Tag Archives: Homeschooling

Educational, Homeschooling, parenting, Research

Homeschooling Swims Against The Conformist Current (And That’s A Good Thing)

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OSMGIKLh6Lgl-320x240As I was filtering through my Facebook feed, I noticed a posting from my good friend, Dr. Brian Ray, of the National Home Education Research Institute (NEHRI). I often share his posts because they always reflect the reality of homeschooling, good and not so good. I have always known Dr. Ray to present homeschooling in a truthful and unbiased light, even though he has home schooled his own children and believes in parent led education as a viable form of schooling. I find it amazing that our society can be so brainwashed into such narrow thought.

The article, in SFGate, features a formerly homeschooled student from Kansas who is now attending Penn State. It was titled, Homeschooling Presents Opportunities, Challenges.

Read the rest of the post on Politichicks.tv

Educational, Homeschooling, parenting

Common Core State Standards and The Free Market

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Last night, I  had the pleasure to address a room full of patriots who have just recently been awakened to the serious threat that Common Core State Standards poses to educational freedom, parental rights, privacy, and the 10th amendment. Common Core is designed to gradually guide our future generations away from the free enterprise system in to a managed economy and global workforce.

Go to Missouri Education Watchdog and Missouri Coalition Against Common Core to learn more about what you can do to fight the over reach of the state and federal government into your parental rights and freedom of educational choice. Help us protect these rights and your right to homeschool your children, which are in great jeopardy, if Common Core advances in Missouri.

Speaking of free enterprise you, and your friends and family, have the opportunity to get a refresher course on what a free market is supposed to be. Loren Spicack, the Free Market Warrior, will be  at the Family Vision Library for a free, two night seminar on REAL free market principles that America was founded on, and what you should expect from elected in order to maintain and environment to sustain such.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect on Monday April 29th and 30th. This is also a great opportunity for homeschooled students to get exposure to conservative free market principles and how government works, or not, to maintain an atmosphere in which they can thrive.

The Free Market Warrior Economic Literacy Seminar

Learn what every American and Patriot MUST KNOW about Free Market Economics and how they REALLY affect the economy.

Most Politicians don’t even know this about our economy.

  1. Can you explain why some tax cuts (Bush’s second term, Obama’s proposed) do absolutely nothing to stimulate the economy, while others (Reagan’s, Bush’s first term) provide a great stimulus?
  2. Were you taught in High School that the federal government needs to protect consumers from corporate monopolies that would otherwise be able to charge whatever they wanted?
  3. Were you taught that Roosevelt’s New Deal saved the country by intervening in the economy and “stimulating” demand?
  4. 4.     Did you know that the biggest problem with American healthcare (one that is financially hurting us all) is that there is far too much insurance coverage?
  5. Would you be surprised to learn that the economic theories espoused by the current administration and congressional leaders were conclusively disproved more than 100 years ago?

The seminar is given over two evenings and divided into four parts:

  • Intellectual and Historical Roots of Socialism: Understanding its broad appeal.
  • The Intellectual and Historical Roots of Capitalism: Why we’ll starve without it.
  • The Source of Value: Two contrasting views and their implications.
  • Applying the Principles of Freedom to the Problems of Today: Taxes, Education, Health Care, Protectionism and Outsourcing, Population, Natural Resources and many more.

This is a great opportunity for High School Students to get the real scoop on America’s Free Market Principles. Bring your teenagers! 

April 29th and 30th at the Family Vision Library – 6:30 to 10:00 pm

2020 Parkway Drive

St. Peters, Missouri 63376

636-447-6900

http://www.thefamilyvision.org/

 The event is free to the public, but offerings to the Family Vision Library and Loren Spivack are appreciated.

Contact Lisa Payne-Naeger at Lisa.Naeger@mac.com

or the Family Vision Library http://www.thefamilyvision.org/

Educational, Homeschooling, Legislation

Homeschoolers Are Not Safe From Public Education Reform Policy

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So, you homeschool your child(ren) because . . .

. . . you want to provide a better quality curriculum, you want to address certain learning needs, you want to provide a religious perspective, you want to keep them safe from violence, you want to instill certain values, you want to . . .

There are as many reasons to homeschool your child, as there are individuals in our country. Homeschooling is all about providing individual educational instruction and attention as deemed appropriate by parents. It’s great that we still have a choice. Many, before us, have fought long, hard battles to ensure we have the freedom of choice to homeschool or send our children to private schools, as an alternative to the public education system. And so, you breathe a sigh of relief, that you have been able to make a better choice for your child(ren). But are you and your children really safe from the dictates of the public education system? The answer is NO!

