Tag Archives: HSLDA

Educational, Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

Parental Rights Alert: HSLDA/ParentalRights.org Action Item

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ParentalRights.org issued an alert, today, urging Missourians to contact the state legislature in support of HB 513.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Chapter 1, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 1.250, to read as follows:

1.250. 1. (1) The liberty of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, and care of his or her child is a fundamental right.

(2) Neither the state of Missouri nor any political subdivision of this state shall infringe this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.

 (1) This section applies to all laws of this state, and the implementation of such laws, whether statutory or otherwise, and whether adopted before or after the enactment of this section.

(2) Any statutory law enacted after the date of the enactment of this section is subject to this section unless such law explicitly excludes such application by reference to 11 this section.

Here’s the communication from HSLDA:

February 27, 2013Call To Support Missouri Parental Rights ActMissouri House Bill 513 (HB 513) would preserve the traditional right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children – but we need your help to see it passed. HB513 faces a crucial vote in the Missouri House Committee of Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, and that vote could come at any time.

A parent’s traditional right to raise their children according to their own conscience and belief was unquestioned in America until 2000. In that year the Supreme Court’s Troxel v. Granville decision failed for the first time to respect the rights of parents on par with other fundamental rights.

Since that decision, 24 lower courts have revealed an erosion of respect for parental rights as well – largely because legislatures have not yet stepped up to make sure these rights remain protected with clear legislation.

The time for silence is over. The Missouri legislature needs to say loud and clear that parental rights are worth protecting, and not to be left to the whim of judges.

Action Item

Please visit http://www.house.mo.gov/ and enter your zip code in the search box to find your state representative. Then, if your representative is on the list below, please call him or her and urge support for HB 513. Your message can be as simple as, “Please vote yes on HB 513. The rights of parents need to be protected by statute, not left to the shifting whims of judges.” Or you can form your own message from among the talking points below.

Committee members with an asterisk are already cosponsors of the bill. W encourage you to still call them, but also thank them for being a cosponsor when you call.

Contact Information

Jeff Grisamore, Chairman573-751-1456  Rick Brattin*573-751-3783  Elaine Gannon573-751-7735 
Elijah Haahr*573-751-2210  Andrew Koenig*573-751-5568  Sue Meredith573-751-4183 
Genise Montecillo573-751-9472  Jim Neely573-751-0246  Stacey Newman573-751-0100 
Time Remole573-751-6566 Jill Schupp573-751-9762

Talking Points

HB 513 is designed to protect your parental rights as “fundamental.” Fundamental rights require a high level of legal protection, and only a “governmental interest of the highest order,” or a “compelling government interest,” can override such a right. Otherwise, the government only needs to show some “rational basis” for violating your right – and that is really no right at all.

So here are some key talking points to remember as you urge your lawmaker (and friends) to support HB 513:

HB 513 will not give any additional rights, nor expand any existing rights that parents have. It only provides better protection for the rights parents already have.

HB 513 will not allow parents to abuse their kids. It will not take authority away from the state to protect children from abuse or neglect. Because HB 513 reflects what is already the legal standard, it will have no impact on these other laws.

HB 513 will not remove the “best interest of the child” standard. Currently, that standard comes into play when a parent has been deemed unfit or when the family is broken and it falls to the judge to determine child custody. And the same standard will still come into play in all of those same situations even after HB 513 is passed.

HB 513 will not change the definition of “parent” or change who does or does not have parental rights.

It also will not upset current custody or adoption orders. Even when parental rights are fundamental, courts still have the power to enter custody orders when custody of a child is in dispute. And courts still have power to terminate the rights of parents (like for adoption). HB 513 does not change that.

HB 513 also will not let parents dictate curriculum in public schools. Even fundamental parental rights have been found insufficient to “entitle individual parents to enjoin school boards from providing information the boards determine to be appropriate” for students. Fields v. Palmdale School District, 2005

Thank you for standing with us in support of parental rights in Missouri!

