Calls needed to stop expansion of government control over homeschoolers!

This just came through a few email lists that I am on....

It takes only a moment to make a phone call.

Your calls are needed to defend parental freedom against three bills that are under consideration in the Assembly Education Committee. These bills aim to expand state control over young people by expanding the compulsory school attendance age.

Assembly Bill 375 would raise the age of compulsory school attendance from age 16 to 17. Assembly Bill 1209 and Assembly Bill 1759 both would raise the age from 16 to 18.

Parents alone know whether it's best for their 16- and 17-year-olds to stay in a formal education setting or follow some other path. The government cannot know the needs of individual students. One size does not fit all when it comes to school attendance.

ACTION REQUESTED:

Please contact the members of the Assembly Education Committee immediately and express your opposition to these bills. Your message can be as simple as:

"Please oppose Assembly Bills 375, 1209, and 1759. These costly bills will force unwilling, unmotivated older teens to remain in classrooms where they will cause disruption. Protect the right of parents to decide what educational or vocational path their 16- and 17-year-olds should follow."

It is not necessary to identify yourself as a homeschooling family, since these bills undermine the rights of all parents. If your name begins with A-G, call group 1. If it begins with H-M, call group 2. If O-S, call group 3. T-Z call group 4. Also, call your own assemblyman, if he is listed below, regardless of what group he is in. (Use our Legislative Toolbox if you don't know the name of your assemblyman: http://www.hslda.org/toolbox ).

Group 1

Cryan, Joseph - Chair (908) 624-0880

Voss, Joan M. - Vice-Chair (201) 346-6400

Diegnan, Patrick J. (908) 757-1677

Group 2

Handlin, Amy H. (732) 787-1170

Jasey, Mila M. (973) 762-1886

Malone, Joseph R. (609) 298-6250

Group 3

Moriarty, Paul D. (856) 232-6700

Pou, Nellie (973) 247-1555

Ramos, Ruben J. (201) 714-4960

Group 4

Rumana, Scott T. (973) 237-1362

Vas, Joseph (732) 324-5955

Wolfe, David W. (732) 840-9028

BACKGROUND

>You may be told this legislation does not affect homeschooling. It does. It would subject homeschool families to additional years of government mandates with respect to family education. >You may be told students who graduate are exempt. This is correct, but it does not turn these bad bills into good bills. They destroy parental freedom and control with respect to 16- and 17-year olds who have not graduated.

> Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. Some of states with the lowest completion rates compel attendance to age 18.

> Twenty-eight 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.

> Mandating attendance until age 17 or 18 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16 or 17-year-old is ready for college or the work force. Some 16- or 17-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 would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public school.

For more information on compulsory attendance, please see our memorandum at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3623 .

Thank you for standing with us for freedom.

Sincerely Yours,

Scott Woodruff
HSLDA Staff Attorney