The facts are these: The Obama administration’s Race To The Top policies have successfully infiltrated the nation’s education reform platform. They are absolutely being promoted by Democrats and Republicans, alike. All but a few states (including Missouri) have adopted Common Core Curriculums State Standards, mandated by the federal government. That means the federal government is dictating across the board curriculum for all publicly educated students. Your local school districts have no control over curriculum anymore.

I know, you are thinking it doesn’t affect you. You homeschool, or send your kids to private schools, right? Wrong. It does affect you. The success of Common Core Curriculums depends on total buy in, in much the same way Obama care only succeeds if everyone is on government provided healthcare. They know it and that is why the are coming after homeschooled and private schooled children. It’s all in the assessments and data collection. That’s how they are gonna rope you in, among other things

In Missouri, we are now faced with the task of funding the unfunded mandate adopted by Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Common Core State Standards require every public school to administer, electronically, standardized testing aligned, of course, to the Common Core Curriculum. Electronic administration of these tests allows for easy data collection, by government, of those results. Your public schooled child will no longer have academic privacy. And tax payers are footing the bill for it. See where I am going with this? It also doesn’t stop with the public education realm.

The architect for the Common Core State Standards is now the president of the College Board. That’s right! David Coleman now oversees the College Board, so if your child takes college entrance exams, such as the ACT, SAT, etc., regardless of where he/she was educated, your child will likely be taking standardized tests that have been geared toward Common Core Curriculums. So, if you didn’t teach Common Core Curriculums in your homeschool, what is the plausibility your child will achieve acceptable college entrance levels on the tests?

Here’s some background on how Common Core is reaching into the homeschool community. Homeschoolers should also be very wary of participating in publicly offered virtual schools.

There are many aspects to this issue, and homeschoolers should no longer feel safe from the long reach of government because they have kept their children out of the public school realm.

On January 31st, Dr. Brian Ray, of National Home Education Research Institute, will be in St. Louis to discuss the aspects of Common Core State Standards, Academic Angst and its target on the homeschooling community. No homeschool family should miss this discussion.

An Evening with Dr. Brian Ray
of the
National Home Education Research Institute

January 31st, 2013 • 7:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Family Vision Library
2020 Parkway Drive
Phone: 636-447-6900

An Evening With Dr. Brian Ray – 2013 January

Educational, Homeschooling

Liberals: Don’t Homeschool Your Kids – By Dana Goldstein

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Ok, after reading this article, my brain is so overcharged with comment, I can’t slow it down enough to type articulately, my thoughts, so I am posting it here for you to read, and hopefully begin a conversation.

Yet whether liberal or conservative, “[o]ne article of faith unites all homeschoolers: that homeschooling should be unregulated,” Reich writes. “Homeschoolers of all stripes believe that they alone should decide how their children are educated.”

Homeschoolers, that I know, range from one end of the spectrum to the other, politically.   Although, I do agree with the above quote, that we all just wanna be left alone to school and raise our kids the way we see fit, and to leave the government out of it, for the most part.

Enjoy this article and please feel free to comment.

Homeschooling, Legislation

The People Are Not Safe From Last Minute Legislation Until The Fat Lady Sings

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The following education bills, in the Missouri House and Senate, are outlined and updated here as to their status as the 2010/2011 session has progressed. Some bills that advance Race To The Top/Educated Citizenry 2020 are included here as well as any that are related to the threat of undermining homeschooling freedom as we, at Homeschooling United, believe that RTTT/EC 2020 does threaten homeschooling. Please also understand that even though bills may not, as of this posting, look as if they may advance through, to the Governor’s desk, nothing is ever dead until the session closes. Very often bills are, at the last minutes of the session, lumped together in omnibus bills, grouped or added as amendments on unrelated legislation and passed under the radar. It is very important to keep a watchful eye on all legislation until the session closes.

HB179: Nasheed, Jamilah – CoSponsor: Curls, Shalonn Raises the compulsory school attendance age to 18 in all school districts unless the student has successfully completed 16 credits towards high school graduation. Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H) Bill currently not on a House calendar

HB393: Jones, Timothy: – CoSponsor: Dieckhaus, Scott Establishes the Parent Empowerment and Choice Act or the Parent Trigger Act which allows parents under certain circumstances to invoke interventions for a struggling school Public Hearing Completed. (H) Bill not currently on House calendar.

