Restrictive Homeschool Legislation to be introduced Thursday (NJ)

email | 1/6/03 | Scott Woodruff, HSLDA staff attorney

[agrace]

Please see reply 149 for updated information. AM

From the HSLDA E-lert Service...

January 6, 2004

Dear HSLDA members and friends:

A bill that would force New Jersey homeschool children to submit to the same statewide assessment tests required of public school students, and force their parents to give the local school board proof the student had received an annual medical examination, is set to be introduced in the New Jersey legislature this Thursday.

The bill would also give the State Board of Education power to impose regulations on homeschool families. Homeschooled students would be forced to take the assessment tests in a public school. (For full text of bill, go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1257)

Your help is needed immediately to convince the sponsors of the bill, AB 4033, that it should NOT be introduced.

Action Requested

1. Immediately call all the sponsors of the bill (contact information is below).

2. Explain to them that the bill should NOT be introduced. Your message can be as simple as, "Please withdraw as sponsor of AB 4033 and do all you can to prevent it from being introduced as planned this Thursday. The bill violates federal law and could cause the loss of federal money."

3. Pass this message along to others.

Contact information for sponsors:

1. Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg (D) (201) 928-0100 , AswWeinberg@njleg.org

2.Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson (D) (201) 541-1118, AsmJohnson@njleg.org

3. Assemblywoman Joan M. Quigley (D) (201) 217-4614, AswQuigley@njleg.org

Reasons to Oppose AB 4033

1. HR 1, signed by President Bush exactly one year ago, prohibits states from requiring that homeschoolers take the state assessment designed for public school students. New Jersey would lose federal funds if AB 4033 is enacted, since it violates this requirement.

2. State assessment tests are designed to test material taught in the public school curriculum. Homeschool children do not use the public school curriculum. It would be unfair to test them on material not covered in their individual homeschool programs.

3. The statute does not say what score is needed to "pass." The Board of Education however, may have power under the bill to determine the passing score. A passing score imposed by a bureaucracy would not take into account the individual learning characteristics and abilities of each unique child.

4. No state requires an annual medical examination for homeschoolers.

5. This bill is being introduced at the very end of the legislative session, and it is highly unlikely it would pass before the session ends in a few days. Often bills introduced at the end of a session are to "test the waters" for filing the bill in the next session. We need to send a "tidal wave" message that this bill should not be introduced-now or ever.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom in New Jersey!

Sincerely,

Scott Woodruff

HSLDA Staff Attorney

[agrace]

Could you ping NJ folks and homeschool list respectively please? Thanks.

[Support Free Republic]

-->Click

[RobbyS]

The public school establishment will do anything in their power to force their will on the people of thier state.

[sgtbono2002]

Yes: This has nothing to do with the childs education , its all about School Boards losing power and money.

[templar]

... and force their parents to give the local school board proof the student had received an annual medical examination,

Is this also a requirement for public school students?

[bd476]

Homeschooling Ping.

[King Black Robe]

As long as the state is willing to give each homeschooled child equal funding dollars I'm all for it.

[agrace]

I've thought for a while that the homeschoolers here in NJ are on borrowed time; we've been miraculously under the radar for too long, considering the political makeup of this state.

I don't have a problem with standardized testing either - my husband and I intend to have them administered to our kids when age appropriate. But requiring state assessment tests requires ME to teach them what the state assesses to be necessary, thereby defeating the whole purpose of homeschooling.

And the medical exam requirement - what is THAT about, if not blatant control? If my child is in no way affiliated with the school system, it is NONE of their business if she has an annual exam. They might as well make it a requirement for residency, for all the relevance it would have.

[Beelzebubba]

Are public school students required to pass the same test?

[agrace]

Yes, to the best of my knowledge, NJ requires public school students to have annual exams, current innoculations etc. But I'd bet there is no such legal requirement of private school students, rather those requirements are no doubt determined by each individual private school.

[KingNo155]

NJ Bump

[ladylib]

That's funny because just a couple of weeks ago, the state said it had no interest in regulating homeschools.

