Call To Action
New Bill to Require Parents to Register Their Children with the State
By Laurie Higgins, Director of IFI's DSA - Illinois Family Institute
Ed Maloney
State Senator (D-Chicago)
Chicago Office:
773-881-4180
Springfield Office:
217-782-5145
Contact Sen. Maloney and your State Senator ask them to drop this unwarranted expansion of government.
A deeply troubling bill ( SB 136) has been proposed in the Illinois General Assembly by State Senator Edward D. Maloney (D-Chicago) that will affect all children in non-public schools, including home schools.
Existing school code permits the voluntary registration of non-public school students with the state. If SB 136 were to pass, it would compel all parents or legal guardians of home or privately schooled students to register with the state. Registration that is now voluntary would become compulsory. The arguments used to justify such compulsory registration are specious and reveal underlying flawed assumptions.
TAKE ACTION: Call Sen. Maloney's office at 773-881-4180 and ask him to drop this unwarranted expansion of government into the private lives and affairs of good Illinois citizens. Click HERE to send him a fax or an email.
Sen. Maloney has expressed concern that those who homeschool their children are not accountable to anyone -- and by anyone, he clearly means any government employee. Does Sen. Maloney actually believe that the state has proved itself better at educating children than parents who homeschool?
What Maloney fails to acknowledge is that many of these parents know that they are accountable to a much higher authority than the state. They know that they are accountable to God for the manner in which they educate, train, and nurture their children as well as how they steward their time, talents, and resources.
Proponents of mandatory registration fail to address the serious problem of requiring parents to register with a government entity that is actively engaged in undermining their political, moral, and theological beliefs. At significant personal costs, these families are trying through homeschooling to avoid the subversive ideological indoctrination in which many public school teachers increasingly engage.
Proponents fail to acknowledge that bias and censorship pervade public school curricula. The problems in public schools involve not merely what troubling ideas are being promoted to students but what ideas students are never exposed to because of systemic bias and censorship.
Proponents of this bill fail to address the likely, if not inevitable, slippery slope from registration to regulation . While SB 136 requires parents only to register their children with the state, it's naïve to think that our bloated and still ravenous state bureaucracy will not expand its purview to dictate curriculum, administer tests, monitor or evaluate student progress, require certification of those who serve as teachers, and/or mandate home visits by state officials -- all in the service of protecting children, of course.
Those in favor of mandatory registration fail to provide any evidence for the need for such registration . Such evidence would need to be something far more substantive than anecdotal accounts of a few homeschool parents who have failed to educate adequately their children. And such evidence would need to prove that homeschooled students are failing at higher rates than students in public schools. If there were evidence, for example, that homeschooled students have poorer test scores; higher rates of suicide or drug and alcohol use; greater involvement in gang activity; feel less safe; have lower admission rates into colleges and universities; or have lower college retention and graduation rates than public school students, then perhaps there would be a case for mandatory registration.
Since current research suggests that homeschooled students actually score higher on average than public school students, the effort to mandate registration must be driven by the baseless assumption that government bureaucrats are inherently more effective at protecting and educating children. If this assumption weren't so gallingly presumptuous, it would be laughable.
Let's take a moment to clarify for hubristic politicians and public educators (which does not mean all public educators) what some current research reveals about homeschooled students.
The following statistics come from a 2009 study that explored "academic outcomes of home school students attending a medium sized, doctoral institution located in the Midwest": Homeschool students ACT Composite score 26.5--Public school ACT Composite score 25
Homeschool students ACT Reading score 28.2--Public school ACT Reading score 25.6
Homeschool students ACT English score 27.8--Public school ACT English score 24.5
Homeschool students ACT Science score 25--Public school ACT Science score 24.5
Homeschool students ACT Math score 24.6--Public school ACT Math score 24.7
The college retention rate for homeschool students was 88.6 percent as compared to 87.5 percent for public school students.
First year GPA for homeschool students was 3.41 as compared to 3.12 for public school students.
The four-year graduation rate for homeschool students was 68.7 percent as compared to 58.6 percent for public school students. (For more information on the academic success of homeschool students click HERE. )
Problems like poor test scores, high dropout rates, teenage pregnancies, teenage suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and gang activity are not common problems within the homeschooling community as they are in many government schools. Unmotivated teachers too are uncommon among home schools.
