Is SB 268 a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

 

 

 

CheNH e-Lert April 2, 2006
Certainly the reason Governor Lynch is trying to raise the age of compulsory attendance to age 18 IS NOT to increase regulation on homeschoolers, but that will be the result if SB 268 passes.

While it isn't certain what form these regulations will take, Mike Compitello, our appointed representative to the State Government's Home Education and Advisory Council ("HEAC") is certain that this legislation will open the door to increased regulation of homeschoolers by the State.

On April 4th, The NH House will hold a hearing at 10:00 AM in Room 207 LOB to hear testimony on this bill. We invite you to attend to show your opposition to this bill that will increase regulation of homeschoolers and increase our taxes!

We've asked you to call your representative (and the Education Committee) to ask them some questions about this Bill AND to attend the hearing if possible.

Tips on Testifying

Attending the hearing is a great opportunity to see our state government in action. A good civics lesson opportunity perhaps?

The Hearing is scheduled for April 4, 2006 at 10:00 AM in Room 207 LOB. Please come if you can.

If you are planning to attend and testify here are some things to remember:

  1. Remember in order to testify you have to sign up on the pink cards. And if you are testifying (anyone can), you should also sign the blue sheets.
  2. When you testify, pick 1-2 points (you can use the list below) to focus your testimony. Speak for 1-2 minutes, make your point and move on. If someone has already made your point – there’s no need to make it again you can simply stand to state that your point has been made and you stand in opposition to the bill.
  3. If available wear a sticker showing your opposition to the bill.
  4. Be civil and courteous. Being polite, courteous and respectful will help our cause. While we are being critical of SB 268, we can acknowledge the good intentions motivating those proposing this legislation. Even if they’re wrong and we’re trying to defeat the legislation, it is in our interest to be civil and courteous.
  5. There is no reason that you need to identify yourself as a homeschooler when you testify. Remember the legislators think that they have put an “exemption” into the legislation exempting homeschoolers. As parents and taxpayers we have sufficient reason for opposing this legislation regardless of the likely increased regulation this legislation will cause.
  6. Please encourage public school students (maybe boy/girl scouts looking for merit badge credit) to testify against the bill because of the likely disruption keeping recalcitrant students in school will cause.

Points to Make in Testimony and with Reps

  1. SB 268 is an unfunded mandate on cities and towns: Local budgets will bear the burden of funding special classes and even special schools (see note below). Towns will also pay the cost of enforcement to keep students (who have cars and driver’s licenses) from leaving the classroom. It is notable that SB 268 appropriates $1.2 million for a pilot marketing budget for ONLY two school districts (Manchester and Nashua). One might ask why these two school districts should receive preferential treatment, but in reading this legislation these funds do not even establish additional programs for students. It is easy to see that this legislation is going to result in increased property taxes. In fact in 2003, The NH Dept of Education estimated that SB55-FN (like SB268) would cost NH more than $2.7M in FY2007. The Senate Finance committee voted SB55-FN ITL in 2003 for this good reason.
  2. 2. SB 268 won’t work: The experience of other states that have tried this conclusively shows that higher compulsory education age does not increase graduation rates or reduce dropout rates (see note below). Only 17 states compel attendance to age 18.
  3. 3. SB268 could be State Income Tax – Step 1: SB 286 has been characterized as only “a first step” in the fight to reduce dropout rates. Yet this bill is being pushed without any responsible analysis of the likely fiscal burdens NH taxpayers will bear relative to its purported benefits. How many other initiatives will we discover were brought in through this back door that will now need funding?
  4. 4. With SB268, good citizens could be subject to arrest: By striking provision about lawful work, 16 and 17 year-olds will be considered truant and potentially subject to arrest. Will a person’s car be towed during a traffic stop when it is discovered that the driver is 16 or 17 with no proof they have graduated? How will employers avoid culpability for hiring these young people who have legitimately completed their education yet are considered truant?
  5. 5. SB268 could mean no room in the classroom: Highly motivated students may have to give up their place in classes to unwilling, unmotivated 16 and 17 year-olds.
  6. 6. SB268 will mean no order in the classroom: Recently in the state of Maryland, this idea was defeated largely by students who testified to lawmakers that they did not want to be robbed of their opportunity for a decent education by unruly, unwilling students. Good students want to share the classroom with other motivated students, not with “inmates”.
  7. 7. SB268 is an assault on parental rights and individual liberty. Parents have the constitutional responsibility and authority to make educational choices for their children. SB 268 invades this freedom and liberty for parents to make educational decision for their children. This also takes away the right of students who are old enough to make decisions with their parent’s help about vocational directions. There simply is no compelling reason to make this change to NH law.
  8. 8. SB268 – We’ve been here before. The history of SB 268 began in Nashua 6 years ago where parents of criminal adolescents complained about their inability to control their kids. Some lawmakers came up with SB55 as an attempt to force 16 &17 year-olds back into the public school to get them off the street. The legislature determined that that real opportunity for young people could be offered if they had more choices: jobs through a growing and low tax economy, trade schools, apprenticeships, coops, and through considered and careful investment into the public education infrastructure. Insightful lawmakers rejected SB55 arguing that criminals should be incarcerated in jails, not schools.

Here are some facts to support these arguments:

  1. States which compel attendance only to age 16 have better high school completion rates than states that compel attendance to higher ages, on average. (Source: "Dropout Rates in the United States: 2000," pp. 9-10, 40-41; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, Office of educational Research and Improvement, Doc. No. NCES 2002-114.)
  2. States which compel attendance only to age 16 also have lower dropout rates than states that compel attendance to 17 or 18, on average. (Source: same as above.)
  3. According to statistics published by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Dropout Prevention, a higher compulsory attendance age is not correlated to a reduction in juvenile crime. (Source: "Juvenile Arrests 1999." Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile (Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2000.)
  4. A study at Cornell University found that increasing the compulsory attendance age in New York State would not accomplish the intended goals and would require substantial additional funding. (Policy Analysis on the Efficacy of Increasing the Compulsory School Attendance Age October 4, 2002, Professor Rosemary J. Avery, Cornell University).
  5. When California increased the compulsory attendance age, taxpayers were forced to pay for a whole new school system to handle the numerous problems these unruly, unwilling students caused. (February, 2005, publication of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Civic Innovation, "Public High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991-2002," by Dr. Jay P. Greene.)
  6. SB 55-FN, an ACT raising the age at which a child may terminate his or her public education. FISCAL IMPACT: The Department of Education indicates this bill will increase state education trust fund expenditures and local revenue by $2.5 million in FY 2007 and increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2004 and each year thereafter.

2002 Cornell Study on CSA Impact

About CheNH

CheNH is a Christian organization formed to serve and support Christian home educators as they follow God's calling to educate their children. Our purposes are: -provide leadership and support to Christian homeschooling families, churches, and associations. -coordinate a state-wide network of homeschooling information and resources. -represent its membership to the State education authorities as provided by New Hampshire law. -keep members informed of state and national legislation that effects homeschooling. -provide representation to regional and national Christian home education organizations.

Website: http://www.chenh.org

CHENH

Michael P. Donnelly, Esq.

Board Member and Secretary

email: mike@donnellyclan.com

phone: 603-304-9525

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