[RobbyS]

My sister was an elementary school teacher. She just retired. She told me that testing made teaching less and less fun. Lots of intrusion from administrators, most of whom were basically ignorant of how to run a classroom. Look for them demanding the right to look at your lesson plans! The advantage you have is that you are dealing with just a few children.[ of know caliber. But it seems to me that this is in violation of Pierce, which makes it clear that parents are the competent party, not the state. If the thing goes through, get ready for a test case. I don't think it will pass muster. constitutionally.

[Republican Wildcat]

Can't have those kiddies getting a good education now, can we?

Quality education is to be outlawed.

[Alberta's Child]

I can't imagine that this law would be terribly effective. If I were a parent in New Jersey and I were home-schooling my children, I would simply tell the authorities that my kids were living with a relative in another state.

And when the New Jersey authorities contact my relatives to ask for verification of their school attendance, they would simply reply: "We're home-schooling them. You don't have any jurisdiction here anyway, so get the hell out of my face."

[Drango]

I think standard state test are necessary for high school and junior high students. I mean how else will we know if they can get the condom over the banana?

[ladylib]

I e-mailed by assemblywoman:

Dear Assemblywoman Weinberg:

Please withdraw your bill HB 4033 which seeks to regulate homeschooling in NJ. The bill is in direct conflict with NCLB which says that states that might try to require homeschooled students to take the same tests under NCLB as public school students take will lose federal funding for their public schools. When states who wish to regulate homeschooling by using this method are told that they are in violation of federal law, they withdraw their legislation.

I take it that this bill is in response to the unfortunate incident that happened in NJ over the summer regarding the family who starved four of their foster children and claimed to be homeschooling. It is amazing to me that social workers from the state saw those children at least once a month over a two-year period and still didn't have a clue as to what was going on in that family. In fact, it would not surprise me if the children's public school didn't suggest that the foster parents remove their children and "homeschool" them because the children were so difficult to handle in a public school setting. I would appreciate it if you would check this out, but in the meantime, please do not associate NJ homeschooling parents in any way with this unfortunate family. It's not homeschooling parents' fault that the state was remiss in their evaluation of this family and to suggest that homeschooling parents are cut from the same cloth and need state supervision is an insult and greatly resented.

I also would like to know if public school students are required to take a physical exam each year and notifiy their public schools that they have done so. Do private school students have to take a physical exam each year? If this is not the case, then your bill is unconstitutional. Homeschooling is a viable educational option for parents and is on an equal footing with public and private education. If public and private schools don't require an annual physical exam, then certainly homeschooling families can't be required to obtain one.

Please reconsider and withdraw your bill.

Very truly yours,

[Grut]

I mean how else will we know if they can get the condom over the banana?

Getting the condom over the banana isn't the point; getting the condom over the banana without cracking a smile is. Only then can the student look forward to a secure job with the state.

[cyclotic]

A state Congressman in Michigan tried this a few years ago. He wanted all homeschoolers to take the Michigan Assessment test. Public schools required a whopping 25% of their students to pass the test to retain their accredidation. Homeschoolers literally fried the phone system and prevailed with flying colors.

Go to it New Jersey.

[MHGinTN]

New Jersey ... 'First In Cannibalism', and now this too!

[Coleus]

http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1257

 

AswWeinberg@njleg.org; AsmJohnson@njleg.org ; AswQuigley@njleg.org

 

and don't forget your 3 state legislators:

 

Find your Legislator Here:

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp

Toll Free (800) 792-8630

[Lady Eileen]

bump

[little jeremiah]

Yes: This has nothing to do with the childs education , its all about School Boards losing power and money.

And one more important motive: Children educated at home are missing out on the leftist/socialist/internationalist/feminazi/gaystapo indoctrination. They may grow up to be conservatives.

[Lady Eileen]

bttt

[Salvation]

** and force their parents to give the local school board proof the student had received an annual medical examination**

Even public school kids do not need an annual medical exam.

[agrace]

Really. I thought they did.

