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House Education Committee
Hearing for HB 2560
Testimony of
Mrs. Ellen M. Kramer
of the
Catholic Homeschoolers of PA
before the House Education Committee
in Support of House Bill 2560
June 13, 2002
TESTIMONY OF ELLEN M. KRAMER OF
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and honorable members of the House Education Committee!
My name is Ellen Kramer.I have home educated our children (now ages 11, 16, and 18) for 10 years. Nine years ago my husband and I founded the Catholic Homeschoolers of Pennsylvania. I am a participant in the National Round Table of Catholic Homeschool Leaders and a co-founding organizer of the Catholic Homeschool Network of America. Aided by a paralegal background, I have read, researched and written about educational legislation for the past 9 years.
The italicized text will not be read but is provided for your benefit.
With many years of national involvement and as a state contact for Catholic families, I have heard from many home educators who are considering a move to or from Pennsylvania.When given a choice, nearly every time the family chooses any other state but Pennsylvania.Sometimes these people are former residents of the Commonwealth, and they want desperately to move back ‘home’, but they find no ‘home education friend in Pennsylvania.’ House Bill 2560 will not lay out a red carpet, but it will welcome them back. It will be bring Pennsylvania one step closer to eliminating the ‘Brain Drain’ that Education Secretary Charles Zogby has acknowledged is occurring here.
HB2560 IS CLEAR AND CONCISE, COMPLIES WITH FEDERAL CODE, AND USES THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE MEANS—The decision of the Jeffrys v. O’Donnell case found that the law preceding 1988 was so vague that “a person of ordinary intelligence could not reasonably steer between the lawful and the unlawful to avoid criminal prosecution.” The current Home Education Law is equally ambiguous creating much confusion for home educators and districts and resulting in numerous unnecessary conflicts and disparity in the implementation of the law.
House Bill 2560 is clear and concise on the requirements to meet compulsory attendance.It complies with Title 20 Section 3401 of the Federal Code regarding the primacy of the parental role in education and the state taking on the supporting role, and it uses the least restrictive means of meeting the state’s interest as determined by the Supreme Court (Wisconsin v. Yoder).
The current law provides for a due process hearing if the superintendent suspects an inappropriate education. In 2000, the first year that the PDE requested such information, only 0.09% of all home-educated students were reported to have had a due process hearing. The PDE does not request that districts report the results of these hearings. However, there is no reason to have onerous mandates and impinge upon the freedoms of 99.91% of the home-educated population in an effort to question 0.09%.
Instead of having due process hearings, some like the Brian Jordan family have been taken to truancy court possibly in part due to the financial incentives ($300/day fines) that do not exist with due process. Mrs. Jordan has been spending much time this year helping other parents accused of truancy by their districts. There are no figures available on the number of truancy charges unnecessarily brought against compliant home educators. Reports from families indicate that those parents are winning those cases, but they should not have to endure such allegations when they are clearly in compliance with the law. House Bill 2560 should alleviate these conflicts between districts and home educating families.
HB2560 SUPPORTS PARENTAL CHOICE OF ASSESSMENT—The current law requires that all home-educated students endure a one-size-fits-all, multi-level method of assessment.Also the present law presumes that we are guilty unless proven innocent. We must produce these multiples types of documentation despite the fact that we annually sign an affidavit stating that we will comply with the law. The affidavit should have been sufficient. House Bill 2560 supports the choice of assessment(s) that the parent(s) deem appropriate for that particular student for that particular year.
HB2560 VIRTUALLY ELIMINATES THE UNFUNDED MANDATE UPON DISTRICTS— Some of these conflicts with districts may be due at least in part with the unfunded mandate of at least $5,000,000 (Melnick) for the 501 districts to administer the current law.House Bill 2560 would almost completely eliminate that financial burden. This bill comes before your Committee at a time when the Commonwealth is in a very tenuous financial situation. HB 2560 also reduces the financial burden on districts at a time when they are struggling with many fiscal issues including the costs of cyber charters. House Bill 2560 retains parental responsibility to provide financially for their children’s education.
SECTION 922-A OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE PROVIDES FOR SPECIAL NEEDS— The current law allows the superintendent the option to refuse special needs services to a student.This is in conflict with Section 922-A of the Public School Code of 1949 which clearly states that these services are to be provided to every student in the Commonwealth ‘on an equal basis.’ House Bill 2560 eliminates that conflict and also is in alignment with the federal Child Find Program.However, it falls short of guaranteeing services to special needs students, which represent only 2.4% of the home educated population (PDE) (or 0.028% of the students in the state). At the present time only one-fifth of all home-educated special needs students (PDE) are receiving services from their district or intermediate unit. The other four-fifths either choose to use private sources or are refused services by their district or intermediate unit.
