House Bill 5912 (2008)

Future action pending on this legislation; please review our original analysis from April 4, 2008. We will keep you updated.

House Bill 5912, introduced by Representative Clack, calls for the registration of all Michigan home school students with their local school districts. CTV strongly opposes this legislation and we are working to defeat it. This is an urgent issue that demands our attention and participation.

For those unfamiliar with the history of home schooling in Michigan, this proposal might seem reasonable at first. However, please consider the following when analyzing this issue:

• According to Michigan Law, parents and legal guardians in Michigan have a natural, fundamental right to determine and direct the care, teaching, and education of their children.
• Home Schooling is thriving in Michigan and is not in need of repair.
• Registration of home school students is not necessary unless the government is anticipating building on this preliminary proposed legislation with additional requirements in the future.
• Registration places additional work onto the staff of the Superintendents around the state. This could, in some areas, require additional workers to be hired to handle this task. Adding staff, at taxpayers’ expense, is absolutely unnecessary. Burdening the already overworked, state-funded staff by requiring them to handle, as well as safely and securely manage all of this additional documentation, is unwarranted.
• Our current law enables home school students to excel in academics, as well as in extra-curricular activities and all studies show that they, as a whole, perform well above the average.
• Simply registering serves absolutely no purpose. There is no tax to collect, the proposed legislation does not allow for any use of this data, so simply compiling a database of the existence of home school families and their children serves absolutely no legitimate purpose. The Federal and State Governments are already aware that these children exist, via the IRS, State Tax forms and the Census.
• There is no registration requirement for private school students.
• The public schools in Michigan are facing serious challenges that need to be addressed, and this initiative will not fix any of those existing problems.
• Some of the original sponsors, after hearing from home school families throughout Michigan, have now withdrawn their support for the bill.

We are joining Representative Jack Hoogendyk, a strong advocate for individual liberty, and other like-minded groups for an April 9th rally on the Capitol steps. I hope you will consider participating in this event. The details are below.

James Muffett, President of Citizens for Traditional Values, will be speaking and we would greatly appreciate having you join us. We will keep you posted. Please take a moment and forward this important information to your network.

Amy Hawkins
Executive Director
amy@ctvmichigan.org
517-321-1390



Rally April 9th in Lansing

"Send a Message" to the Legislature

By now you have heard that a bill (HB5912) was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives March 19, 2008 to force home-school parents to register their children with the local school district. Here is the crucial language in the bill:

THE EXEMPTION FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO ATTEND PUBLIC SCHOOL EXISTS ONLY IF THE CHILD'S ATTENDANCE IS APPROPRIATELY REPORTED TO PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIALS AS REQUIRED...

THE PARENT...OF A CHILD BEING EDUCATED AT THE CHILD'S HOME...SHALL AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SCHOOL YEAR FURNISH ALL...OF THE FOLLOWING TO THE SUPERINTENDENT...OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHILD'S HOME IS SITUATED...

(A) THE NAME AND AGE OF EACH CHILD WHO IS BEING EDUCATED AT THE HOME... (C) THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN.

It is time for those who appreciate the right to educate their children at home, and anyone else who does not want to see government continue to expand its reach into the home, family and business to inform the Legislature about how they feel.

On Wednesday, April 9 at 11:15 am, a coalition of home school groups and those who support the natural, fundamental rights of parents to educate their children as they see fit, will hold a rally on the front steps of the Capitol in Lansing. Several key leaders will speak at this event including Michael Farris from the Home School Legal Defense Association and James Muffet from Citizens for Traditional Values. Please arrive early as parking is at a premium near the Capitol Building.

Jack Hoogendyk
State Representative District 61