• ...I received this email today, and I realize that not everyone is a member of HSLDA, but this is VERY important to ALL of us in the KCMO area. Please call if you feel led to do so. This affects ALL of us that homeschool, regardless of if you belong to HSLDA or not. Thanks!

  It also affects those of us who do not live in KCMO by 2 ways-

  #1, other towns will follow

  #2 Do you go to KCMO during the day for field trips? or business and take your kids?  You could be stopped and quetioned.

  
  

  
  
  Urgent Action Needed to Stop
  Kansas City Daytime Curfew
  Daytime curfews do not accomplish what the proponents claim.
  
  Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,
  
  Your help is urgently needed to block an effort in Kansas City, MO, to pass an ordinance that would make it a crime for young people to be in a public place during public school hours.
  
  The city council’s Public Safety Committee may vote on the ordinance at 10:30 this morning. If they vote in favor, the full city council could vote on the bill on early as tomorrow. Time is short! All members of the city council need to hear about your opposition.
  
  Daytime curfews do not accomplish what the proponents claim. They have a disproportionate impact on homeschool families because we allow our children free time while public schools are in session.
  
  Homeschoolers have been harassed and made fearful by policemen who treat them like suspected criminals for doing nothing more than being in public.
  Action Requested
  
  1. If you live in Kansas City, please stand up for freedom by immediately calling the city council members listed below to express your opposition to the daytime curfew. Your message can be as simple as: “Please vote NO on ordinance 120180, daytime curfews. It will reduce freedom, but it will not reduce crime.” Or you can express your opposition in your own words.
  
  2. If your last name begins with A through H, call those numbered 1-4 below. If your last name starts with I through P, call those numbered 5-9 below. If your last name starts with Q-Z, call those numbered 10-13 below.
  
  3. Please pass this on to other families, as well!
  Contact Information
  
  1. James, Jr., Sylvester Chair, Mayor
  816-513-3500
  
  2. Wagner, Scott
  816-513-6503
  
  3. Davis, Dick
  816-513-6505
  
  4. Ford, Ed
  816-513-6507
  
  5. Johnson, Russ
  816-513-6509
  
  6. Curls, Melba
  816-513-6511
  
  7. Reed, Jermaine
  816-513-6513
  
  8. Glover, Jim
  816-513-6515
  
  9. Marcason, Jan
  816-513-6517
  
  10. Circo, Cindy
  816-513-6519
  
  11. Brooks, Michael
  816-513-6521
  
  12. Taylor, Scott
  816-513-6523
  
  13. Sharp, John
  816-513-6525
  Background
  
  1. Daytime curfews do not deter juvenile crime. A recent California study compared the juvenile crime rates of counties that enforced curfew ordinances and counties that did not. The crime rates were the same. The curfews had no effect on juvenile crime.
  
  2. Daytime curfews allow searches without probable cause. The Fourth Amendment forbids any investigation of a citizen without a “probable cause.” The proposed ordinance allows policemen to stop and interrogate a person merely because he looks young enough to be violating the curfew. It is an invitation to harass homeschool families.
  
  3. Daytime curfews assume a person is guilty until proven innocent. In several incidents where homeschool students were stopped by police, they had done nothing to arouse suspicion. There was no evidence they had committed a crime or intended to. Nonetheless, the police interrogated them and treated them like criminals until they had proved their innocence.
  
  4. The ordinance allows some exceptions. Unfortunately, the only way for a policeman to determine if an exception applies is to stop and interrogate the frightened young person. By then the damage has already been done. The child may be afraid to go outdoors again. The right to homeschool includes the right to be free from fear—especially for young people, who are most vulnerable to feelings of fear.
  
  5. The ordinance pressures homeschool families to follow the public school schedule. Those who dismiss their kids while public schools are in session could face harassment.
  
  6. HSLDA and Families for Home Education are united in opposing this ordinance.
  
  Thank you for standing with us for freedom in Missouri!
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Scott A. Woodruff
  HSLDA Staff Attorney