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October 01 News & Commentary
In this Issue:
Discussion Heats Up - Federal Legislation
Legal Concerns in Colorado and New York
Homeschooling in the News
Governing Home Schools in California
Homeschooling and Private Enterprise
Homeschooling Sports Teams
Homeschooling As Political Football
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Discussion Heats Up - Federal Legislation
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Ann: A landslide of discussion explaining, opposing, and favoring the proposed legislation, HR 2732/S 1562, the Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act has hit the Internet. Many news groups, forums and e-mail lists are jammed. You can post your questions or just follow the discussions at HEM-Networking (HEM-Networking-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) or AHA-PolitcalAction (AHA-PoliticalAction-subscribe@yahoogroups.com).
I've come away from this massive load of reading with a sense of foreboding, a feeling that arises in addition to my usual distaste for ANY federal language about homeschooling. I am now thoroughly convinced that this legislation, if passed, can and probably will negatively impact homeschoolers. Somewhere down the road, there will be negative consequences, consequences that cannot be foreseen from here, consequences that could easily dwarf the problems that this legislation is intended to fix, consequences that can easily be avoided by dropping this Bill.
Because state laws (and lack of laws) and state constitutions are widely diverse, and written in widely diverse language, it seems most unlikely that federal law can be written that does not have an adverse effect on homeschoolers somewhere in the country. Shoot, even knowledgeable veteran homeschooling advocates from different states struggle to understand each other - why would we think that a federal law written by politicians would be a good idea? The discussions I've read, both recently and over the years, say it best: Language that works in West Virginia is dangerous in California; wording that Californians like won't fly in Pennsylvania; and round and round this law would go, north and south, east and west, unintentionally steamrolling homeschoolers in one region in a misguided effort to protect the toes of others.
It is time to stop this legislation in its tracks. We need to fix the problems that this bill tries to address in the way we as homeschoolers know works best - one at a time and at the state level, where education law rightfully resides. The portions of the bill that pertain specifically to federal law (FERPA, Child Labor Laws) should be addressed universally for ALL students and families. Using this bill to establish homeschoolers as a special interest group is NOT in the best interest of homeschoolers.
Let's roll up our sleeves and retire this legislation.
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headline: Connecticut and New Jersey Lead the Way
http://www.CTHomeschoolNetwork.org
Read a line by line critique of HR 2732/S 1562. One snippet: "The reason for any "labor law" regarding children under 18 is to protect them from working at the expense of obtaining an education. This law is directly related to education, a power not enumerated in the Constitution as a federal power, but a power left to the States and the people. Congress is again declaring that it has the power to regulate the hours and periods of time when a homeschooled child may be employed."
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headline: Q. "What bad things may happen to homeschoolers if this bill passes into law?"
http://www.odonnellweb.com
A. "The short answer is that HR2732 creates an avenue that could lead to Federal regulation of homeschooling. What little influence the federal government has over education is based on the strings attached to federal funds that are made available to the states. At present, homeschool regulations are state law. Satisfy the law in your state and you are free to homechool. Adding the federal government to that list of people you have to satisfy is obviously a bad thing."
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headline: New Jersey Weighs In
http://www.geocities.com
"Home Education Magazine, the National Home Education Network, and the New Jersey Homeschool Association, along with scores of other networking and support groups across the United States, are angry that HSLDA would do this: introduce legislation with far-reaching consequences and not bother to warn - let alone consult - the majority of American homeschoolers who donÍt belong to HSLDA."
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Legal Concerns in Colorado and New York
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headline: Board Tables Home-school Issue
http://www.craigdailypress.com
Craig Daily Press, Colorado, By Amy Hatten, September 26
"The Moffat County School District Board of Education tabled by a 5-1 vote a decision to change the requirement that homeschoolers be required to take two district classes if they opt to take one. Home-schooled children have the option to take district classes but the district doesn't receive state funding unless homeschoolers take a total of two classes... Though the district isn't losing money according to the current scenario, Superintendent Pete Bergmann said the district could gain about $11,000 with four homeschoolers enrolled in two classes each."
