January 25, 2008 Michigan: Calls Needed Now to Oppose Expansion of State Control Over Education Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Here we go again! God used your calls last year to stop this bill--but now the forces trying increase state control over your children are back. The Michigan legislature is trying to expand the upper age limit of compulsory attendance by requiring children to be in school until the age of 18. House Bill 4042 would raise the age of compulsory attendance from where it is currently at age 16, to age 18. As you may remember, the Michigan legislature introduced several bills last year to expand the compulsory attendance age. Your calls, however, halted the progression of all those bills! H.B. 4042 will be heard by the House Education Committee next week, and we need you to call members of this committee now. We are working closely with INCH, legislative staff, and the Home School Legislative Action Committee. REQUESTED ACTION: We are requesting you to do two tasks: 1. Please call through Jan. 31 the members of the House Education Committee designated for you (by the initial of your last name) and give them this message: "Please vote against H.B. 4042, which will raise the age of compulsory school attendance. It only serves as a waste of taxpayer's money by forcing unwilling, disruptive students into the classroom. Studies of all 50 states show that raising compulsory attendance ages does not increase graduation rates." You do not need to identify that you homeschool--just that you are a concerned parent and taxpayer. Be sure to put the message in your own words. 2. Also, please send a short email opposing H.B. 4042 to ALL the committee members AND a blind copy to elert@inch.org so we can keep track of the number of responses for lobbying purposes. HOUSE EDUCATION MEMBERS: If your last name begins with A-I, please call the following members: Chair Tim Melton (D), 517-373-0475, timmelton@house.mi.gov Kathy Angerer (D), 517-373-1792, kathyangerer@house.mi.gov Terry L. Brown (D), 517-373-0476, terrybrown@house.mi.gov Barb Byrum (D), 517-373-0587, barbbyrum@house.mi.gov Brenda Clack (D), 517-373-8808, brendaclack@house.mi.gov Jacob Hoogendyk (R), 517-373-1774, jackhoogendyk@house.mi.gov Glenn Steil, Jr. (R), 517-373-0840, glennsteil@house.mi.gov If your last name begins with letters J-R, please call these members: Vice-Chair Mary Valentine (D), 517-373-3436, maryvalentine@house.mi.gov Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D), 517-373-0852, hoon-yunghopgood@house.mi.gov Steven Lindberg (D), 517-373-0498, stevenlindberg@house.mi.gov Fred Miller (D), 517-373-0159, fredmiller@house.mi.gov Tom Pearce (R), 517-373-0218, tompearce@house.mi.gov Gino Polidori (D), 517-373-0847, ginopolidori@house.mi.gov Bettie Cook Scott (D), 517-373-1776, bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov Marty Knollenberg (R), 517-373-1783, martyknollenberg@house.mi.gov If your last name begins with letters S-Z, please call these members: Minority Vice Chair John Moolenaar (R), 517-373-1791, johnmoolenaar@house.mi.gov Marc R. Corriveau (D), 517-373-3816, marccorriveau@house.mi.gov Andy Meisner (D), 517-373-0478, andymeisner@house.mi.gov Robert Dean (D), 517-373-2668, robertdean@house.mi.gov Judy Emmons (R), 517-373-0834, judyemmons@house.mi.gov Dave Hildenbrand (R), 517-373-0846, rephildenbrand@house.mi.gov Tonya Schuitmaker (R), 517-373-0839, tonyaschuitmaker@house.mi.gov Paul E. Opsommer (R), 517-373-1778, paulopsommer@house.mi.gov BACKGROUND: Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates, Maryland at 94.5% and North Dakota at 94.7%, compel attendance only to age 16. The state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon: 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) Twenty-nine states only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16-year-old is ready for college or the workforce. (Some 16-year-olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom. Another significant impact of expanding the compulsory attendance age would be an inevitable tax increase to pay for more classroom space and teachers to accommodate the additional students compelled to attend public schools. When California raised the upper age limit of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. For more information on compulsory attendance legislation please go to our website at http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/E/Early_Education.asp. Thanks for taking the time to call or email! Sincerely, Christopher J. Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------
This really confuses me. I mean, I graduated from HS when I was 17. Would they have required me to hang around an extra year if the compulsory age was 18? By the time I turned 18 I had already taken my first college midterms.
Same here! I was a June baby so I was one of the young ones. That is nuts. And what about someone who skipped a grade or two? Doesn't sound like that was well thought out.
Wyoming is trying to do the same thing. But the want to move ours from 16 to 17. But if the child has written consent from the parent and it is given to the school board, then you can get out of it basically. (well that is wyoming). Also I think that once you have graduated that this law doesn't apply to you. I think they are trying to cut down on the drop out rate. Which if you look at it is to darn high! I thought it was a mistake when Wyoming fist adopted the law if you finish 8th grade or turn 16 it was your choice to continue school. Most at the age of 16 do not really grasp the fact of how dropping out will effect them. So, what I am saying is that I think raising the age is a good thing. I also think this will effect public and private schools more than homeschoolers. Yeah, it raises our age, but as long as we can prove that our children have finished at a certain age then we should have no problems. Just my opinion.