[fatima]

Coleus,Why is this bad?

[Coleus]

Many parents in NJ would rather home school their children instead of sending them to public schools where they are indoctrinated with left-wing politics, start sex education in the 1st grade, do not teach phonics to read or the rote method of addition and multiplication. A parent should be free to teach their children at home as many others do througout the USA. Many Catholics and Evangelicals home school their kids.

[fatima]

Coleus,I missed where they said you could not home school?

[Lancey Howard]

Well, good luck. You will need it.
New Jersey is one sick, foul toilet, politically - - fully owned and operated by the education mafia. Which means the legislators are controlled by the education mafia. They will, as always, do what they are told to do.
Again, good luck.

[Coleus]

Coleus,I missed where they said you could not home school? >>

They are doing their best to make it as difficult as possible, almost impossible. The South Jersey Child abuse case sparked this. Remember the 19 yr. old who only weighed 45 pounds. They were home schooled and are using that rationale and not the faults of the parents, neighbors, church, and DYFS as the cause. Home schooling did not cause this travesty to the 4 adopted boys bad parents and social services did. You know how govt. works, this will be one bill of many to regulate homeschoolers out of the home and under the auspices of govt. controlled schools.

[fatima]

Coleus,I see your concern and have read about this case-freepmail-Father Pavone coming in for Tv in 1 day-wanna come-if not do not freepmail,love fatima.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Tired of Taxes]

The main reason I pulled my oldest son from the local NJ public school system after two months of preschool was that I saw that I was dealing with educrats (who obviously cared more about their careers than educating children). Even though we pay a very high school tax, homeschooling was the right option, after all. Now, the very idea that legislation might pass forcing me to deal with those same educrats... it just makes me sick.

I didn't receive the email notices about tomorrow's bill until late tonight (I don't have daily access to the internet anymore). I hope this idea of regulating is dropped.

[Ed_in_NJ]

Early Riser bump.

[Ed_in_NJ]

Little Later bump.

[George from New England]

Is this also a requirement for public school students?

Oh. Yes. In most states this yearly exam is very costly escpecially for ANY kid who wants to participate in sports.

Just another unfunded mandate that drives up the cost of health insurance. Or if you're uninsured, screw you too.

[George from New England]

And when the New Jersey authorities contact my relatives to ask for verification of their school attendance, they would simply reply: "We're home-schooling them. You don't have any jurisdiction here anyway, so get the hell out of my face."

If these children are deductions on IRS 1040 forms they will be expected to be at the address where the deduction is taken.

Big Brother is everywhere! The system knows all.

[George from New England]

Let's require that public school teachers get annual exams AND PAY FOR IT THEMSELEVES. Are not the kids at the same risk for exposure from a teacher as well as another kid?

[agrace]

Hey, good point.

[Coleus]

Call your representatives ASAP and get this bill dropped.

[Kuksool]

This goes to show, we can never allow the RATS to have absolute power.

[Coleus]

Recapturing Home-school Families

THE NEW AMERICAN: Issues in Focus on Education

[Kuksool]

These educrats are pompous bastards. At least, they reveal their true motives. The NEA cares more about revenue than the well-being of children.

[Coleus]

What is the status of the bill? Is it out of committee?

[agrace]

No idea. It hadn't been introduced in the legislature as of noon today (some members of our county homeschool group spent the morning in Trenton protesting this), and it wasn't on Monday's schedule. Not sure if it was introduced this afternoon, but that seems to have been the intention. No info is yet available about today's session.

The following is a press release we got via email this morning -

HOMESCHOOLERS ACROSS NEW JERSEY OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE BILL A4033

Trenton, NJ, January 12, 2004 — Today at 11:30 a.m., state homeschool leaderswill hold a press conference in the room across from the Senate chambers to address some of the reasons for their opposition to A4033. Topics will include academic statistics, physical exams, the failure and culpability of DYFS, financial issues, and the stellar, long-term history of home education in the state of New Jersey.