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headline: Home-schoolers Left Out
http://www.nyjournalnews.com
The Journal News, New York, By Randi Weiner, September 25
"New York's home-schooling parents are angry and frustrated over a 30-year-old state law - largely unenforced until last fall - that won't let their children graduate from college. The law prohibits students without a high school diploma or a General Educational Development test certificate from receiving a degree from a State or City University of New York school, even if they complete all requirements and pass all courses."
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Homeschooling in the News
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headline: Home-schooled Students Shine in National Merit List
http://www.suntimes.com
Chicago Sun-Times, Illinois, By Kate N. Grossman, September 29
"[Sarah Bramsen] was recently named a National Merit Semifinalist, putting her among the top 1 percent of Illinois seniors who took the Preliminary SAT... She's part of a growing number of home-schooled kids cracking this elite group. Since 1997, their ranks have grown by about 180 percent, from nearly 100 to 266, including four in the metro area this year."
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headline: Clive Library Helps Home-schoolers
http://www.dmregister.com
Des Moines Register, Iowa, By Sara Sleyster, September 11
"For the third year, the Clive Public Library is helping families that home-school their children by offering additional educational programming and research support. 'Home-schooling families that use this library rave about it,' said Ann Kavanaugh of West Des Moines. 'I've had my best experiences here.'"
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headline: At Home in the Schoolroom
http://www.sunspot.net
Baltimore Sun, Maryland, By Tricia Bishop, September 15
"Fed up with her son's performance in school, Kim Clayton pulled him out of third grade at Dasher Green Elementary in Columbia during spring break in 2002 and never took him back.
'Society has so tied the [public education] system's hands. They want it to be everything to everyone, perform social services even,' said Clayton, who was Dasher Green's PTA president at the time. 'Teachers are too overburdened to teach.'"
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headline: In a Class of Their Own
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
The Telegraph, U.K., By Fred Redwood, September 29
"The state won't help parents who want to teach their children at home, so parents have pooled resources to help themselves... meetings such as this one at Exeter and Crediton's Free Range Learning (FRL) group may in the future become commonplace as more parents, dissatisfied with the state system, take the education of their children into their own hands."
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headline: Home-schooler to Share Varied Talents at Fair
http://www.gazette.net
The Gazette, Knoxville, Tennessee, by Aaron Chumbris,September 11
"Brighid Heneghan, a home-schooled student who lives in Knoxville, will share her wide variety of talents at this year's Great Frederick Fair. This week, Brighid plans to enter her arts and crafts, sewing, baked goods, photography and her dogs for judging."
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headline: Home School Students Recognized
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com
Port Clinton News Herald, Ohio, October 01
"The Erie Islands Home School Association recently recognized home school students from Ottawa and Sandusky counties for their academic and extra curricular achievements."
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"Governing Home Schools" in California
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Ann: California is a national leader in offering public school district sponsored home education programs. According to HomeSchool Association of California, perhaps as many as 200,000 students may be using these and other home based education models. It makes good sense to watch for a glimpse of what the future might hold, especially in states just beginning to develop these programs. The following story, about Camptonville Academy, a school that promotes individualized education for each of its 750 students in grades K-12, includes a troubling quote from a county superintendent.
headline: Independent Learning School Catches On
http://www.theunion.com
The Union, Western Nevada County, California, by David Mirhadi, September 29
"Stan Miller, Nevada County's assistant superintendent of schools, said home schooling has quickly shed its novelty status. Freedom of choice and flexibility have fueled the advent of these schools, he said. 'I think the state has made it a lot easier to govern home schools.'"
Ann: Farther down in the article, we find more:
"Jeff Rice...provides charter schools with legislative updates and informs them of school-compliance issues, such as new state standards or credentialing rules. Such services have become necessary as charter schools in California have come under fire in recent years for failing to track attendance, hiring unqualified teachers and mismanaging funds from sponsoring districts."