SECTION 923-A OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE PROVIDES FOR LOAN OF TEXTBOOKS—The current law guarantees the loan of textbooks from the local district. Eighty-three percent (83%) of the families (PDE) choose instead to purchase their own textbooks from the ever-increasing plethora of sources available to home educators.Although House Bill 2560 does not specifically address this, Section 923-A of the Public School Code states, “It is the intent of the General Assembly by this enactment to assure such a distribution of such educational aids that every school child in the Commonwealth will equitably share in the benefits thereof.” This Section adequately addresses the issue and does not require repeating in this bill.
HB2560 WILL PREVENT A TIERED SYSTEM OF DIPLOMAS AND END DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MOST DIPLOMA OPTIONS— The current law has graduation requirements, but it does not address documenting the fulfillment of those requirements or unquestionably guarantee that student graduate status. With regard to diplomas, some children are receiving a diploma from a full-service distance learning program that they are using as their curriculum; a state-recognized diploma program in order to get PHEAA grants; and, a GED just in case either of the other two is not sufficient in some manner.House Bill 2560 will eliminate this need for having a briefcase of diplomas by stating that any student who fulfills the graduation requirements will be considered a high school graduate for all purposes. They need only choose one diploma option for all purposes. Therefore, House Bill 2560 equates the status of all options, eliminates a tiered system of diplomas, prevents discrimination against the majority of diploma options currently available, and allows a greater number of options to become available.
I am not sure, however, if House Bill 2560 will end the discrimination by many public and nonpublic schools to disregard all credits earned towards a diploma in the homeschool.More and more Pennsylvania school districts are refusing to accept credits earned at home when students return to their schools. This discriminatory practice occurs even though they unquestionably would accept credits from students coming from any other educational option.
HB 2560 IS NOT IN CONFLICT WITH ANY RELIGIOUS CONVICTION— As a Catholic, I believe in the Principle of Subsidiarity, which dictates that all decisions should be made as close to the situation in question as possible.Catholic Church teaching goes back to the first two home educators, Adam and Eve, and their first home-educated children.It states that the state cannot monopolize education (Christian Education of Youth , Pope Pius XI), that the purposes of marriage are the procreation and education of children (1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1055.1 ), that parental choice in education is an ‘original, primary, and inalienable right’ and cannot be ‘entirely delegated or usurped by others’ (Familiaris Consortio , Pope John Paul II). “Parents have a most grave duty and enjoy the primary right of educating to the very best of their ability, their children physically, socially, culturally, morally, and religiously as well” (1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1136).
Parents of all faiths take their role as home educator very seriously, and no one rushes into this.Everyone I have met in nearly two decades has admitted to considering this decision usually for years before actually doing it. Parents put their children back in school, sometimes even mid-year, if they were the least bit concerned that a difficult pregnancy, the care of aging parents, or some other situation might not allow them to give proper attention to home education.Home educators will move mountains to meet their children’s educational needs.
Parents who home educate chat excitedly about sources for microscopes, the topics their children are covering, the unbelievable academic growth their children are experiencing, curriculum choices, teaching styles, learning styles, etc.On the contrary, there are many parents who say that they would not want to have their children around all day long.Or they cannot wait for summer break to be over so their children will go back to school. Parents who ‘aren’t going to really do it’ will not even start. House Bill 2560 will not make home education easier. Under this bill parents would still be required to meet the same high standard of academics and compliance with compulsory attendance.
The education of a child is such an awesome responsibility that the appropriate reaction should be to praise them, not presume motives of lower standards. Home-educated students are winning the National Geographic Bee, National Spelling Bee, and the Robotics Competition. They discovered the first complete allosaurus and a giant sauropod last month in an archeological dig, and more. From Pennsylvania alone home education boasts such successes as home education graduate Jason Taylor, defensive end for the Miami Dolphins, and Rep. Jeff Coleman, your colleague from the 60th District who was home educated during his junior high years.
In summary, House Bill 2560 is a 21st century bill which acknowledges the efficiency of one-to-one tutoring and the well proven fact that parental involvement is the key ingredient in the success of the student. It uses the least restrictive means to enforce compulsory attendance and complies with the federal code. It does not impinge upon the freedoms of the 99.91% (PDE) of families who are unquestionably doing an admirable job. It reduces the financial burden on the state and districts while maintaining parental responsibility for the cost of each student’s educational needs. We are not asking for any funding!
The following quotes appear above the doors to this building: “No man can leave a richer legacy to the world than a well educated family.” “The teacher, whether mother, priest or schoolmaster, is the real maker of history.”
You can see that the majority of those present today are wearing red and are supportive of House Bill 2560. Therefore, I respectfully request that you schedule this bill for consideration by your Committee and that you vote it out of Committee as quickly as possible. Thank you!
You can see that the majority of those present today are wearing red and are supportive of House Bill 2560. Therefore, I respectfully request that you schedule this bill for consideration by your Committee and that you vote it out of Committee as quickly as possible. Thank you!
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