Sincerely,

Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research

Scott Woodruff, of HSLDA, gives this definition of “Fundamental Rights” as they relate to Parental Rights:

There are three types of rights: ordinary, fundamental, and absolute. If a right is “absolute,” the government can do absolutely nothing to restrict it—like the right to choose a faith. The rights of parents have never been considered absolute. The battle today is over whether your rights as a parent are “ordinary” or “fundamental.”

Listen to this interview with William Estrada, of ParentalRights.org, and his explanation of the fine points of the bill and how it solidifies your parental rights.

Additionally, check the sidebar on the home page for a complete listing of email address, of the Missouri House and Senate, for you to copy and paste in your address fields so you can send blanket emails to the legislature in support of parental rights.

Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

Tyranny Brewing In Hollister, Missouri

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Should a free citizen ever be afraid to walk, and be present, within their own community, without the fear of interrogation from government? It seems the town of Hollister, Missouri would rather interrogate and incarcerate its law abiding youth than work to fight juvenile crime. Daytime curfews have become all the rage across the country. Are they an easy solution to an out of control crime situation? Has juvenile crime become so severe that the town needs to go on lock down during daytime hours? Or should law enforcement find more effective ways to identify criminal activity and stop harassing citizens without probable cause?

HSLDA issued this action item today. Please read it and contact the authorities below, even if you don’t live in Hollister. Send a message that Missourians don’t do business this way.

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,

Your help is urgently needed to block an effort in Hollister, MO, to pass an ordinance that would make it a crime for young people to be in a public place during public school hours.

Daytime curfews do not accomplish what the proponents claim. They have a disproportionate impact on homeschool families because we allow our children free time while public schools are in session.

Homeschoolers have been harassed and made fearful by policemen who treat them like suspected criminals for doing nothing more than being in public. Daytime curfews often give rise to litigation.

Action Requested

1. If you live in Hollister please stand up for freedom by immediately calling the two aldermen for your ward and the mayor (contact information is listed below) to express your opposition to the daytime curfew proposal. If you ever plan to visit Hollister, call any alderman. Your message can be as simple as:

“Please oppose the daytime curfew. It will reduce freedom, but it will not reduce crime.”

Or you can express your opposition in your own words.

2. Please pass this on to other area families, as well!

Contact Information

Alderman Ward I, David Honey
161 Trent St, Point Lookout, 65672
417 230-4340

Alderman Ward I, Jim Davidson
PO Box 1876, Hollister, 65673
417 334-9002

Alderman Ward II, Phil Carman
363 Greenbriar Lane, Hollister, 65672
417 942-0887

Alderman Ward II, David Willard
406 Knox Ave., Hollister, 65672
417 336-5925

Mayor David Tate
155 Jones St., Hollister, 65673
417 335-2364

Background

1. Daytime curfews do not deter juvenile crime.

A recent California study compared the juvenile crime rates of counties that enforced curfew ordinances and counties that did not. The crime rates were the same. The curfews had no effect on juvenile crime.

After the city of Belvidere, Illinois, enacted a daytime curfew in 1996, chronic truancy surged by an astonishing 72% over the next 10 years.

2. Daytime curfews allow searches without probable cause.

The Fourth Amendment forbids any investigation of a citizen without a “probable cause.” The proposed ordinance allows policemen to stop and interrogate a person merely because he looks young enough to be violating the curfew. It is an invitation to harass homeschool families.

3. Daytime curfews assume a person is guilty until proven innocent.

In several incidents where homeschool students were stopped by police, they had done nothing to arouse suspicion. There was no evidence they had committed a crime or intended to. Nonetheless, the police interrogated them and treated them like criminals until they had proved their innocence.

4. The ordinance allows some exceptions, including an exception for homeschooled children who are in a public place with parental permission. Unfortunately, the only way for a policeman to determine if an exception applies is to stop and interrogate the frightened young person. By then the damage has already been done. The child may be afraid to go outdoors again. The right to homeschool includes the right to be free from fear—especially for young people, who are most vulnerable to feelings of fear.

