Volume 1 Issue 1
Pro-freedom legislation falls 16 votes shy of passing.
Rep. Paul Ingbretson introduced a bill “to insure and reinforce the right of parents to determine, without limitation, the direction of the education of their children….while education is compulsory, parents would retain the right to choose the way in which that would be achieved.”
The House Education Committee agreed with the constitutional language of the bill, but worried that it would conflict with the language of the existing home education law. So what we witnessed was the political triumph of statutory law over Constitutional law.
“It is the natural, fundamental right of parents to determine and direct the education of their children.” This is the valid, but controversial language that must not be placed in statute according to Rep. Kimberley Casey.
Those who opposed this bill need to remember that: “every person…shall be equally under the protection of the law.” (Art. 6, Pt. I NH Const.); no person “shall…be compelled….to furnish evidence against himself.” (Art. 15, Pt, I NH Const.); and that “all power resides originally in the people of this state.” (Art. 8, Pt I NH Const.). In other words, parents are not to be considered guilty until proven innocent for the state’s convenience.
This bill would have helped restore healthy cooperative relationships between parents, their local schools and their community. It would have restored the compulsory attendance law to its original intent, which was to compel children who were neglected by their parents to attend free public schools, not to interfere with the private instruction of responsible parents for their own children. For more info: NH Parents First
NH’s only PAC that focus on families in education formed in March 2010
After a huge victory in January 2010 when HB 368 was defeated and a near victory in March with HB 1580, parents start another grassroots organization, NH Families for Education. It is the only political action committee based in New Hampshire that focuses solely on families in education issues. The co-founders, Doris Hohensee and Michelle Levell, have been activists for years and seek to have families in education be a player in the fall 2010 elections.
The NH Families for Education is a volunteer-run, non-partisan political action committee that is dedicated to advocating family involvement in education. The goals of NHFFE are 1) to fund candidates who support families in education; 2) to work to defeat legislators that hold a restrictive attitude toward family involvement in education; 3) to inform Representatives of issues during the legislative session; and 4) to share information with the community about pertinent legislative issues and events.
To promote individual candidates we need to develop a good questionnaire and would like to know if anyone is willing to contribute some ideas? The plan is to get candidates on the record on our issues, with their signature, so a good series of questions is essential. From these questionnaires and the voting records of incumbents, candidates can be rated. We also need to develop a rating system and guideline for determining endorsements. If this sounds like something of interest to you, please contact us at NHFamiliesForEducation@gmail.com. The deadline for filing as a candidate is early June, so the earlier we get started on this, the better. We also need a database person to help put all this info on the new website. If anyone is interested in helping to design this feature, that would be great.
After a long and contentious rule-making process, the homeschooling community scored another victory on April 14th by fending off yet another regulatory attack through Ed 315 home education rules.
Despite the overwhelming defeat of HB 368, the DOE proposed that many of the same failed regulations be imposed upon homeschoolers. Their version removed two acceptable forms of year-end evaluation and would have circumvented parents from seeing a teacher’s evaluation before it went to the participating agency.
The final version will reconcile Ed 315 to recent changes in home education law from HB 406 (2006),
SB 337 (2008), and SB 18 (2007). This proposal will be sent to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR).
Vigilance and determination stopped what was a back door attempt to revise the home education law without the legislative process. Parents demonstrated the strength of community when working together for a common cause.
As local control of education is eroded by state and federal mandates and national standards, the role of the family in education is becoming more and more uncertain.
For years, teachers unions have employed powerful political action committees to promote their agenda of increased government control and funding. Now families will have their interests represented on a larger scale. It’s time that families organize to insure that our interests are represented and that legislators are responsive to our needs.
NH Families for Education was formed to advocate the rights of parents in education.