Homeschoolers say that the bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg (D-37), diverts attention away from DYFS and its role in an alleged NJ child abuse case that has received national attention. Further, it will open a Pandora’s box of intrusive regulation, forcing their families to comply with requirements that families of public- and private-schooled children are not obligated to fulfill. They are adamantly opposed to any legislation and are working together closely to have this bill withdrawn or defeated.

Homeschooling has been proven to be an effective means of preparing children for college, career and life. Homeschool parents want to raise their children in a safe, nurturing and supportive environment without any bureaucratic intrusion. Published national research shows that parents are doing admirably using the one-on-one tutorial method of home-schooling — the method advocated by many education experts.


- END –

PRESS RELEASE CONTACT INFORMATION:

HOMESCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS OPPOSED TO A4033

Tricounty Home Educators Association
Mark August, President
(609) 953-2145
tricounty@comcast.net www.tchea.org



New Jersey Homeschool Association (NJHA)
Tim Haas, President
856-546-2813; 609-504-6190 (cell)
www.geocities.com/jerseyhome jerseyhome@yahoo.com



Education Network of Christian Homeschoolers of NJ
(ENOCH of NJ)
Ray Stoever, President
Box 308, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716-0308
732-291-7800
www.enochnj.org President@enochnj.org



Unschoolers Network
Nancy Plent, President
2 Smith Street
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
732-938-2473
UnNet@aol.com



Catholic Homeschoolers of New Jersey
Diane L. Toler, President
1020 Cardinal Lane, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
856-429-4893
materetmagistra@comcast.net



HSLDA – Homeschool Legal Defense Association
Scott Woodruff, Esq. – NJ Representative
Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134-9000
(540) 338-5600 · Fax: (540) 338-2733
www.hslda.org info@hslda.org



OTHER ORGANIZATIONS:


Eagle Forum of New Jersey
Carolee Adams, President
Box 205, Park Ridge, NJ 07657
(201)-391-1737
www.eagleforum.org eagleforumnj@juno.com

The press release was also read at our bimonthly meeting today. Also, we were told that some research was done into the assemblywoman mainly responsible for this bill - Weinberg (D) - and recent quotes were found to the effect that she opposed govt intrusion into adoptive families - once a child has been adopted, the govt has no right to interfere - the child is theirs and their health care practices are no one else's business. Very interesting that she seems to contradict herself with regard to homeschooling families.

One thing we did hear is that the Republicans who are opposed to the bill are optimistic that it won't get pushed through. We'll see.

[agrace]

Text of the bill, note item 4 -

ASSEMBLY, No. 4033



STATE OF NEW JERSEY



210th LEGISLATURE



INTRODUCED JANUARY 8, 2004





Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LORETTA WEINBERG

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON

District 37 (Bergen)



Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Doria, Assemblywomen Perez-Cinciarelli and Quigley









SYNOPSIS

Requires certain testing and medical examinations of home-schooled children.



CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.



An Act concerning home-schooled children and supplementing chapters 7C and 40 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.



Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:



1. A home-schooled child shall be administered each of the Statewide assessment tests required by the State of public school pupils that are appropriate for the grade level of the child. The tests shall be administered in a school of the resident school district.



2. The parents or guardians of a home-schooled child shall provide documentation to the resident district board of education no later than September 1 of each year that the child has undergone an annual medical examination.



3. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) which are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.



4. This act shall take effect immediately.





STATEMENT



This bill provides that a home-schooled child must be administered each of the Statewide assessment tests required by the State of public school pupils that are appropriate for the grade level of the child. The tests would be administered in a school of the resident school district. In addition, the bill requires the parents or guardians of a home-schooled child to provide documentation to the resident district board of education no later than September 1 of each year that the child has undergone an annual medical examination.

[Coleus]

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2002/Bills/A3500/4033_I1.HTM

The Governor's office was conducting a tally on opinions on the homeschooling Bill A4033 on Monday. The tally is continuing into Tuesday, if you would like to let the Governor's office know you oppose A4033 and have not yet done so, please call the Capital at 609-292-6000. Thanks for your help. Please call or e mail your assemblymen and Senator too, let them all know how you feel.