Ann: So "governing homeschools" is needed in California, supposedly because charters and public independent study programs have run amok? And just what does Miller mean by "govern homeschools" anyway?
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Homeschooling and Private Enterprise
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Ann: I am fond of the private enterprise model of providing support to new homeschoolers. Three very different businesses were in the news this week, one just opening, one that has been around for a bit longer, and a traditional favorite.
headline: Open Door Bookstore Comes to West Bend Area
The Algona Upper Des Moines, Iowa, September 25
http://www.zwire.com
"Cindi Wachholz will host a grand opening of the Open Door Bookshop, a consignment book store that offers gently used books and educational resources. The shop is... in a building that used to serve as the farm's butcher house."
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headline: Homeschooling Gets Out of The House
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
The Press, Atlantic City, New Jersey, By Diane D'Amico, September 29
"So every Tuesday they come to the Cumberland County Community Church hall where the Homeschool Academy of South Jersey offers a daylong series of classes including Spanish, algebra, sign language and U.S. history... The academy began four years ago... About 30 to 50 families participate."
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headline: Calvert Program Gets Top Grades in Home Service
http://www.sunspot.net
Baltimore institution has been leading force in nontraditional settings
Baltimore Sun, Maryland, By Linda Linley, September 15
"Calvert School Education Services, the nonprofit home instruction division of the Calvert School in North Baltimore, has long been known as 'the school in a box.'... More than 300,000 students have been schooled in the Calvert curriculum, Halle said, about 186,000 of them in the past decade."
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Homeschooling Sports Teams
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Ann: It is autumn and homeschooling sports teams are again making news in local papers right along side their schooled counterparts.
headline: Newton Christian Spikers Sweep
The Newton Kansan, September 26
http://www.thekansan.com
"The Newton Christian High School girls' volleyball team remained unbeaten with a pair of wins Thursday in a home triangular. The Conquerors stopped the Derby Home School Invasion 25-15, 25-13."
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headline: Golf Tourney
http://www.zwire.com
The Algona Upper Des Moines, Iowa, September 27, 2003
"The date for the St. Francis of Assisi Home School Association's sixth annual Fall Golf Classic has changed."
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Homeschooling As Political Football
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headline: Simcoe-Grey Candidates Face Off
Televised debate gets heated
http://www.theenterprisebulletin.com
The Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin, Canada, By Raymond Bowe, September 30
"A live televised debate for Simcoe-Grey candidates to share their platforms turned into an all-out assault on Progressive Conservative incumbent Jim Wilson and his partyÍs policies.
Taylor, a proponent of home schooling, and [having] railed against 'teaching in a moral vacuum,' reacted angrily when Redmond insinuated a high school education did not qualify a person as an educator."
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headline: New Hampshire Named Free State
http://www.news-miner.com
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Alaska, Associated Press, By Kate McCann, October 01
CONCORD, N.H. "Burlington, Vt., businessman Mike Fisher, a project member, wants to get rid of the need for public education and replace it with scholarships to private schools. 'I believe that private school and home schooling is much more effective for educating children and helping them educate themselves,' Fisher said."
Ann: If politicians use homeschooling for clout, does that mean that homeschooling is mainstream?
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Final Words
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Please keep me in mind as you find and make the news and let me know what you discover. Thanks to all who contributed to this and past issues.
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HEM News & Commentary is a weekly report on what's happening in the world of homeschooling. Gleanings from the news media, accolades and pans, hot discussions, legal and legislative successes and problems - all are fair game, and gathered in one column for your convenience.
And just in case you don't have the time to read every word in print, we will summarize and discuss key news and trends that we think are the most provocative or that may have the greatest impact on the future of homeschooling.
This service is available free. Archives can be accessed at
http://www.homeedmag.com/nc/newscommentary.html
The weekly updates will be announced on HEM's discussion lists. You'll find a print version - the highlights of these reports - in a column by the same name in Home Education Magazine.
Your opinions and feedback are always welcome. Contact me.
Ann Lahrson-Fisher
HEM News & Commentary
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