HB463: McNary, Cole – CoSponsor: Funderburk, Doug Changes the laws regarding virtual schools Public Hearing Completed (H). Bill not currently on House calendar

HB473: Jones, Tishaura – CoSponsor: Cookson, Steve Changes the laws regarding charter schools and establishes the Missouri Charter Public School Commission Perfected with Amendments (H). Bill not currently on House Calendar

HB476: Funderburk, Doug – CoSponsor: Parkinson, Mark Establishes the Students First Interscholastic Athletics Act which requires every high school age student to have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletics. Public Hearing Completed (H). Bill not currently on the House calendar

HB639: McNary, Cole – CoSponsor: Dieckhaus, Scott Requires each school district to establish a comprehensive program for student academic progression.  Public Hearing Completed (H). Bill not currently on House calendar.

HB 738: Nasheed Requires that students develop a personal plan of study by the eighth grade year; Reported Do Pass (Senate)

HB752: Torpey, Noel – CoSponsor: Lampe, Sara Changes the laws regarding the compulsory school attendance of certain students Elementary and Secondary Education (H). Elementary and Secondary Education Date: 4/20/2011 Time: 8:00AM Location: House Hearing Room 6

HB835: Lampe, Sara – CoSponsor: Newman, Stacey Requires a child in the St. Louis City School District, except for a child who is intending to be home schooled, to be enrolled in a public, private, parochial, or parish school by five years of age Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H). Bill not currently on house calendar

HJR10: Barnes, Jay – CoSponsor: Dieckhaus, Scott Proposes a constitutional amendment repealing the prohibition against state funds being used to support any religion or religious school and specifies that parents have the right to choose any school Public Hearing Completed (H). Bill not currently on House calendar

HB939: Dieckhaus, Scott– CoSponsor: Jones, Timothy Creates procedures for open enrollment of public school students across school district boundary lines Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H). Bill not currently on House calendar

HJR38: Barnes, Jay Proposes a constitutional amendment allowing the General Assembly to provide financial assistance to students to pay for elementary and secondary education at any accredited school they select Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H). Bill not currently on House calendar

SB 20: Wright-Jones Modifies the compulsory attendance age for the St. Louis City School District so that students must attend school from five years of age to eighteen years of age Bill not currently on Senate calendar

SB 21: Wright-Jones Requires kindergarten attendance at the start of the school year for children who turn age five at any time during the calendar year. Bill not currently on Senate calendar

SB 124: Keaveny Requires children in the St. Louis City School District to attend school at age five

There have been many, many bills added to the list of educational legislation since we last updated you on bill status. The session ends in mid May and all bills are up for grabs even though elected representation may claim the demise of any particular legislation. It’s a good idea to continue to monitor any and all legislation you are particularly concerned with, until the session is over, because it isn’t over until it’s over and the fat lady sings.


Educational, Homeschooling

Homeschoolers Taking Action Against The Threat Of Further Mandates In Missouri

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Missouri homeschooling freedoms are under a very stealth like attack by a variety of sweeping educational reforms introduced into the legislature in 2010/2011 and some lawmakers who have been less than forthcoming with their views about educational choice/freedom. Homeschoolers are trying to absolutely identify just who is and isn’t a champion of their freedoms. Some legislators are expressing an interest in putting methods into place that would require more scrutiny into the homeschooling family’s process. The following email was circulated in the St. Louis Region as a call to action, so to speak.


The following is from, Kathie Zuroweste, a homeschooling mom in the Franklin County area.  This is the third conservative legislator that has voiced similar concerns about homeschoolers this session.   As you may recall there have been other homeschoolers in the Franklin County area that have addressed this issue this session with different legislators.

Kathie has removed the legislator’s name, but she did want other homeschoolers outside her area to be aware of the fact that questions are being raised about how legislators can ensure that all homeschoolers are receiving a quality education.  She is also asking  for people to send her ideas on how she can respond to this legislator, and others, with similar concerns about what we are doing.

From Kathie Zuroweste:

This is for both Public School families and teachers and Home Educating families.
Would you please help me out in this mini poll?

I have included;
1-letter  The Educational Freedom Pledge
2 & 4 -letters   From Home Educator to MO Representative
3-letter   From MO Representative to Home Educator

We find this quite interesting and would like to let not only this Representative know how we feel, but the other Representatives and Senators as well.

