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LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION
STATE
New Hampshire:
01/13/10 - New Hampshire homeschoolers won a major victory,
defeating a legislative attempt to impose onerous regulations on them. The vote was 324-34 on the bill, HB368. (http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2010/HB0368.html)
The
parents in New Hampshire worked long and hard calling and writing their
legislators, informing them of the value of homeschooling, and of the value
of preserving and protecting the rights of parents. Many came out to protest this piece of
legislation (see http://www.youtube.com/v/ad5IuC7yDHA&
). It proves, once again, the power of “we the people” joining forces in
defense of liberty. A major battle
was won, but they have one more battle ahead of them. The other bill, HB1580, is currently in
committee. The text is here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2010/HB1580.html
A
public hearing on that bill will be held next week, Thursday, January 21.
The parents have gained the
support of some legislators to propose a new bill, one that is patterned
after Connecticut’s law on the Duty of Parents, which will re-establish the
rights of parents to remain free to instruct their own children. Please lend your support to these parents
in whatever way you can.
For more information, you
can go to: http://nhhomeschooling.org/legal-news
California:
Attorney Stevenson spoke
about the California appeals decision on radio
NHELD Bulletin #60
about the California Appellate Court Ruling
National
Home Education Legal Defense, LLC, stands behind the parents of California
in their efforts to uphold their right to educate their children in the
manner in which they see fit.
NHELD is hopeful that the government officials in California will
take all appropriate steps necessary to ensure that the rights of parents to
instruct their children in freedom are upheld and maintained.
NHELD stands behind all those groups who are diligently working to maintain
parental freedom in California.
North Carolina
Visit HA-NC website for information on NC homeschooling laws
Connecticut
Legislative News
FEDERAL
NHELD, LLC believes that any regulation of
home education is unnecessary. Further, federal regulation of home
education is unconstitutional.
The Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:
“The enumeration in the Constitution of
certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the people.”
The Tenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution
states:
“The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States respectively, or to the people.”
In other words, the federal government is a government of
limited powers. All those powers not specifically enumerated in the U.S.
Constitution as granted to the federal government are left to the States
and to the people. Education of children is not a power specifically
enumerated in the U.S. Constitution as granted to the federal government.
Therefore, education of children is left to the States and to the people.
Yet, the federal government has adopted many laws regulating public “education.”
How has it done so? It has done so by virtue of Supreme Court
interpretation of the Constitution’s “Commerce Clause” and
through the “power of the purse.”
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is known as the “Commerce
Clause.” Under
this section, the federal government, specifically Congress, has the power
to “regulate commerce.”
Article 1, Section 9
of the Constitution enables
Congress to “draw money from the Treasury” in “consequence
of appropriations made by law.”
In other words, Congress can collect and dispense money and
regulate commerce among the states.
It is through this power that Congress is able to affect education
indirectly. Congress adopts a federal law that grants money to the states,
if the states adopt a law that contains provisions that the federal
government, in its law, indicates should be included in the state law. The
states accept federal money, and in exchange, the state must do as the
federal government wants them to do. Public and private schools also accept
federal money. In exchange, the public and private schools do as the
federal government wants them to do.
Parents who instruct
their own children at home do not accept federal money.
Parents, therefore, are not required to do as the federal government wants
them to do in exchange for any federal money. However, if and when parents
do accept any federal money, no matter how enticing, parents inevitably
will have to do as the federal government wants them to do.
The federal government has no other constitutional means to “regulate” the
education of children by their parents.
Unfortunately, however, Congress does not always act in a constitutional
manner. Often, it adopts laws that are wholly unconstitutional. These laws
remain in place until and unless they are challenged in court.
Congress already has adopted some federal laws that, although
unconstitutional, effectively “regulate” the education of children by
parents. No matter how seemingly beneficial these federal laws are, they
must be repealed. Once Congress assumes the authority to “regulate”, no
matter how “beneficially” those regulations appear, Congress has usurped
the authority of the States and the people to retain their inalienable
rights. The federal government, a government of limited powers, effectively
has usurped the power of the States and the people to determine for
themselves how children are to be educated by their parents. The federal
government is not usurping this power in wholesale fashion all at once. It
is doing so incrementally, one step at a time. With each successful step,
the ability of the States and the people to retain their constitutionally
decreed power is diminished.
Congress
is considering the adoption of still more federal laws that “regulate” the
education of children by parents. These proposed laws must be
defeated if the States and the people are to retain their rights.