So, Sen. Maloney believes that all homeschool and private school students in Illinois, including those who fare better than public school students, should be forced to register with the state that has demonstrably and miserably failed countless students over many years?
Has anyone calculated the additional costs to our bankrupt state that will be incurred if unwarranted compulsory state registration becomes the law for all non-public school students?
Government bureaucrats and educators like Bill Ayers and his "agents of change" see themselves as academic experts nonpareil and the ultimate protectors of children. As a result, they arrogate to themselves the right to intrude without warrant into family business.
Illinoisans should oppose this unjustifiable and needless expansion of governmental authority . This is especially important now as Illinois public schools stand poised to expand their advocacy of radical beliefs regarding homosexuality into every public elementary, middle, and high school, which IFI hopes will result in more families exiting public schools.
Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Help oppose United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Today parental rights are coming under assault from federal judges who deny or refuse to recognize these rights. Adding further danger to the child-parent relationship, international law seeking to undermine the parental role is advancing on the horizon. Together, these threats are converging to create a "perfect storm" that looms over the child-parent relationship.
According to Amazines.com:
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.[4]
Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention are required to report to, and appear before, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress with regards to the advancement of the implementation of the Convention and the status of child rights in their country. Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).[5] It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of December 2008, 193 countries have ratified it,[1] including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia.[4][6]
Two optional protocols were adopted on 25 May 2000. The first one restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second one prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Both protocols have been ratified by more than 120 states.[7][8]
This poses a serious threat both to parental rights and to U.S. sovereignty, as the UNCRC dictates not only that the federal government must intrude into the family sphere to an unprecedented degree, but also how the federal government is to monitor and govern the actions of our families. Parental rights would be replaced by "the best interests of the child" as defined, ultimately, by an international committee of 18 people in Switzerland.
To read more on the dangers of this treaty, and how it poses a serious threat to parental rights and American freedom, please visit parentalrights.org
Download actual UN Convention documents here.
SR 519 Approaches Half-way Point
The Senate resolution opposing ratification of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child is very near the half-way point, with 16 of the needed 34 cosponsors already signed on. To reach this level of success in so short a time is very encouraging – but they still have a ways to go, and need to get there quickly!
If your senator is a Republican, there is no reason for him not to sign on, so parentalrights.org is targeting that group this week. The only reason many have not cosponsored yet is that they don’t think it is important enough to make the effort – and your phone calls are needed to change that perception. If they get enough phone calls about an issue, it becomes important, so we need you to make SR 519 vital to them!
If Your Senator Is a Democrat...
...don’t quit calling. This is not a partisan issue, and there is a chance your senator may sign on. Find their Washington number at ParentalRights.org/Status, and urge them to oppose international law by co-sponsoring SR 519. And tell your friends so they can call, too!
If Your Senator Is a Republican and Not a Cosponsor...
...he is one of the targets this week. Please take the following actions:
1. Call your Senators. Tell them we don’t want international law running our country. Tell them to seize this opportunity to win a victory against the Obama agenda.
To easily check their status and get their Washington phone numbers, find your state on the list at ParentalRights.org/Status. If you have already called their D.C. office, please call their District Offices at the numbers listed below. Alternate every couple of days and keep calling both offices!
AL Sen. Richard Shelby
(334) 223-7303
AK Sen. Lisa Murkowski
(907)-271-3735
FL Sen. George LeMieux
(904)-398-8586
ID Sen. Mike Crapo
(208)-334-1776
IN Sen. Richard Lugar
(317) 226-5555
KS Sen. Sam Brownback
(316) 264-8066
KS Sen. Pat Roberts
(785) 295-2745
LA Sen. David Vitter
(225)-383-0331
ME Sen. Susan Collins
(207) 622-8414
ME Sen. Olympia Snowe
(207) 622-8292
MA Sen. Scott Brown
(617) 565-3170
MS Sen. Thad Cochran
(601)-965-4459
MO Sen. Chris Bond
(573) 634-2488
NE Sen. Mike Johanns
(402) 476-1400
NH Sen. Judd Gregg
(603) 225-7115
OH Sen. George Voinovich
(216) 522-7095
SC Sen. Lindsey Graham
(803) 933-0112
TN Sen. Lamar Alexander
(615) 736-5129
TN Sen. Bob Corker
(615)-279-8125
TX Sen. John Cornyn
(713)-572-3337
UT Sen. Robert Bennett
(801) 524-5933
UT Sen. Orrin Hatch
(801) 524-4380
WY Sen. John Barrasso
(307)-772-2451
WY Sen. Michael Enzi
(307) 772-2477
2. Tell your friends. Every chance you get, tell your friends about the dangers of the CRC, the UN’s treaty that would transform parental authority into a treaty obligation of the national government, making Washington responsible to ensure that you raise your kids according to UN standards. Send them to ParentalRights.org to sign the petition (or have them sign a printed copy), and encourage them to join you in calling your senators! If Your Senator Has Already Sponsored...