5. The Hollister City Council discussed a draft version of a daytime curfew on October 4.

6. HSLDA and Families for Home Education are united in opposing this ordinance.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom in Missouri!

Sincerely,

Scott A. Woodruff
Senior Counsel, HSLDA

Educational, Elections, Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

Compulsory School Age Mandates On Steroids?

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Every year, in Missouri, homeschoolers face legislation that threatens their parental rights and educational freedoms. Each year, lawmakers present bills, in some form, that mandates compulsory school age. The heavy hand of big government attempts to mandate compulsory school attendance because they know the more time they can mandate children spend in government schools, the more influence they can have on your children. Homeschoolers must always be vigilant in monitoring these attempts encroach on compulsory education requirements because these regulations will, without fail, reach over into homeschooling regulations, and parental rights to direct the education of our children will be forever lost.

On Tuesday evening, in his State of the Union Address, the president stated it was his intention to propose that every state mandate a raise in compulsory school age to 18. As homeschoolers, this flies in the face of all parental authority in deciding what is best for our children in the educational realm we choose appropriate.

Michel P. Farris, of Home School Legal Defense, issued a statement yesterday, urging all members of the homeschooling community to make their voices heard regarding the potential intrusion on educational freedom and parental rights proposed by the Obama administration.

Call Now!

Right now, please call the White House and your members of Congress, and give them this message:

“Last night, President Obama called for the government to mandate that all children stay in school until they graduate or turn age 18. This is not the federal government’s responsibility. Leave education decisions to parents, not federal bureaucrats. Tell President Obama to withdraw his compulsory attendance mandate immediately.”

  • The White House: 202-456-1414, or send an online message.
  • Your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators: 202-224-3121 (Capitol Switchboard) or use HSLDA’s Legislative Toolbox to find their names and contact info.

There appears to be no limit to this president’s desire for power. Car companies, banks, doctors, and now schools and the family. But this time he’s gone way too far, and homeschoolers and freedom-loving Americans need to make sure that he hears our message.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Farris, JD, LLM
Chairman, HSLDA
Educational, Homeschooling, Legislation

Missouri Legislators Are Baaaaack! Do They Want Your Educational Freedom?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH-B6A04iK0]

They’re baaaaack in session and education is a top priority for the Missouri legislature this year. They brought with them, to the capitol, the philosophy that government needs to be in control of your money and your children’s education, too, as is demonstrated by a growing list of educational bills.

As the session begins, it’s time once again to scan the ever growing list of legislation and flag items of interest. So far, there are only a few pieces that homeschoolers, in Missouri, need to keep an eye on.

It is certain that education will be an important subject in this legislative session. Last year, over 135 bills related to educational issues, out of over 2000 were filed. None of them passed, and none advanced local control of schools or autonomy for parents to direct the education of their own children. In fact, most of the legislation filed, in Missouri, was tooled to advance the federal government’s version of educational reform, otherwise known as Race To The Top. 

I’ll post more later on the vast Race To The Top/Educated Citizenry 2020/Educational Reform snow job that is about to be done on Missouri taxpayers, but first let’s look at just a few homeschooling sensitive bills.

TAX CREDITS for education: HB1133 introduced by Representative Jay Barnes, who, by the way, has declined to endorse Homeschooling United’s Educational Freedom Pledge, will provide any taxpayer, beginning in 2013, deductions for educational expenses. Some expenses include:

  • Educational software that assists a dependent in improving knowledge in core curriculum areas of the school attended;
  • Fees for after-school enrichment programs;
  • School fees and tuition;
  • School supplies required for use during the regular school day;
  • Tutoring;

As long as we maintain our current tax structure, this would be a great thing for homeschool families. Many of us would love to have the tax break on educational expenses. And credits are different from vouchers in that they are not regulated with governmental strings attached. They merely require you meet the proof of educational expenditure. HSLDA is a supporter of tax credits under certain circumstances.