This bill may not seem so earth shattering but it is in a way since it will be one of many targeting home schoolers. They do the same with many other issues, the bills snowball and sooner or later their objective is accomplished through law, administrative code and regulations.

It's the fault of DYFS that Children are being neglected and starved and not the average home-school parent.

N.J. lawmakers move to regulate home schooling
Friday, January 9, 2004

By LESLIE BRODY

New Jersey home-schoolers have bombarded Bergen County lawmakers with hundreds of e-mails and dozens of phone calls in recent days to stop any attempt to regulate how they educate their children.

Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson, D-Englewood, introduced a bill Thursday that would require home-schooled children to undergo periodic standardized testing and annual medical exams.

New Jersey home-schoolers - long an aggressive lobbying force - immediately banded together to protest that any such measures would be a misguided, unnecessary intrusion on their parental rights.

Weinberg said she had long wanted to tighten the safety net for children whose families might be failing them, and the Jackson case in Collingswood cemented her view that home-schooled children deserve more oversight. Raymond and Vanessa Jackson were charged in October with starving their four adopted boys, who were said to be home-schooled.

Weinberg said she was also spurred by a December article in The Record about "unschooling," an extremely relaxed form of home education in which parents reject structure, planned lessons, and timetables for academic milestones. She was appalled that a few "unschooled" children don't pick up reading until they're 12.

"We're not making it illegal for kids to be home-schooled or directing curriculum," Weinberg said. "We just want to make sure kids are being protected" and taught the basics.

Home-schoolers argue that the vast majority of their children thrive academically and the Jackson case was an aberration that should not set policy. New Jersey has long been one of the most permissive states for home-schoolers. Unlike many others, it does not require home-schooling parents to file curriculum plans with local school districts or undergo annual evaluations to make sure children are learning.

Christa Grajcar, a home-schooling mother of five in Hillsdale who heads the North Jersey Home Schoolers Association, said it was unfair to impose burdensome rules on thousands of great home-schooling families because of one extreme case.

"It's Big Brother," she said. "Parents know best what their children need in 99 percent of cases."

Grajcar added that most of the home-schooling parents she knows have their children take standardized tests voluntarily to assess what they've mastered, and their children must present medical records when they sign up for camp or local sports programs.

She said more state monitoring would "add a tremendous amount of paperwork and encumbering activities that take away from teaching time," and would coerce families to change their curriculums to resemble the very public school models they're trying to escape. "Home schooling isn't broken, so why are they trying to fix it?" she asked.

The bill was referred to the Assembly Education Committee on Thursday. Weinberg said the bill is still in its early stages and home-schoolers would have ample opportunity to express their views when it reaches the committee hearing phase. She said she will resubmit the bill Tuesday at the start of the new legislative session so that it can be considered.

Weinberg said she understands there are many successful home-schooling families; her goal is to add another mechanism - beyond the state's troubled child welfare system - to detect abused, neglected, or uneducated children.

E-mail: brody@northjersey.com

Letter to the Editor:

The Assembly bill to control home school education, AB-4033, would force home-school children to submit to the same statewide assessment tests required of public school students and require their parents to give local school boards proof that students had received annual medical examinations. My family has home schooled for 16 years, and I can show that this piece of legislation is poorly researched and is intolerant of home school families.

Home-school parents carefully choose curricula that reflect children's abilities and interests. Such curricula may not necessarily coincide with what public schools teach children of the same ages. To test children based on curricula they are not using is folly.

New Jersey would lose federal money. HR-1, signed by President Bush a year ago, prohibits states from requiring that home schoolers take state assessment tests designed for public school students. New Jersey would lose federal funds if A-4033 is enacted.

To require proof of a medical exam is just plain meddling. I see this as a knee-jerk reaction to the sad inattention of the state Division of Youth and Family Services to home-schooled children in foster care.

Ruth Gervat
Westwood, Jan. 8