Please forward your responses to:   kathiecurt@hotmail.com, also, please put “educ freedom pledge request” as the topic in the subject line so it is correctly routed.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Kathie Zuroweste kathiecurt@hotmail.com

p.s. read from the bottom to the top on the following posts, they are in order of most recent to first.

4 Dear Representative,

I am going to answer your question with a polling of both fellow home educators and public school parents and educators. I have already begun and I believeyou may find the results quite informative.  I will try and get that done this week.

Kathie

3 Dear Home Educator,

I have not been approached about signing this petition and while I am sitting on the House Floor listening to debate on redistricting I also sit right behind another Representative who is on this list and stated that it needs to be updated. With all that being said I do support the Home Schoolers and I think that we have talked about this before but I do have some concerns that there are some out there that do not provide the quality of education that the majority of home schoolers provide. I would like to know how you think we can make sure that children in this environment get a quality education?

2 Dear Representative,

I just received this and noticed that your name is not on here.Have you not been approached? Or is there a reason why not?I am interested in knowing.

Thanks,Home Educating Mother

1 From: * To: ;Subject: The Educational Freedom PledgeDate: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 22:57:03 -0500

Went to this site to read the oposing view and spotted this on the right hand side of their blog… note the section in red.

Homeschooling United | Parents standing united to protect their right to home educate

http://homeschoolingunited.wordpress.com:80/ The Educational Freedom PledgeI, _________________________________, hereby pledge, to the ___________________________ homeschool community, to support a parent’s right to freedom of educational choice for their children and their ability to exercise that right. In doing so, I also agree to oppose any federal, state or local mandates that impose regulation of educational standards, curriculum, testing and/or registration. Name and Date Copyright 2010 Homeschooling Unitied

The following legislators have pledged to uphold educational freedom

MISSOURI

Brian Nieves – State Senator, District 26
James W. Lembke – State Senator, District 1
Jane Cunningham – Senator, District 7
Chuck Purguson – State Senate, District 33
Tim Jones – State Representative, Dist 88
Scott Rupp – State Senate, District 2
Kurt Bahr – State Representative District 19
Kathie Conway – State Representative District 14
Gary B. Fuhr – State Representative District 97
Chuck Gatschenberger – State Representative District 13
Doug Funerburk – State Representative District 12
Rick Stream – Sate Representative District 94
Paul Curtman – Representative – District 105
Mark Parkinson – Representative – District 16
Anne Zerr – Representative – District 18

FORMER STATE REPRESENTATIVES IN MISSOURI

Ed Emery – District

Icet – District 86
Cynthia Davis – District 19
Joe Smith, – Dist 14

CANDIDATES IN THE 2010 ELECTIONS WHO SUPPORTED EDUCATIONAL FREEDOM

Dave Evans – Candidate State Representative District 19
Cynthia L. McGee – Candidate State Representative, Dist 109
Edward M. Crim – Candidate State Representative District 97
Curtis Farber – Candidate State Representative District 67
Richard Blowers – Candidate State Representative District 102
Jack Jackson – Candidate State Senate, District 26

FEDERAL CANDIDATES

Kristi Nichols – Candidate US Senate
Tony Laszacs – Candidate US Senate
Martin Baker – Candidate US Representative District 1
John Wayne Tucker – Candidate US Representative District 3

The following legislators have been asked, but declined to support the Educational Freedom Pledge:

MISSOURI

Don Gosen – Representative – 84th Dist.
Ryan Silvey – Representative – 38th district.
Kevin Wilson – Representative – 130th District.
Scott Dieckhaus – Representative – 109th District
Steven Tilley – Representative – 106 District

As an update, please add Rep. Jay Barnes (District 114) to the list of declined legislators.

Please contact Kathie at the above email address with your comments and concerns and, please comment here on this post. Homeschooling United would like to share the thoughts of homeschoolers across the state/country as we know this blog is read by many of the state legislators in Missouri as well as others nation wide.

Homeschooling, Legislation

Senator Ed Maloney Tables SB136

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Today, 97.1 Talk Radio’s, (and homeschooling mother) Dana Loesch spoke with Illinois Senator, Ed Maloney about the controversial legislation SB136 that requires private, home educators to register with the state.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwwye_dvWbI&feature=player_embedded#at=36]

Dana drove home, very well, points that have been raised before; homeschool students, as a larger demographic, are performing exceedingly well as compared to publicly schooled students. So, why the focus on such a small number that may be falling through the cracks when they have large, identifiable numbers, that are falling through the cracks? As a result of the push back from the community, the senator reported that SB136 will take a different shape in order to assure that all students are being addressed, academically, without intruding on the rights of those who are providing adequate education for their children.