One thing to keep in mind, since Representative Barnes declined to support educational freedom, as outlined in our pledge, registration by homeschooling families may or may not be an issue if you receive these credits. Perhaps it would be a good idea if Mr. Barnes added specific language to his bill to protect families and prohibit registration with the state by anyone benefitting from his proposed tax credit plan. Give him a call or drop him a line and let him know you expect any legislation coming out of Jefferson City to maintain your parental rights and educational sovereignty. 

COMPULSORY SCHOOL AGE just keeps rearing its ugly head, session after session. Why? Because they know repeated attempts to pass legislation usually are successful. A couple of years ago, homeschoolers lost a great deal of autonomy when similar legislation was “slipped through” during the last minutes of the legislative session. Law makers in Jefferson City know all the tricks and eventually get what they want. They are vigilant.

SB460 is a version of last year’s bill that requires any child who turns five at any time in the calendar year will be enrolled in kindergarten. As it stands now, kindergarten is not mandatory, but if Senator Robin Wright-Jones has her way, it will be.

In addition to lowering the compulsory school age to 5, her bill also offers the opportunity for you to have your child screened by the school district, at an earlier age, (because 5 years old just isn’t early enough) to determine if your child can, or should, start school at 4 years of age or earlier. Now, let’s think about that. How many of you think a school district, that receives funds from the state for average daily attendance, (having warm bodies in seats in classrooms) isn’t going to conclude that your little geniuses are ready for school? Just sayin’.

This bill died last session, but since it has resurfaced in its original form from last year, I’m guessing the ultimate goal is to get your kids from cradle to grave and this is a step in the right direction. Call or write Senator Wright-Jones and tell her it’s a no-go on this bill. Might want to call  your own reps and senators, as well, and tell them you don’t appreciate taxpayer’s time and money being spent on writing and promoting this kind of legislation that further chokes educational freedom and parental rights to make educational choices for our children.

SCHOLARSHIPS  Ok, this one burns my britches for  a couple of reasons. The state of Missouri is now going to offer college scholarships to students who graduate, early, from high school. Don’t get excited. You are a homeschooler and do not qualify for this opportunity. Only public high school students may apply. Really?

Senator Scott Rupp introduced SB483 to give public high school students, who are academically advanced, an edge in college application. Fine. But what about homeschoolers? Many homeschoolers, who have proven to exceed their public school counterparts in academic achievement could really use a break. Especially since we are not only paying taxes to schools we don’t use, but also funding our own educations. The oversight is insulting.

Additionally, the state is broke. Yes, that’s right. Incase you haven’t heard, the budget is an estimated 700-900 million dollars short this year because the legislature has been balancing state accounts with stimulus money for the last few years. 700-900 million are the figures the lawmakers are floating to the public, but there is speculation the deficit will be closer to two billion because the state funds teachers pensions and the piper has come to be paid. And so, someone feels there is need to fund student scholarships, with state money, when balancing the budget is going to be such a struggle, this year.

If you have never before considered, seriously, requiring government to get out of the education business, entirely, perhaps it’s time to entertain the idea.

FINANCIAL AID FOR HOMESCHOOLERS? Really. This bill gets the “Throw Me A Bone of the Year Award.”  But perhaps I speak to quickly, because the session has just started, and there will certainly be many more bills filed which could qualify, however, if we are giving money to public school graduates for scholarships, why do we need to reiterate that homeschooled students should be “considered” equally for financial aid, unless Senator Schaaf is countering with SB527, Senator Rupp’s SB438 public school scholarship program, to enable homeschooled students to qualify?

