very soon. Parents, not the government, are in the best position to decide whether a child should start formal schooling at 5, 6, or 7. Every child is different. Mandating that every 5- or 6-year-old be treated the same way despite their obvious differences is bad policy. There is a mountain of research that shows that forcing kids to start schooling before they are ready can actually cause long-term harm. At best, the gains from starting early vanish after a few years. ACTION REQUESTED Please make two phone calls: one to your representative and one to your senator. When you call your representative, your message can be as simple as: "Please vote 'no' on HB 2762. It would lower the age of compulsory school attendance from 7 to 6 and make some young adults attend school even after high school graduation. Parents, not the government, know when it's best for their young child to start formal education. Taxes will go up for everyone to pay for it." When you call your senator, your message can be as simple as: "Please vote 'no' on SB 1307. Five- and 6-year-olds should not be forced into school against their parents' wishes. Illinois is in financial trouble. It's the wrong time to expand an expensive program." It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooler since this would affect every Illinois parent. Please forward this email to every family you know who is not a member of HSLDA. CONTACT INFORMATION Use http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17581 to find your representative and senator and their contact information. BACKGROUND HSLDA and the Illinois Christian Home Educators are united in opposing this bill. Forcing children to attend school at age 5 or 6 is a bad idea because: 1. There are no long-term repeatable studies proving that starting school at age 6 rather than 7 is better for the child. Studies show that early childhood education does not improve a child's future because early gains disappear in a few years. This is especially significant for boys, because they develop school-related skills more slowly than girls at this age. 2. It decreases beneficial parent contact with children. Extra years of development outside of school can be critical for a young child. Carl Zinsmeister, adjunct research associate at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, says, "Declining parental attachment is an extremely serious risk to children today. The verdict of enormous psychological literature is that time spent with the parent is the very clearest correlate of healthy child development." Parents should continue to have the authority to decide what is best for their children. 3. The concept behind the bill is faulty. While it is true that young children's brains develop rapidly, there is no reliable research that says that formal education is better than a normal home environment for helping the child grow intellectually. Many studies show just the opposite: that a home where contact with parents is maximized is the healthiest way for young children to grow mentally, emotionally and socially. 4. HB 2762 and SB 1307 would be costly. They will put pressure on lawmakers to raise your taxes to pay for formal education parents don't want. It will put pressure on school systems to borrow to build new buildings, effectively transferring debt to the next generation. Some bright young people can finish their secondary education before age 17. They should be allowed to move on with their lives. It's bad policy to put young adults who have graduated from high school under any form of continuing mandate for schooling. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Link to text of HB 2762: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17582 Link to text of SB 1307: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17583 Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff, Esq., Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association P.S. We greatly value you and your support--it is a privilege to serve you! If you or someone you know is not a member of HSLDA, will you consider taking a moment today to join or recommend us? Your support enables us to defend individual families and protect homeschooling freedom for all. Join now: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=17584 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
