This is from Brad Haines, Executive Director of Familes for Home Education.
(Here is a link to find out who your legislators are: http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx )
The Following “E-Lert” is being sent by FHE to all Missouri Homeschoolers requesting immediate action. Phone calls need to be made NOW to your Representatives regarding amendments to HB 1543 lowering compulsory age, and as many as are able need to attend the hearing on SB 805 which gives Social Workers (many without sufficient training) sole “legal” authority to remove children from their parents, without due process, based on the social worker’s assessment of the need for “protective custody.” HB 1543 will likely be debated on the House Floor sometime tomorrow (probably towards evening), so lobbying against lowering the compulsory age can continue in person throughout the day. Please pass this on to all Missouri home school and pro-family friends. (For more information if you are able to go to Jefferson City on Tuesday, Feb 9th, contact Kerry Messer when you get to the capitol at 314-971-2477)
Education Policy
Compulsory Kindergarten
Monday
February 8, 2010
5-6 pm
House Hearing Room 5
Basement, State Capitol
HB 1543
See previous E@lerts.
This bill is expected to clear the House Rules Committee with no problems and be placed on the House Perfection Calendar as soon as Tuesday morning. This will clear the way for floor amendments as soon as the bill is taken up for debate.
Rep. Sara Lampe plans to offer at least two amendments aimed at lowering the state compulsory attendance age and to hold parents criminally liable for not placing their 5 or 6 year old children in formal education.
One of her ideas is to lower St. Louis and Kansas City to age 5. The second idea is to require a minimum age of 6 for the rest of the state. Uncooperative parents would face prosecution and prison time!
ACTION NEEDED:
Call your State Representative immediately ask them to vote against any amendments proposing to lower compulsory attendance ages from the current state law of age 7.
Parents who are afraid of the sex, drugs and violence in their schools should never be forced to send their children to such schools. Those schools should be made to clean up their system rather than asking the state to criminalize good parents.
Also, those parents who do not believe a child is developmentally ready to go to kindergarten should not face prosecution for doing what is best for their own child!
Social Workers
Your Children or Theirs?
Tuesday
February 9, 2010
8:15 am
Senate Committee Room #1
1st Floor Missouri State Capitol
SB 805
The Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families Committee (Senator Norma Champion, Chairman) is scheduled to take public testimony on Senate Bill 805. Any Missouri resident may participate and all concerned citizens need to be present. The State already claims too much authority in removing children from their homes.
This bill expands the list of people empowered by the State with the authority to remove your child(ren) from your home even though many others already have this subjective power.
SB 805 Allows social workers with the Children's Division to request a juvenile officer to take a child into protective custody even though they have never received any training regarding law enforcement or legal jurisprudence. They do all their work under civil law where criminal law and constitutional rights mean little to nothing.
Current practice is for social workers to have law enforcement or certain authorized persons to assist when taking a child from a home. This bill would allow the social worker the unilateral right to sweep up children with no properly trained law enforcement officer involved.
ACTION NEEDED:
Please attend the public hearing at the time and location listed above. You have the right to have your appearance noted for the record, or to speak to the committee about your concerns if you so desire. It is important that as many folks as possible come to Jefferson City for this hearing to remind Senators how serious it is to take children away from parents, even if the social worker grew up in a better socio-economic situation and cannot understand how poorer people still love their children!
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