U.S. CONGRESS PROPOSED
LEGISLATION
Current
- 111th Congress
Past - 110th Congress
Past - 109th Congress
Past - 108th Congress
Private, Religious, and Home Schools
Definitions
Adult Education and Family Literacy
National Assessment of Educational Progress
Overseas Defense Dependents' Education
Teacher Quality Enhancement
Student Assistance
Construction
Military Law-Personnel-Enlistments
NHELD, LLC offers the following excerpts to give the reader a
summarized version of the selected laws. Readers should read the laws in
their entirety for a true understanding. The text of the laws may be found here and at
other online sources.
20 U.S.C., Ch.
70, Section 7886. Private, religious, and home schools.
(a) Applicability to non-recipient
private schools. Nothing in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] shall
be construed to affect any private school that does not receive funds or
services under this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.], nor shall any student
who attends a private school that does not receive funds or services under
this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] be required to participate in any
assessment referenced in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.].(b) Applicability
to home schools. Nothing in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] shall
be construed to affect a home school, whether or not a home school is
treated as a home school or a private school under State law, nor shall any
student schooled at home be required to participate in any assessment
referenced in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.].(c) Rule of
construction on prohibition of Federal control over nonpublic
schools. Nothing in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.] shall be
construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control
over any aspect of any private, religious, or home school, whether or not a
home school is treated as a private school or home school under State law.
This section shall not be construed to bar private, religious, or home
schools from participation in programs or services under this Act [20 USCS
§§ 6301 et seq.].(d) Rule of construction on State and local
educational agency mandates. Nothing in this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et seq.]
shall be construed to Require any State educational agency or local
educational agency that receives funds under this Act [20 USCS §§ 6301 et
seq.] to mandate, direct, or control the curriculum of a private or home
school, regardless or whether or not a home school is treated as a private
school under state law, nor shall any funds under this Act[20 USCS §§ 6301
et seq.] be used for this purpose.
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20 U.S.C., Ch.
70, Section 6733 Definitions.
(4) School. The term "school" means a public or
private kindergarten, a public or private elementary school or secondary
school, or a home school.
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20 U.S.C., Ch.
72, Section 9203. Adult Education and Family Literacy. Home schools.
Nothing in this title shall be construed to affect home schools, or to
compel a parent engaged in home schooling to participate in an English
literacy program, family literacy services, or adult education.
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20 U.S.C., Ch.
76, Section 9622. National Assessment of Educational Progress.
(a) Establishment. The Commissioner for Education Statistics
shall, with the advice of the Assessment Board established under section
302 [20 USCS §9621], carry out, through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements
with one or more qualified organizations, or consortia thereof, a National
Assessment of Educational Progress, which collectively refers to a national
assessment, State assessments, and a long-term trend assessment in reading
and mathematics…. The Commissioner of Education statistics shall
(B) conduct a national assessment and collect and report assessment
data, including achievement data trends, in a valid and reliable manner on
student academic achievement in public and private elementary schools and
secondary schools at least once every 2 years, in grades 4 and 8 in reading
and mathematics; (C) conduct a national assessment
and collect and report assessment data, including achievement data trends,
in a valid and reliable manner on student academic achievement in public
and private schools in reading and mathematics in grade 12 in regularly
scheduled intervals, but at least as often as such assessments were
conducted prior to the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 [enacted Jan. 8, 2002]; (D) to the extent
time and resources allow, and after the requirements described in
subparagraph (B) are implemented and the requirements described in
subparagraph (C) are met, conduct additional national assessments and
collect and report assessment data, including achievement data trends, in a
valid and reliable manner on student academic achievement in grades 4, 8,
and 12 in public and private elementary schools and secondary schools in
regularly scheduled intervals in additional subject matter, including
writing, science, history, geography, civics, economics, foreign languages,
and arts, and the trend assessment described in subparagraph (F);
(D) Applicability to home schools. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to affect home schools, whether or not a home school is treated
as a home school or a private school under State law, nor shall any home
schooled student be required to participate in any assessment referenced or
authorized under this section….(3) Personally identifiable
information. (A) In general. The Commissioner for
Education Statistics shall ensure that all personally identifiable
information about students, their academic achievement, and their families,
and that information with respect to individual schools, remains
confidential, in accordance with section 552a of title 5,United States
Code…(d) Participation. (1) Voluntary participation.
Participation in any assessment authorized under this section shall be
voluntary for students, schools, and local educational agencies.
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20 U.S.C., Ch.
25A, Sec. 926. Overseas Defense Dependents’ Education.
