Legislative Activity from the Christian Homeschool Network
As of March 14, 2008
Session
starts January 14, 2008
Session
ends March 13, 2008
Session Has Ended
SB 6929 An act relating to a repeal of the common school code, this bill would repeal all of RCW 28A which is the common school code, and would include the homeschool laws. The goal of this bill is to restructure the public schools and allow more local control.
We do not believe this bill is a direct attack on the homeschool law but could be detrimental to homeschoolers if we are not
exempted.
This has the potential to be a
very dangerous bill and needs to be closely monitored at this time, but there is no need to panic as many Senators understand
our concerns and are supportive of home education and removing the home-based instruction laws from this bill.
Sponsors; McAuliffe, Tom, Rasmussen,
Zarelli, King, Brandland, Jacobsen and Fairley.
On February 4th CHN spoke to the
prime sponsor of the bill Senator McAuliffe and Chair of the Senate Education committee. We requested that the homeschool
laws RCW 28A.225.010, 200 and 195.010 be exempted from this bill, and thankfully she agreed!
Currently SB 6929 does not include
RCW 28A.200- the homeschool law, but it does include RCW 28A.225.010 which is also part of the homeschool law, and RCW 28A.195.010
which allows homeschooling in a private school extension program. Per Senator McAuliffe this was an oversight and she will
introduce a substitute bill or amendment in committee to make these changes.
SB6929 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/6929.pdf
CHN testified at the hearing Wednesday
Feb. 6th, and was reassured that our requested changes would be made. We also spoke to several Senators on the
education committee which appreciated our testimony and the information we gave them so that they would better understand
our laws. Thank you for the Christian Heritage team who showed up at the hearing to support us.
UPDATE as of 2/8/08
This bill has been drastically changed and instead
of outright repealing over 900 common school laws a substitute bill was introduced and passed on Thursday by the Senate Education
Committee. This substitute bill had much bipartisan support. A substitute bill supersedes the previous bill. Substitute Senate
Bill 6929 proposes a select committee on repealing education statutes and making recommendations to the legislature. The scope
of this committee is limited to public school laws.
At this time, due to the direction this bill
has taken, the homeschool laws are no longer threatened. Here is a link to a document CHN prepared
for state homeschool leaders to help clarify what we mean by the “homeschool law” and help us all to be united
on this issue. http://www.chnow.org/id124.html
SSB 6929 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/6929-S.pdf
Update as of February 14, 2008
CHN spoke to prime sponsor Senator
McAuliffe due to leadership not wanting to fund a task force this bill is dead. As of February 19, 2008 this bill is officially
dead due to missing the deadline of passing the House of Origin.
We will continue to be on red alert as nothing is truly decided or finalized until either the bill passes or session
has ended. We will keep you posted if either of these bills is activated.
No action is needed at this time. CHN
is closely monitoring this situation. We will continue to maintain our presence in Olympia so that we can get information quickly and be ready
to take necessary action. We all need to stay diligent in monitoring this bill. Please contact
us immediately if you hear anything. You can reach Scott and DiAnna Brannan at our home telephone (253) 639-3325 or via e-mail
chnow@msn.com
Status: Bill is
dead due to missing the February 19th deadline.
Position: Neutral
Action: None needed at this time.
House Resolution HR 4676, was again introduced this session by Rep. Quall to honor the success
of home education. Resolution 4676 went to the floor of the House on February
6, 2008 in conjunction with CHN's Homeschool Day at the Capitol Event.
Home educators were able to view
from the House galleries the presentation and hear speeches from the House Floor. Afterwards home educators attended CHN's
"Under the Dome" celebration. Click here to view Rep. Jaime Herrera's floor speech on the resolution.
CHN along with Christian Heritage
Home Educators and Washington Homeschool Organization presented Rep. Quall with a commemorative award for all of his years
of service as a legislator and supporter of home education.
HR 4676 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=4676&year=2007
Bills that may have an impact on home-education:
HB 3009 An act exempting the annual parental declaration of intent to home school from the public disclosure act. This bill would close a perceived loop hole in federal law
and clarify in state law that the declaration-of-intent (DOI) form is exempt from public disclosure. In the past some school
districts have misinterpreted federal and state law and have given out information from the DOI form to third parties. This
law makes it clear they cannot do that.
CHN has introduced and is working this
bill in cooperation with Christian Heritage Home Educators, Home School Legal Defense Association and Washington Homeschool
Organization.