...please send him a thank you letter or card expressing your appreciation:
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
7550 Halcyon Summit Dr., Suite 150,
Montgomery, AL 36117
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
2200 East Camelback, Suite 120
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
5353 North 16th Street, Suite 105
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
100 Galleria Pkwy., Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
1 Overton Park Suite 970
3625 Cumberland Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30339
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
350 North 9th Street, Suite 302
Boise, ID 83702
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA)
721 Federal Bldg., 210 Walnut St.
Des Moines, IA 50309
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
600 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Place
Rm. 1072b
Louisville, KY 40202
Sen. Roger Wicker (R- MS)
245 East Capitol St., Suite 226
Jackson, MS 39201
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
400 S. Virginia St., Suite 738
Reno, NV 89501
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
201 N. Front St., Suite 809
Wilmington, NC 28401
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
100 North Broadway, Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
1900 NW Expressway St., Suite 1210
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
1901 Main St., Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
320 N. Main Ave., Suite B
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
961 Federal Building
300 East 8th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Call Your Congressman If your Congressman is not already a cosponsor of the Parental Rights Amendment (HJRes. 42), call and urge him to sign on. As the elections approach, candidates from both parties are beginning to realize that the parental rights issue is vital to all Americans. Representatives from either party may wish to sign on now to help their re-election campaigns. You might want to mention this to them, as well.
To take action, visit ParentalRights.org/States and click on your state. Then, if your Congressman is not already a cosponsor, click on his name to get his contact information – and give him a call. Tell him you believe parental rights will be a major issue this election, and that it can only help his chances if he defends parental rights by cosponsoring HJRes. 42, the Parental Rights Amendment. Be courteous, and thank the staff workers for their time.
According to Amazines.com:
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often referred to as CRC or UNCRC, is an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. Nations that ratify this international convention are bound to it by international law. Compliance is monitored by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which is composed of members from countries around the world. Once a year, the Committee submits a report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which also hears a statement from the CRC Chair, and the Assembly adopts a Resolution on the Rights of the Child.[4]
Governments of countries that have ratified the Convention are required to report to, and appear before, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child periodically to be examined on their progress with regards to the advancement of the implementation of the Convention and the status of child rights in their country. Their reports and the committee's written views and concerns are available on the committee's website.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention and opened it for signature on 20 November 1989 (the 30th anniversary of its Declaration of the Rights of the Child).[5] It came into force on 2 September 1990, after it was ratified by the required number of nations. As of December 2008, 193 countries have ratified it,[1] including every member of the United Nations except the United States and Somalia.[4][6]
Two optional protocols were adopted on 25 May 2000. The first one restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts, and the second one prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Both protocols have been ratified by more than 120 states.[7][8]
This poses a serious threat both to parental rights and to U.S. sovereignty, as the UNCRC dictates not only that the federal government must intrude into the family sphere to an unprecedented degree, but also how the federal government is to monitor and govern the actions of our families. Parental rights would be replaced by "the best interests of the child" as defined, ultimately, by an international committee of 18 people in Switzerland.
To read more on the dangers of this treaty, and how it poses a serious threat to parental rights and American freedom, please visit parentalrights.org
Download actual UN Convention documents here.
SR 519 Approaches Half-way Point
The Senate resolution opposing ratification of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child is very near the half-way point, with 16 of the needed 34 cosponsors already signed on. To reach this level of success in so short a time is very encouraging – but they still have a ways to go, and need to get there quickly!
If your senator is a Republican, there is no reason for him not to sign on, so parentalrights.org is targeting that group this week. The only reason many have not cosponsored yet is that they don’t think it is important enough to make the effort – and your phone calls are needed to change that perception. If they get enough phone calls about an issue, it becomes important, so we need you to make SR 519 vital to them!