Secretary of Defense may provide tuition to allow dependents to
attend schools other than those operated by Department of Defense.
(d) Auxiliary services available to home school students.
(1) A dependent who is educated in a home school setting, but
who is eligible to enroll in a school of the defense dependents' education
system, shall be permitted to use or receive auxiliary services of that
school without being required to either enroll in that school or register
for a minimum number of courses offered by that school. The dependent may
be required to satisfy other eligibility requirements and comply with
standards of conduct applicable to students actually enrolled in that
school who use or receive the same auxiliary services.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term "auxiliary
services" includes use of academic resources, access to the library of
the school, after hours use of school facilities, and participation in
music, sports, and other extracurricular and interscholastic activities.
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20 U.S.C., Ch.
28, Section 1029. Teacher Quality Enhancement.
In States where there are no licensing regulations, Secretary
of Education may collect data from local boards, etc. (c) Limitations.
(1) Federal control prohibited. Nothing in this part [20
USCS §§ 1021 et seq.] shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or
authorize any Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or
home school, whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or
home school under State law. This section shall not be construed to
prohibit private, religious, or Home schools from participation in programs
or services under this part [20 USCS §§ 1021 et seq.].
(2) No change in State control encouraged or required. Nothing
in this part [20 USCS §§ 1021 et seq.] shall be construed to encourage or
require any change in a State's treatment of any private, religious, or
home school, whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or
home school under State law.
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20 U.S.C. Ch.
28, Section 1091. Student Assistance.
d) Students who are not high school graduates. In
order for a student who does not have a certificate of graduation from a
school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such
certificate, to be eligible for any assistance under subparts 1, 3, and 4
of part A and parts B, C, D, and E of this title [20 USCS §§ 1070a et seq.,
1070b et seq., 1070c et seq., and 1071 et seq., 42 USCS §§ 2751 et seq., 20
USCS §§ 1087a et seq., and 1087aa et seq.], the student shall meet one of
the following standards: (1) The student shall take an
independently administered examination and shall achieve a score, specified
by the Secretary, demonstrating that such student can benefit from the
education or training being offered. Such examination shall be approved by
the Secretary on the basis of compliance with such standards for
development, administration, and scoring as the Secretary may prescribe in
regulations. (2) The student shall be determined as
having the ability to benefit from the education or training in accordance
with such process as the State shall prescribe. Any such process described
or approved by a State for the purposes of this section shall be effective
6 months after the date of submission to the Secretary unless the Secretary
disapproves such process. In determining whether to approve or disapprove
such process, the Secretary shall take into account the effectiveness of
such process in enabling students without high school diplomas or the
equivalent thereof to benefit from the instruction offered by institutions
utilizing such process, and shall also take into account the cultural
diversity, economic circumstances, and educational preparation of the
populations served by the institutions. (3) The student
has completed a secondary school education in a homeschool setting that is
treated as a home school or private school under State law.
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20 U.S.C. Ch.
44, Section 2393. Construction.
Nothing in this Act [20 USCS §§ 2301 et seq.] shall be construed
to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over any
aspect of a private, religious, or home school, regardless of whether a
home school is treated as a private school or home school under State law.
This section shall not be construed to bar students attending private,
religious, or home schools from participation in programs or services under
this Act [20 USCS §§ 2301 et seq.].
Top of Page
10 U.S.C. Section
520. Military Law. Personnel. Enlistments.
Limitation on enlistment and induction of persons whose score on the
Armed Forces Qualification Test is below a prescribed level…(b) A
person who is not a high school graduate may not be accepted for enlistment
in the armed forces unless the score of that person on the Armed Forces
Qualification Test is at or above the thirty-first percentile; however, a
person may not be denied enlistment in the armed forces solely because of
his not having a high school diploma if his enlistment is needed to meet
established strength requirements….
HISTORY; ANCILLARY LAWS AND DIRECTIVES. Other provisions:
Repeal of prohibition against denial of enlistment for lack of High School
diploma. Act June 8, 1974, P.L. 93-307, Title IV, § 401, 88 Stat. 234, As
amended Aug. 5, 1974, P.L. 93-365, Title VII, § 705, 88 Stat. 406, Which
was classified as a note to this section, was repealed by Act July 19,
1988,P.L.100-370, § 1(a) (3), 102 Stat. 840. Such section provided
that no volunteer for enlistment into the Armed Forces be denied enlistment
solely because of lack of a high school diploma, and similar provisions are
now contained in 10 USCS § 520(b) Limitation on number of enlistees
not high school graduates. Act Sept.8,1980, P.L. 96-342, Title III, §
302(a), 94 Stat. 1082; Dec. 1, 1981, P.L.97-86,Title IV, § 402(a), 95 Stat.