SPORTS PARTICIPATION BY HOMESCHOOLERS Representative Barnes takes a stab at smoothing out the homeschool student’s ability to participate in organized sports with HB 1206. Pretty bold language in the bill. One to watch as the courts may see an onslaught of families filing restraining orders to prohibit their exclusion from public school sports teams. Popping popcorn in anticipation of the festivities.

As bills get added to the long list of legislation, Homeschooling United will keep you updated as to their progress. I will also update our lists of Educational Freedom Pledge friendly and unfriendly representatives and candidates with in the next couple of weeks. Good information to have as elections approach.

Here’s a link to the Senate Education Committee members, and this will link you to the House Education Committee members.

Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

Oppressive Reporting Legislation S1877 Stalled

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Homeschool Legal Defense issued a statement, late today, in which they reported that S1877 was stalled during the hearing process. In the alert sent on Monday, the HSLDA described the consequences of such a bill as promoting a police state which could potentially create situations making it more difficult to address the needs and identify true abuse.

A link is provided here for you to watch the hearings and see for yourself the arguments made for and against the legislation.

Educational, Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

HSLDA Issues Call To Action On S. 1877

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The following was cross posted on GuardianAdLitemReform.wordpress.com

We have outlined, here, some of the abuses of courts and government departments that oversee families and domestic issues. Tomorrow, there is a bill that goes on the floor for debate that would require mandatory reporting by all adults of child abuse and neglect. While, of course, anyone should do so who is truly a witness to such bad acts, but a law requiring/mandating such action would absolutely lead to privacy violations within families as well as false allegations of abuse and neglect which would in turn clutter up the system, making it even more difficult to identify those truly at risk. And do we really want to increase the federal government’s roll in social services investigations.

S. 1877  is due for a Senate hearing tomorrow and you are urged to contact your representatives now to discourage this harmful and oppressive legislation.

U.S. Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

Homeschool Legal Defense (HSLA) offers some background on the issue:

Background:
S. 1877 will amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require—for the first time ever—every single state that receives federal funding under CAPTA to force every single adult to be a mandatory reporter of child abuse or neglect. Currently, most states only require certain people (e.g., doctors and teachers) to be mandatory reporters. HSLDA opposes this for the following reasons:

  • The federal government should not force the states to make every single adult a mandatory reporter of child abuse and neglect as a condition for receiving certain federal money. This is a violation of the principle of federalism. The federal government has no constitutional authority to force the states to make every adult a mandatory reporter.
  • Forcing the states to make every single adult a mandatory reporter with no exceptions will lead to a police-state environment, where every adult is forced to act as an informer against friends, family, and neighbors, or face possible charges. There are grave threats to liberty and personal privacy that could result from this.
  • Forcing every adult to be a mandatory reporter will likely lead to a massive increase in child abuse and neglect accusations and subsequent investigations. Individuals will likely report suspected child abuse and neglect out of an abundance of caution so they do not face possible charges. Instead of protecting children, this will (1) harm innocent families as they face baseless investigations, and (2) waste the time of social workers on baseless investigations, instead of protecting children who are actually being abused or neglected.

S. 1877 also creates a massive federally funded educational campaign and training program to inform citizens about the new mandatory reporting of child abuse laws in the states. HSLDA opposes this for the following reasons:

  • In a time of federal budget deficits, the federal government should not be spending $5 million to $10 million per year on a program that should be left to the states.
  • Although the program is established in S. 1877 as a federal grant program to the states, the secretary of Health and Human Services is given the authority to “develop and disseminate guidance and information on best practices for” the entire educational campaign and training program. This could easily lead to the federal government mandating to the states the entire reporting campaign.

In conclusion, S. 1877 will lead to a massive increase in child abuse and neglect investigations upon families. The stated purpose of S. 1877’s mandatory reporting expansion, along with the education campaign and training program is to “improve reporting” of child abuse and neglect. The bill will give states new federal grants to set up“experimental, model, and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques that may improve reporting of and response to suspected and known incidents of child abuse or neglect by adults to the State child protective service agencies or to law enforcement agencies.”

