House Education Committee
Meeting to Consider HB 2560
November 13, 2002
The House Education Committee met today to consider House Bill 2560. The meeting was held in Room 205 of the Matthew J. Ryan Legislative Office Building , within the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. Besides legislators and staff, there were only about 30 people (adults and children) allowed into the meeting due to limited seating. Of those, about 20 came dressed in RED to support the bill. The overflow crowd was estimated at 100 with 90% of these in RED .
Once again, the homeschooling community at large showed overwhelming support for the proposed changes to the current law. Most of the legislators, however, ignored this support and passed an amendment to the bill offered by Chairman Jess Stairs with 17 yes votes which gutted the bill of it's meaning. Here is the official summary of Amendment A5058 . The final result was that Rep. Sam Rohrer moved to table the bill, which passed with 14 yes votes.
While disappointed with today's outcome, God has given us a deep sense of peace about this, and we know that He is ultimately in control of these events. We believe there is a purpose for this setback, so we encourage everyone who has worked so hard to pass this bill to persevere. We need to continue the work that we have begun!
UPDATED 11/18/02: We plan to post the official minutes from the meeting on the web site so that every legislator will be held accountable, and so we can more effectively plan a strategy for future sessions. However, we have learned that these minutes will not be available from the House Records Center until after the end of the current session. We will also be presenting some ideas in the next few weeks for how the grassroots lobby that has been formed can continue to work for the benefit of future generations of homeschoolers in PA.
Proverbs 21:1; 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail.
Albert Einstein