1104; Sept. 8, 1982, P.L. 97-252, Title IV, 96 Stat. 725, effective Oct. 1,
1982; Sept. 24, 1983, P.L. 98-94, Title IV, §402,97 Stat. 629, effective
Oct. 1, 1983; Oct. 19, 1984, P.L. 98-525, Title IV, Part A, § 402, Stat.
2516, effective Oct. 1, 1984; Nov. 8, 1985, P.L. 99-145, Title IV, Part A,
§ 402 in part, 99 Stat. 618, effective Oct. 1, 1985, provides: "The
number of male individuals (with no prior military service) enlisted
or inducted into the Army during the fiscal year beginning on October
1, 1985, who are not high school graduates may not exceed, as of September
30, 1986, 35 percent of all male individuals (with no prior military
service) enlisted or inducted into the Army during such fiscal year.".
Effective date of Dec. 1, 1981 amendment. Act Dec. 1, 1981,
P.L. 97-86,Title IV, § 402(b)(2), 95 Stat. 1105, provided: "The
amendments made by paragraph (1)[amending this section] shall take effect
at the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act [enacted Dec. 1,1981].". Pilot program for
treating GED and home school diploma recipients as high school graduates
for determinations of eligibility for enlistment in the Armed Forces. Act
Oct. 17, 1998, P.L. 105-261, Div A, Title V, Subtitle G, § 571,112 Stat.
2033; Oct. 5, 1999, P.L. 106-65, Div A, Title X, Subtitle G, §1067(3),113
Stat. 774, provides: "(a) Program required. The Secretary
of Defense shall establish a pilot program to assess whether the Armed Forces
could better meet recruiting requirements by treating GED recipients and
home school diploma recipients as having graduated from high school with a
high school diploma for the purpose of determining the eligibility of those
persons to enlist in the Armed Forces. The Secretary of each military
department shall administer the pilot program for the Armed Force or armed
forces under the jurisdiction of that Secretary. "(b)
Persons eligible under the pilot program as high school graduates. Under
the pilot program, a person shall be treated as having graduated from high
school with a high school diploma for the purpose described in subsection
(a) if-- "(1) the person has completed a
general education development program while participating in the National
Guard Challenge Program under section 509 of title 32, United States Code,
and is a GED recipient; or "(2) the person
is a home school diploma recipient and provides a transcript demonstrating
completion of high school to the military department involved under the
pilot program. "(c) GED and home school diploma
recipients. For the purposes of this section--
"(1) a person is a GED recipient if the person, after completing
a general education development program, has obtained certification of high
school equivalency by meeting State requirements and passing a State
approved exam that is administered for the purpose of providing an
appraisal of the person's achievement or performance in the broad subject
matter areas usually required for high school graduates; and
"(2) a person is a home school diploma recipient if
the person has received a diploma for completing a program of education
through the high school level at a home school, without regard to whether
the home school is treated as a private school under the law of the State
in which located. "(d) Annual limit on number. Not more
than 1,250 GED recipients and home school diploma recipients enlisted by an
armed force during a fiscal year may be treated under the pilot program as
having graduated from high school with a high school diploma.
"(e) Duration of pilot program. The pilot program shall be in
effect during the period beginning on October 1, 1998, and ending on
September 30, 2003. "(f) Report. Not later than February
1, 2004, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives a report on the pilot program. The report shall include the
following, set forth separately for GED recipients and home school diploma
recipients: "(1) The assessment of the
Secretary of Defense, and any assessment of any of the Secretaries of the
military departments, regarding the value of, and any necessity for,
authority to treat GED recipients and home school diploma recipients as
having graduated from high school with a high school diploma for the
purpose of determining the eligibility of those persons to enlist in the
Armed Forces. "(2) A comparison (shown by
armed force and by each fiscal year of the pilot program) of the
performance of the persons who enlisted during the fiscal year as GED or
home school diploma recipients treated under the pilot program as having
graduated from high school with a high school diploma with the performance
of the persons who enlisted in that armed force during the same fiscal year
after having graduated from high school with a high school diploma, with
respect to the following:
(A) Attrition.
(B) Discipline.
(C) Adaptability to military life.
(D) Aptitude for mastering the skills necessary for technical
specialties.
(E) Reenlistment rates.
(F) State defined. (For purposes of this section, the term
'State' includes the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories of the United States.)
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