Not only will S. 1877 require every single adult to be a mandatory reporter, S. 1877 will incentivize states to create untested, “experimental” programs that will increase the number of child abuse and neglect reports to CPS agencies.

HSLDA has seen firsthand how malicious or ignorant child abuse and neglect allegations have destroyed innocent families. A family has few protections against the power of CPS agencies. And even if a CPS investigation is closed as unfounded, the trauma to a young child, to an innocent family as a stranger (albeit maybe a well-intentioned stranger) enters the home and threatens to remove the children, is lasting and profound.

S. 1877 is unnecessary. The states—using federal money under the existing CAPTA statute—are fully capable of protecting children from legitimate abuse and neglect. S. 1877 will create a massive police state of reporting and will lead to unnecessary abuse and neglect investigations.

Educational, Elections, Homeschooling

Time To Vet Candidates Who Support Educational Freedom, And Those Who Don’t

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/user/SplashLPN?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/SC9fscufcJI]

Missouri is a hot bed of anticipated educational reform. Not much different than the rest of the country, actually. Since the inception of the Obama administration and its trend to nationalize “everything,” Arne Duncan, his education secretary, has been instrumental in pushing for the same in education. In Missouri, the legislature has struggled with finding a way to solve the problems of its abysmally poor performing public education system by way of various “school choice” and “educational reform” initiatives.

Why should homeschooling families be worried about what goes on in the public education realm? With Arne Duncan at the helm of the department of education, it may not be long before private schools and homeschooling will fall under the same mandates as public education. Common core standards have been adopted by most states in the country and Missouri has fallen in line with the trend. The promotion of Charter Schools is the latest school reform, flavor of the month in Missouri, but they promise nothing in the betterment of education as they are sure to fall under the same common core mandates as the rest of public education.

So, what’s a parent to do about the education of the nation’s future generations? Well, perhaps it is time to think outside the traditional education reform box, elect some non-establishment leaders and consider giving the decisions and responsibility of education back to the people. Bill Randles, candidate for governor in Missouri spoke to a group of concerned voters, recently, and thinks the people should make educational decisions for their children and their tax dollars should be directed as they see fit, for educational purposes, not the government. He proposes a voucher system for Missouri in addition to amending the Missouri Constitution to change how the budget addresses education.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC9fscufcJI]

Homeschoolers have always been wary of vouchers and HSLDA has issued a statement on their stance regarding the issue. Strings attached has always been a major stumbling block in wide spread acceptance of vouchers. Randles feels he can devise a system that will be free of the ‘strings attached’ problem and just give taxpayers their money back, to spend as they see fit.

Homeschoolers need to engage, int he current election cycle, and educate themselves about who will best represent them, and advocate for the freedom to choose the appropriate education for their own children.

Educational, Homeschooling, Legislation

Federal Government Moves Closer To Regulating Homeschooling Across The Country

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You read it here first. Homeschooling United has reported, extensively, on Race To The Top (RT3) and the government’s efforts to regulate and mandate your educational freedoms right out from under you. Now, World Net Daily (WND) reports how the federal government may have designs on controlling homeschooling educational freedom. Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA) issued a statement earlier this week encouraging you to contact your elected representatives because there is legislation in the hopper that may bring homeschooling under the same required regulation as its institutional school counterparts.

The concern is about Democrat-driven plans in the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, a massive federal program last reauthorized in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act.

The WND article also outlines clearly the feared outcomes of such legislation: the fear of loss of local, state and parental control, and pressure to succumb to nationally aligned curriculum and testing standards.

If you live in Missouri, you need to know the Common Core has been adopted by Missouri DESE. While legislation hasn’t pursued regulation for homeschooling, yet, the legislature does, year after year, continually introduce bills to increase the amount of compulsory school age required for children, across the board, which would also include homeschooling. Last session saw over 2000 pieces of legislation written and at least 130 bills related to education. None of the legislation in the last session was aimed at advancing local control of schools/education. Much of it was written to advance Educated Citizenry 2020, Missouri’s version of Race To The Top. While no education legislation was passed in 2011, the upcoming session is sure to see a hard push to accomplish agendas that failed in the legislature last spring.

