This is an email I received this morning from the WPA: Please share this email with anyone you know who might be interested. One way to preserve and strengthen our parental rights is to oppose legislation currently being considered by the Wisconsin Legislature that would make five-year-old kindergarten mandatory. Because the Assembly Education Committee will vote next Tuesday, May 19, on whether to send the bill to the full Assembly for a vote, now is a good time to call your Wisconsin Assembly Representative. Because the Wisconsin Senate Education Committee is likely to take action soon, it is also a good time to call your Wisconsin Senator. If you are opposed to this legislation and if your Assembly Representative is on the Assembly Education Committee (see list below), ask them to vote against AB 119 [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB-119.pdf]. If your Assembly Representative is not on the committee, ask them to ask their colleagues on the Committee to vote against it. Similarly, if your Wisconsin Senator is on the Senate Education Committee (see list below), ask them to vote against SB 89 [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB-89.pdf] (which is very similar to AB 119). If your Wisconsin Senator is not on the committee, ask them to ask their colleagues on the committee to vote against it. Reasons you might want to use: • By making five-year-old kindergarten mandatory, this bill would allow the state to take over more parental discretion and authority during the early years of a child’s life. • The bill is intended to prevent five-year-olds from being truant. The tougher truancy laws covering grades one through twelve that were enacted in the late 1990s have not solved the truancy problem. Instead, it has become worse. • This bill will undoubtedly lead to more children being labeled as learning disabled, ADHD, etc. and to increased use of highly controversial drugs to control their behavior at great costs to children, their families, and taxpayers. • Studies show that institutionalizing children at early ages is harmful to their intellectual, moral, social, and psychological development. Important: You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. Remember that this legislation would reduce the rights of all parents but it would NOT directly affect our homeschooling freedoms. We do NOT want homeschooling mentioned or included in the bill. For more detailed information, see the testimony [http://homeschooling-wpa.org/pdf/WPA09-kindergarten.pdf] WPA’s Executive Director presented before the Senate Education Committee on April 2, 2009. Members of the Assembly Education Committee Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts (Chair) Representative Kristen Dexter (Vice-Chair) Representative Steve Hilgenberg Representative Christine Sinicki Representative Kim Hixson Representative Jeff Smith Representative Peggy Krusick Representative Mark Radcliffe Representative Brett Davis Representative Stephen Nass Representative John Townsend Representative Leah Vukmir Representative John Nygren Members of the Wisconsin Senate Education Committee Senator John Lehman (Chair) Senator Robert Jauch (Vice-Chair) Senator Jon Erpenbach Senator David Hansen Senator Luther Olsen Senator Glenn Grothman Senator Randy Hopper How to call your Wisconsin Assembly Representative and Senator: • If you need their contact number, click here. [http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx] • Call their office and ask to speak to the Representative or Senator or to an aide who works on education issues. • Tell them you are opposed to AB 119 (or SB 89) and give two or three reasons. • If they are on the Education Committee, ask them to vote against the bill. If they are not on the committee, ask them to ask their colleagues on the committee to vote against the bill. The WPA Board
Whoa...thank you for the info. I will pass it along. Funny thing is the topic of mandatory kindergarten in general came up today on another msg board that I am a member of. I was just saying how happy I was that my state didn't have that!