Tabled legislation doesn’t mean dead legislation. Illinois citizens should continue to watch the status of this bill. It could be re-written or resurrected at any time during the legislative session.

 

 

Educational, Legislation

Missouri Education Legislative Updates 2/17/11

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Here are some updates and some additional bills to watch, as of this week.

HB179 Raises the compulsory school attendance age to 18 in all school districts unless the student has successfully completed 16 credits towards high school graduation. This bill also takes authority away from metropolitan school districts to adopt resolutions to the contrary of this legislation as is now allowed by law. Introduced on 1/12/11 with two readings and recommended to the Elementary and Education committee on 2/8/11

(2) Seventeen] eighteen years of age or having successfully completed sixteen credits 73 towards high school graduation [in all other cases. The school board of a metropolitan school district for which the compulsory attendance age is seventeen years may adopt a resolution to lower the compulsory attendance age to sixteen years; provided that such resolution shall take effect no earlier than the school year next following the school year during which the resolution  is adopted].

HB463 This bill is all about funding virtual schools. Homeschoolers need to watch this one if they plan to be part of virtual schools because this bill is heavily focused on federal funding for students of virtual schools and expanding charter schools. It could have the potential for identifying homeschoolers or mandating curriculum.

Such nonresident students shall be defined as virtual resident students.

For now we are just red flagging this one. We don’t want it to grow into issues of registration for homeschooling or mandating curriculum since the push is to have Common Core Standards be the rule throughout Missouri. Introduced on 2/9/11 and has had two readings to then be recommended to the Elementary and Secondary Education committee. It seems to be on the fast track.

SB20 was heard in committee on 2/9/11. To date there is no action listed on the General Assembly website, which means it is not dead, but has not advanced. It is still possible for this bill to advance on its own or be hidden in an omnibus bill before the end of the legislative session.

SB21 While scheduled to be heard in the 2/9/11 hearing it was not debated. Again, we are not out of the woods on these bills. They could end up being resurrected and voted through before the end of the session.

SB124 This bill was heard in the 2/9/11 committee hearing and holds the same status as SB20 and SB21.

Thank you to all who sent in testimonial forms for last week’s hearings. Being informed and engaged is the best way to ensure freedom and influence your representation. We hope the legislators understand that homeschooling must remain free from extraneous mandates and restrictions. It is preferable to see these bills that threaten parental rights and homeschooling freedoms to die as soon as possible, this legislative session.

Head Scratcher of the Week – SB222, introduced by Senator Jane Cunningham, basically eliminates restrictions on the child labor laws. Read it for yourself, folks. I can’t even imagine what she was thinking when she introduced this one. It has received two readings and has been referred to General Laws on 2/10/11.

Homeschooling, Research

A Little Something To Remind Us All Of Why We Do What We Do

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I have been wanting to do this for quite a while and just have never made time to pull it together in a blog posting. Now that we, in Missouri, are fighting against some very restrictive and oppressive education reform, I just want to remind you all, or give you a reason, why it is important to keep an eye on the public education realm and its ever vigilant resolve to get its grip around the mustang, homeschooling. Or maybe, sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that we are making the right choices for our children. Here is a little validation in the form of tangible research.

In 2009, Dr. Brian Ray released a study on the progress of homeschooled students compared to their publicly schooled counterparts.

Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled student from all 50 states who took three well-know tests–California Achievement Test, Iowa Basic Skill, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007-08 academic year. The progress Report is the most comprehensive homeschool academic study ever completed.

National Average Percentile Scores
Subtest          Homeschool          Public School
Reading                89                                50
Language             84                                50
Math                     84                                50
Science                 86                                50
Social Studies     84                                50
Core-a                  88                                50
Core-b                  86                                50
Core-a is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math
Core-b is a combination of all subjects that the students took on the test.

There was little difference between the results of homeschooled boys and girls on core scores.

Boys – 87th percentile
Girls – 88th percentile

Household income had little impact on the results of homeschooled students.

$34,000 or less – 85th percentile
$35,000 – $49,999 – 86th percentile
$50,000 – $69,999 – 86 percentile
$70,000 or more – 89 percentile

Educational level of parents:

Neither parent has a college degree – 83rd percentile
One parent has a college degree – 86th percentile
Both parents have a college degree – 90th percentile

Whether either parent was a certified teacher did not matter.