 

Homeschooling, Legislation, parenting

Belleville, Illinois Still Pushing Daytime Curfew …

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… just under the radar and not out in the open. Seems any changes made after an overwhelming turnout of concerned citizens at last week’s city council meeting had no real effect on its members. Changes made to the charter were superficial and unsubstantial. Why does government, on any level, think they have the right to dictate to you how you raise your children? Read the following statement from HSLDA concerning the “changes” made by Belleville’s leadership to the daytime curfew issue.

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends in Belleville:

Following your awesome showing at the last Board of Aldermen meeting, the Chief of Police agreed to revise the proposed daytime curfew ordinance.
We have now had an opportunity to analyze his revisions. They are for the most part mere window dressing. They do not change the fundamental nature of the ordinance as a daytime curfew.
Scripture acknowledges the government’s role in making people fear to do wrong. But a daytime curfew makes people fear to do what is right.
HSLDA, Illinois Christian Home Educators, and local homeschool leaders will continue to work to protect the fundamental liberty of freedom of movement in Belleville.
Action Requested
NOTE:  Please take action only if you live in the Belleville area.
1.) Clear your calendar for the evening of July 5 at 7:00 p.m. The Board of Aldermen will bring up the ordinance for consideration at that time.
2.) If you have a personal line of communication with any aldermen, contact them personally and ask for their support in preventing a daytime curfew.
Background
The basic change in the revised ordinance is that the daytime curfew provisions were shifted from section 30-1-33 to section 30-1-44.
The revised ordinance deletes all references to homeschooling. While this is an appropriate change, the ordinance remains repugnant to fundamental freedom because it criminalizes the basic human right to move about during the daytime.
Daytime curfews tend to spawn litigation. If Belleville enacts a daytime curfew, another loser could be the taxpayer—who will be given the city’s legal bill to pay if a lawsuit follows some day.
Thank you for standing with us for freedom!
Scott A. Woodruff
HSLDA Senior Counsel
Legislation

Tax Credits For Homeschoolers In Missouri?

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Missouri is considering, this year, offering tax credits to homeschoolers. Perhaps it is in reaction to the long list of educational reform bills which include one, HJR 10, that is also flirting with the idea of creating a voucher program. HB618 sponsored by Jason Holsman is a bill that allows for a tax deduction of up to $500 per year for school supplies used for the purpose of homeschooling a child.

The great tax credit/voucher debate is still ongoing. Can you take tax credits or any kind of government assistance and remain sovereign? While the differences are large, between tax credits and vouchers, there will always be the question of how the government determines what criteria constitutes “supplies”. Would you be required to submit documentation of the “supplies” you use to be eligible for the deduction? Would registration be required as well?

This article in Home Education Magazine has a comprehensive compilation of researched articles on both sides of the topic on tax breaks. Take some time to read this and click the links to the different articles. It’s worth the time.

HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) has declared its position against vouchers, but supports tax credits as long as it does not induce additional burdens on the homeschooling family. While some homeschooling families feel they are being doubly taxed, since they do not use the public school system and are also paying for their own children’s education at home, tax credits for education seem to be a viable relief to the solution. They also caution to be aware of the type of tax credit your state offers.

Beware of legislation that may seem like an educational tax credit, but is really a “refundable tax credit”. A regular educational tax credit reduces your total tax burden on a dollar for dollar basis, whereas refundable tax credits apply even if you don’t have a tax bill. Refundable tax credits are vouchers in disguise.

It’s not likely that Missouri will see tax credits this year. The bill has stalled since its second read in the House in February. I was unable to reach Representative Holsman to discuss the status of this bill. I will update you should there be further developments.