There are two bills floating around Jefferson City at the moment that can have serious implications for homeschoolers in Missouri. Neither are directly aimed at homeschoolers. Both will also hurt families who choose traditional education for their children. The general concensus, however is that homeschoolers will be most affected. HB 1543- As it is currently written, there are no problems with the bill. Rep. Sara Lampe (D, Springfield) was on the first committee for the bill and proposed lowering the compulsory attendance age from 7 to 5. Fellow committee members rejected her proposal. However, she has vowed (vehemently) that when the bill comes up on the House floor, she will propose the age change via amendment. As it stands at the moment, most Missouri children start K at 6 years old. So not only will this prohibit parents from allowing their children to skip K, it will also require districts to start a public pre-K program for the 5 yos. Many already have such a program but most do not. This also means that homeschoolers will have to begin tracking hours two years before we currently have to. So no more leisurely pre-K and K years. SB 805- This would change the current law that states that only an officer of the court (including police officers) are able to remove children from the home. It would give unrestricted permission for social workers to do the same. There would be no oversight or checks-and-balance. This means that docial workers no longer need to prove they have good cause for removal (and by 'good cause,' I mean legal). Homeschooling families are more often targeted by overzelous social workers than PSing families. Without a law enforcement officer to say "homeschooling is legal," there is nothing to prevent removal. I realize that not all social workers are to get homeschooling families, but many are. It is a real issue in Missouri. Not to mention the danger to the social worker.... Police officers are trained to deal with aggressive behavior. Social workers are not (and are not armed to defend themselves). Often times, parents who abuse/neglect their children become enranged when the child is being removed from the home. Anyhow. Just two things to take action against if you live in MO or pray about if you do not.
That's crazy! How many parents/familes at odds with each other would call in bogus claims? And I certainly can see how anti-homeschoolers would use this! Want to move to TX?
I don't live in Missouri, but this is good to know and to watch. If it happens in one state, it becomes easier for it to happen in others. I know Texas is big, but if it filled up with homeschool refugees from several states, it could get pretty crowded!
They tried to lower our age and raise the ending age from 16 to 18, but it fell through. I hope the best for you.
well who should we contact to address our concerns? Next, I don't give a whooey about the 'safety of social workers'. If they really are going into a dangerous type home, they ought to be smart enough to know that ahead of time and bring protection. Secondly, I do not abuse my kids, but I would be enraged if some social worker thought she was going to haul my kids out the door. Since I don't have a gun though, I guess I would just have to scratch her eyes out with my fingernails LOL
Your state rep and senator. If you live inside city limits like me, then your Senator is Aunt Norma (Champion). She's 'good people' and a Christian. She taught some of my classes at Evangel back in the day. To find out your district rep, check out the site. I'm stuck with Charlie Denison :roll: Hopefully you have someone who actually cares a lick. I know enough about Springfield PD to know that if it is no longer legally required that an officer go along to remove a child, then the officers also won't be obligated to go along.. even at the request of a cautious social worker. And not all social workers are bad. I have friends who do the job and do it well. So, yeah.. this worries me.
I think it is worth voicing your opinion on should you live in Missouri. But I think the main reason at least the first bill won't pass is money...like you said, if you make the child have to go to school at 5, then you have to provide a school for them to go to. That cost money. Plus, study after study has shown that early school does not improve childrens performance in later years. (although...it hasn't hurt headstart at all that it can show no improvement in childrens performance) The second, surely is unconstitutional.??
I don't think it is entirely about school performance. There is a movement here in town (which is where that Rep. is from) among liberals that is raising red flags about parochial pre-k programs. Most preschools here are church-based. The superintendent of our school district began public pre-K programs a couple of years ago because (from his own mouth) he didn't think the church had any place in education. Lowering the age requirements means any pre-k program would have to meet state education requirements... including accredidation and certified teachers. Right now they only have to meet daycare requirements. And our politicians tend to vote first, find money later. I'm hopeful because it's already been struck down by committee members, but that doesn't mean I'm letting my guard down or not making the appropriate phone calls. I don't know. But that certainly won't stop them
I agree it has nothing to do with education, only more government control and more of getting rid of God in our lives and training our children up without God to 'trust' the government. Another Big Brother gift. I despise our local head start. They ask so many nosey questions and are flat out rude. They made me take my 3 yr old to a dentist before she could enroll. Of course I did it then, wouldn't do it now! ok, so susie has a cavity, what on earth does that have to do with school, and why is it any of their business anyway? Fortunately I found a dentist that only charged me $20 when I told her what I needed. She said they don't normally see kids that young unless there is a problem. The other dentists in town were charging $100 or MORE! at 3 years old! Made me wonder if headstart had a dentist on the 'board' or something. Gobs of forms, one wanting to know what kind of heat we had in our house, if we had guns in the house, ect. NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS! NONE WHATSOEVER!
My dgs was started in Head Start earlier this year, although I'd begged my ds not to let them (the inlaws influence) do it. When he came home flashing "gang signs" and telling people to "shut the (f-bomb) up!" his mama and daddy decided that was more than enough of Head Start and signed custody over to us, at least for the school year. They know he won't get any of that around here! What he will get is books read to him, counting and ABCs and starfall and colors and four year old stuff! What he should have been getting at Head Start and wasn't.
I was JUST talking to my husband the other day about the government going a round about way to abolish homeschooling!! No offense, GoodNSimple, but it might pass. The school district gets grant money for every child who attends. So...the more children they pull in, the more money they get from the government. I personally don't mind logging hours, but I mind slipping to the wrong person that I homeschool. "Hey, you homeschool? It just so happens that I'm a social worker! BWA BWA! Come here kid, your parents obviously don't care about your well being so we're going to take you away and toss you in public school to rot your brain away. SO SAYETH THE GOVERNMENT!" Crazy. I told my husband just yesterday that if MO tries that we were going to move. Oh boy.
well if O gets his way with the national education plan he has in store, the kids could very well end up in PS in EVERY state