Certified (i.e. either parent ever certified)-87th percentile
Not certified (i.e., neither parent ever certified)-88th percentile

As for the great debate on whether more money makes a difference in educational excellence ….

Parental spending on home education made little difference.

Spent $600 or more on the student – 89th percentile
Spent under $600 on the student – 86th percentile

The extent of government regulation on homeschoolers did not affect the results

Low state regulation – 87th percentile
Medium state regulation – 88th percentile
High state regulation – 87th percentile

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DOXUjOFZZsk]

Final Thought:

Homeschooling is making great strides and hundreds of thousands of parents across America are showing every day what can be achieved when parents exercise their right to homeschool and make tremendous sacrifices to provide their children with the best education available.

As a reminder, Dr. Brian Ray will be speaking on this topic and others on February 21st, at 7PM at the Family Vision Library.

Legislation

Call To Action: Send The Education Committee Your Testimonial To Maintain Educational Freedom!

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The Senate Education hearing scheduled for tomorrow, 2/2/2011, in which the merits of SB20 and SB21 were to be debated, has been canceled due to bad weather. It is tentatively rescheduled for February 9th. We will keep you updated as information becomes available. In the mean time, please be aware of the following details for the upcoming hearing.

SB21 lowers compulsory age to 4 years.

… any child whose fifth birthday occurs at any time during the calendar year shall be deemed to have attained the age of five years at the commencement of the school year beginning that calendar year.

And also mandates kindergarten attendance.

The parent, guardian, or other person having charge, control, or custody of any child who has attained the age of five years in accordance with this section shall be responsible for enrolling the child in kindergarten.

SB20 is a result of the fallout from 2009’s SB291, in which homeschoolers lost the freedom to determine high school graduation credits and graduation status/age for our own children. It is now being “tweaked” once again to solidify the raising of compulsory school age to eighteen in metropolitan districts …

(1) [Seventeen] Eighteen years of age for any metropolitan school district [for which the school board adopts a resolution to establish such compulsory attendance age; provided that such resolution shall take effect no earlier than the school year next following the school year during which the resolution is adopted]; and

and seventeen in a (7 Director, urban districts), and eliminating the option for districts to adopt their own resolutions to the contrary.

Seventeen years of age in a seven director or urban school  district or having successfully completed sixteen credits towards high school  graduation [in all other cases. The school board of a metropolitan school district  for which the compulsory attendance age is seventeen years may adopt a  resolution to lower the compulsory attendance age to sixteen years; provided that  such resolution shall take effect no earlier than the school year next following the  school year during which the resolution is adopted].

Such legislation is oppressive to parental rights, educational choice and local control of schools, and it has no exclusion for homeschooling or private schooling students. So, one can only assume the intention is to target students state wide in gaining control over student attendance on both ends of the compulsory school age law. However, there may be one positive note in the present day attempts to gain even more control on parental educational decisions.

In a press release, issued by Senator Joe Keaveny, he outlines the details of a bill he introduced, SB124. While this bill also mandates a lowering of compulsory school age from 7 to 5 years of age for metropolitan school children, it does include language which excludes homeschoolers. It is important to understand that if this bill is passed the threat to homeschooling freedom is not evaded. This bill only addresses metropolitan school districts and does not negate the language, or lack of it, in SB 20 or SB21.

In all three bills, legislators are attacking the decision making rights of parents to determine the best time for their children to enter or leave school, whether it be home, public, or private school.

It is imperative for you to make your voice heard. Please contact Senator, David Pearce, Education Committee Chairman, and let him know that homeschoolers want to be excluded from any legislation that enters the realm of Educational Citizenry 2020 education reform in the 2011 session and beyond. We have, in the past, suffered great losses of freedom as parents and homeschoolers when SB291 raised compulsory school age and changed graduation requirements. We do not want any further mandates or restrictions imposed which would take away additional rights/freedom. Please, also, express your strong desire for the committee to kill these bills immediately, and prevent them from advancing further in the legislative process.

Please download a witness appearance form and fax it to the senator’s office with your polite comments concerning your wishes to maintain your parental rights for educational choice and homeschooling freedom. These testimonials have great weight with the committee members and go a long way in influencing decisions about legislation. If you do not have a fax, forms can be scanned and emailed or sent by snail mail before the hearing date of 2/9/2011. Phone calls are always a good idea as well. (573-751-2272) The more your representatives hear from you about your wishes, the better they can represent your interests.

Feel free to contact the other members of the Education Committee, as well.