[HSList] Alert: SB 494 On To The Governor!!
Jody & Scott Arnold family
Hi everybody,
This alert is for folks in Oregon....
We've been on vacation this week, so if you've been wondering what
has been happening with SB 494 and HB 3080 (2 very similar homeschooling
bills), SB 494 passed the House and the Senate and has gone to the governor
for signature. Last time a homeschooling bill like this passed, the
governor (Barbara Roberts) waited the maximum possible number of days and
then refused to sign it. The legislature had adjourned and the bill just died.
I don't know if our current governor will pull this trick, but he
will receive strong pressure from the public school folks to veto or just
not sign it. Please write or fax him encouraging him to sign it. (He
doesn't have an e-mail address.) This bill will be a major improvement over
our current law.
I received two related posts on this--I'm going to paste the second
one here too, so you get them both at once.
jody
>Return-Path: <RETR...@aol.com>
>From: RETR...@aol.com
>Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 19:30:34 -0400 (EDT)
>Subject: Alert: SB 494 On To The Governor!!
>
>OVERLOAD HIS PHONE LINES!!!!
>FILL UP HIS FAX MACHINE!!!!
>PACK HIS MAILBOX!!!
>
>CONVINCE THE GOVERNOR TO SIGN SB 494!!!!
>
>THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!!!
>
>Friends,
>
> The Senate concurred, unanimously, in it's approval of SB 494!!! The vote
>was 26-0 (4 Senators were excused). This is a tremendous vote of confidence
>for our bill!! Now on to the Governor -- IMMEDIATELY!!!
> The Governor's office threatened, during the debate over this bill, to veto
>SB 494. In essence, the Governor has problems with these parts of the bill:
> 1. The standard being codified into law instead of being at the discretion
>of the State Board of Education.
> 2. Private school teachers being allowed to assess Special Needs students.
>He believes only licensed teachers are capable and trustworthy.
> 3. Testing at grades 3,5,8 & 10 instead of annual testing. He believes
>public school students receive regular assessment and testing from their
>teachers in addition to the state-mandated testing and therefore are fine
>with their testing schedule. Homeschooled students do not and therefore
>should be held to a stricter, state-imposed schedule.
> 4. Students enrolled in satellite schools being exempted from compulsory
>attendance laws.
>
>In reality, he's unhappy with the entire thing. However, he has been known to
>threaten a veto and to not carry through with it before, so it is our job to
>change his mind -- and to do it immediately!!!!
>
>WHAT TO DO:
>
>1. Call, write or FAX the Governor's office today!!! Express support for
>this bill (SB 494-B Engrossed).
>
>Those of you with access to FAX , USE IT!!! -- all those papers going into
>the folder make a big impact!!:
>
>Telephone : (503) 378-4582, 24 hours
>
>FAX: 503-378-4863
>
>Mail :
>Governor John Kitzhaber
>State Capitol Building
>Salem, OR 97310
>
>2. Please be specific about how this bill, when passed into law, will impact
>your homeschooling life in a positive way. Refute the concerns that are
>stated above as they apply to your lives.
>
>3. Activate phone trees, call your friends and relatives, and contact
>friendly educators & ask them all to contact the Governor's office as well -
>ASAP!!
>
>This is our final stand, friends. It is coming at a tough time, over a
>holiday weekend. Nonetheless, we need to get ourselves into gear and act --
>positively and quickly!!! Please take action today!!
>
>Christine
>OHEN Legislative Liason
>retr...@aol.com
>
>
>---------------------
>Forwarded message:
>Subj: Home School On Its Way To Governor - Act Now!!
>Date: 97-07-03 20:38:08 EDT
>From: Elder DT
>
>Home School Bill Goes to Governor Kitzhaber!!!!
>
>Governor Threatens Veto - Call and Fax Him Now!!
>
>SB 494-B Engrossed, containing our home school bill, passed the Oregon Senate
>today, July 3, 26-0!!