If Your Senator Is a Democrat...
...don’t quit calling. This is not a partisan issue, and there is a chance your senator may sign on. Find their Washington number at ParentalRights.org/Status, and urge them to oppose international law by co-sponsoring SR 519. And tell your friends so they can call, too!
If Your Senator Is a Republican and Not a Cosponsor...
...he is one of the targets this week. Please take the following actions:
1. Call your Senators. Tell them we don’t want international law running our country. Tell them to seize this opportunity to win a victory against the Obama agenda.
To easily check their status and get their Washington phone numbers, find your state on the list at ParentalRights.org/Status. If you have already called their D.C. office, please call their District Offices at the numbers listed below. Alternate every couple of days and keep calling both offices!
AL Sen. Richard Shelby
(334) 223-7303
AK Sen. Lisa Murkowski
(907)-271-3735
FL Sen. George LeMieux
(904)-398-8586
ID Sen. Mike Crapo
(208)-334-1776
IN Sen. Richard Lugar
(317) 226-5555
KS Sen. Sam Brownback
(316) 264-8066
KS Sen. Pat Roberts
(785) 295-2745
LA Sen. David Vitter
(225)-383-0331
ME Sen. Susan Collins
(207) 622-8414
ME Sen. Olympia Snowe
(207) 622-8292
MA Sen. Scott Brown
(617) 565-3170
MS Sen. Thad Cochran
(601)-965-4459
MO Sen. Chris Bond
(573) 634-2488
NE Sen. Mike Johanns
(402) 476-1400
NH Sen. Judd Gregg
(603) 225-7115
OH Sen. George Voinovich
(216) 522-7095
SC Sen. Lindsey Graham
(803) 933-0112
TN Sen. Lamar Alexander
(615) 736-5129
TN Sen. Bob Corker
(615)-279-8125
TX Sen. John Cornyn
(713)-572-3337
UT Sen. Robert Bennett
(801) 524-5933
UT Sen. Orrin Hatch
(801) 524-4380
WY Sen. John Barrasso
(307)-772-2451
WY Sen. Michael Enzi
(307) 772-2477
2. Tell your friends. Every chance you get, tell your friends about the dangers of the CRC, the UN’s treaty that would transform parental authority into a treaty obligation of the national government, making Washington responsible to ensure that you raise your kids according to UN standards. Send them to ParentalRights.org to sign the petition (or have them sign a printed copy), and encourage them to join you in calling your senators! If Your Senator Has Already Sponsored...
...please send him a thank you letter or card expressing your appreciation:
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
7550 Halcyon Summit Dr., Suite 150,
Montgomery, AL 36117
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
2200 East Camelback, Suite 120
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
5353 North 16th Street, Suite 105
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
100 Galleria Pkwy., Suite 1340
Atlanta, GA 30339
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
1 Overton Park Suite 970
3625 Cumberland Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30339
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
350 North 9th Street, Suite 302
Boise, ID 83702
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA)
721 Federal Bldg., 210 Walnut St.
Des Moines, IA 50309
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
600 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Place
Rm. 1072b
Louisville, KY 40202
Sen. Roger Wicker (R- MS)
245 East Capitol St., Suite 226
Jackson, MS 39201
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
400 S. Virginia St., Suite 738
Reno, NV 89501
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
201 N. Front St., Suite 809
Wilmington, NC 28401
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
100 North Broadway, Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK)
1900 NW Expressway St., Suite 1210
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
1901 Main St., Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
320 N. Main Ave., Suite B
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
961 Federal Building
300 East 8th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Call Your Congressman If your Congressman is not already a cosponsor of the Parental Rights Amendment (HJRes. 42), call and urge him to sign on. As the elections approach, candidates from both parties are beginning to realize that the parental rights issue is vital to all Americans. Representatives from either party may wish to sign on now to help their re-election campaigns. You might want to mention this to them, as well.
To take action, visit ParentalRights.org/States and click on your state. Then, if your Congressman is not already a cosponsor, click on his name to get his contact information – and give him a call. Tell him you believe parental rights will be a major issue this election, and that it can only help his chances if he defends parental rights by cosponsoring HJRes. 42, the Parental Rights Amendment. Be courteous, and thank the staff workers for their time.
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