Sponsors; McCune, Priest, Barlow, Roach,
Sullivan, Quall, Ahern, Orcutt, Erickson, Anderson, Dunn,
Liias, Green, Upthegrove, Simpson, Kretz, Nelson and Bailey.
HB 3009 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3009&year=2007
Status: Bill died in committee due to no action taken
Position: Support
Action: None needed at this time.
NOTE:
HB 3009 does not touch the homeschool law. CHN will oppose any bill that amends the homeschool law and would hope that all
homeschoolers would join us.
HB3010 An act relating to prohibiting advertising and marketing to students receiving home-based instruction. This bill makes it clear that information from the Declaration-of-Intent (DOI) form is not to be used
by school districts for advertising government school-at-home programs. The purpose of the DOI form is to show compliance
with the compulsory education law and was not meant to be used by local school districts nor is there any compelling reason
for them to do so.
Sponsors; Sullivan, Roach, Quall, Ahern,
McCune, Orcutt, Anderson, Liias, Erickson, Dunn, Upthegrove,
Simpson, Linville, Ormsby and Kelley.
HB
3010 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3010&year=2007
CHN has introduced and is working this
bill in cooperation with Christian Heritage Home Educators, Home School Legal Defense Association and Washington Homeschool
Organization.
NOTE: We have some concerns with the
following language and are working to have it removed. This however does not mean this bill should not be supported. Part
of the “bill process” is making changes, which is why the legislature holds hearings, hears from constituents,
and works with advocates/lobbyist. This input aides them in making any necessary changes to a bill.
While this language is clearly related
to ancillary services in our dealings with school districts it is doubtful they will honor this. Also, it is our preference
to have a law that does not allow for any exceptions in school districts using information from a DOI form.
Once,
on an annual basis, school districts may send a fact sheet to parents who have filed a declaration of intent that lists the
ancillary services available for students receiving home-based instruction, such as counseling, psychological services, testing,
remedial instruction, speech and hearing therapy, health care services, and sports activities.
Status: Bill died in committee due to no action taken.
Position: Support
Action: None needed at this time.
NOTE:
HB 3010 does not touch the homeschool law. CHN will oppose any bill that amends the homeschool laws and would hope that all
homeschoolers would join us.
Other bills of interest:
SB 6625 Allowing for parent taught drivers education. This bill would allow
for parents/guardians to teach an approved commercial drivers education course at home versus enrolling youth in a commercial
driving school. Under current law it is mandatory for a youth under the age of 18 years of age to have completed a traffic
safety course from a commercial driving school.
We would like to reiterate that this
proposed legislation does not just benefit homeschool students but benefits all students as an option to the commercial driving
schools.
Sponsors: Senators Swecker, Kastama,
Benton, Delvin, Zarelli, Honeyford, Rasmussen,and Holmquist
SB
6625 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6625&year=2008
Status: Bill died in committee due to no action taken.
Position: Support
Action: None needed at this time.
SB5071/HB1108 An act allowing for grandparents to petition courts to allow for visitations.
This bill would allow a grandparent
to petition the court for visitation of children in an intact family. This bill is clearly unconstitutional and is a violation
of parental rights. At the hearing last year several groups testified in favor of this bill and wanted to broaden visitation
rights to even include non family members!.
Sponsors in Senate- Fairley(prime),
Kohl-Welles, Shin, Rasmussen
Sponsors in House- Haler(prime), Kessler,
McDonald, Moeller, Morell, Hankins, Dunshee, McCoy, Ormsby, Hudgins, Sells, Haigh, Kenney, Springer, Wallace
This bill threatens parental rights,
which is the very foundation of our homeschool rights and freedoms. Read HSLDA’s e-alert for more on this bill and this issue.
Status:
Senate- Bill dead
House- Bill dead
Position: Opposed
Action: No action needed at this time.
Preserving homeschool freedoms for today and tomorrow!
Christian Homeschool Network
www.CHNow.org
© 2008 CHN all
rights reserved
Permission to copy and distribute if copied in
its entirety, or contact chnow@msn.com
If you support the work of the Christian Homeschool
Network, please join us at http://www.chnow.org/id14.html
This information is not intended to be and does
not constitute the giving of legal advice. Before making any decisions that could affect the legal status of your homeschool
program contact Home School Legal Defense Association www.HSLDA.org for advice.