>
>One day before Independence Day, SB 494, giving home schoolers new and
>well-deserved liberties, completed its passage through the Oregon
>Legislature. But Governor Kitzhaber stated his intentions today to veto the
>bill. (Reminds me of the Seuss book: The Grinch Who Stole Independence Day!)
>
>PLEASE ACT NOW!!!
>
>1. Call Gov. Kitzhaber and respectively make known your strong desire to have
>him sign SB 494, for the good of the children and families who comprise some
>of the most dedicated and honorable folks of this fair State. His office
>number is (503) 378-3111, his "Citizen Message" number is (503) 378-4582.
>
>2. If you have access to a fax machine, fax him as well, with the same
>message. His FAX number is (503) 378-4863.
>
>3. Write him a letter, expressing the same sentiments.. His address is
>Governor John Kitzhaber State Capitol Building Salem, OR 97310
>
>In all of these communications, let us honor our only Savior, the Lord Jesus
>Christ, by being respectful, honoring Gov. Kitzhaber as one of God's ordained
>civil magistrates, but also by reminding him of his responsibilities to act
>justly and mercifully s God's servant.
>
>4. Get as many of your friends neighbors, church members, and relatives to do
>the same three steps.
>
>5. Pray that God turn the heart of this powerful man who seems to have had
>his heart turned against us and towards the educational bureaucracy in Salem.
>
>
>Background
>
>SB 494-B Engrossed is the "gut and stuff" version of SB 494 that contains our
>home school bill. It contains the following provisions:
>
>1. Automatic exemption for those who home school under the oversight of a
>satellite, extension or off-campus program of a private or parochial school.
>No notification, no testing. (Current law says that any child being taught at
>home by a parent or private teacher must test and notify annually.)
>
>2. State-required achievement testing for home schoolers, but only at grades
>3, 5, 8, 10. (Current law - annual testing.)
>
>3. Definition of satisfactory educational progress fixed in statute at 15
>percentile for those who test. (Current law leaves this determination to the
>State Board of Education, who can arbitrarily set it as high as they like.)
>
>4. Home schoolers who desire to participate in interscholastic activities
>still can, but will continue to have to test once a year.
>
>5. Option allowing home schooled children with disabilities to have a public
>or private school teacher evaluation at grades 3,5,8,10 instead of testing.
>(Current law says that disabled children must either score at the state
>determined level on an annual achievement test, or come under the full
>bureaucratic oversight of the public school system)
>
>SB 494B Engrossed was amended to remove one of the Governor's objections to
>our home school bill wording which was of no consequence to us - wording
>about public school extension programs. It also limits the private teacher
>evaluation option to children with special needs - another concession to the
>governor. But in spite of these concessions, one of his aides now tells us
>that he is not pleased even with the sections we modified according to his
>desires. We were negotiating in good faith, but is now unclear what the
>Governor's Aide was doing at the time.
>
>SB 494B Engrossed has two other matters in it, not related to home school,
>that the Governor would also be axing, should he veto SB 494. In addition to
>our home school bill, SB 494 was stuffed with language requiring that
>information about hearing screening of infants be given to new parents in the
>hospital, and language requiring licensed day care providers to have
>up-to-date CPR certification and training in child development and child
>abuse prevention.
>
>SB 494 is now on its way to the Governor. He normally has five days to take
>action. However, if the Legislative Assembly is adjourned the Governor has 30
>days to consider it. If the Governor chooses to sign the bill, it will become
>law on the prescribed effective date. The Governor may allow a bill to become
>law without his/her signature, or the Governor may decide to veto the bill.
>The Governor's veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses.
>LETS DO ALL WE CAN TO STOP HIM FROM VETOING THIS HISTORIC HOME SCHOOL
>LEGISLATION!!
>
>This Update Produced by Dennis Tuuri, Executive Director of the Parents
>Education Association, P. O. Box 5428, Beaverton, OR 97006; (503) 693-0724;
>email: eld...@aol.com, webpage: http://www.lyonscom.com/peapac
>
>