C.H.E.N.Christian Home Educators Network

Maryland State Department of Education meets monthly deciding the fate of Maryland Education

Maryland General Assembly

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Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

Calls are needed to help a college access bill coming up for a hearing this Wednesday, March 19.

Delegate James E. Malone Jr.'s excellent House Bill 1077 gives homeschoolers the same access to free or reduced-cost college classes that public and private school students now enjoy. It is available to lower income students who have not finished their high school program, but are ready for college-level classes. HSLDA and the Christian Home Educators Network worked closely to draft a bill that would accomplish its laudable goals without causing other problems.

ACTION REQUESTED

1. Please call members of the House Ways and Means Committee (see list below) before noon Wednesday. If your last name begins with A-G, call those in group 1. If your last name begins with H-M, call group. If it begins with N-S, call group 3. If it begins with T-Z, call group 4.
2. In addition, if your own delegate is listed, call him or her regardless of what group they are in. To find the name of your delegate, use our Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox.
3. You can use the "Background" information below to develop your own thoughts, or your message can be as simple as, "Please support H.B. 1077. It will level the playing field by giving lower-income homeschool families the same access to reduced-fee college classes that all other students now have."
4. If you wish to come to the hearing and testify, you will need to arrive by 12:30 and sign up. If you want to submit written testimony, give 35 copies to the Committee staff by noon. Although the hearing starts at 1 p.m., many other bills will also be heard that day. This bill could come up very early in the hearing, or it could come up for consideration at 5 p.m. The location is Room 130, House Office Building, Annapolis. Because parking in the area is extremely limited, most people park at the Navy stadium ($5) and take the free shuttle, so allow extra time.

BACKGROUND

The Maryland Legislature recently created a grant program for two- and four-year Maryland colleges, allowing them to provide free or reduced-rate college classes to students with financial need who were still enrolled in high school. The program recognizes that some high school-age students are ready for the challenge of college-level work--something the homeschool community knows very well.

The problem with the new program was that the student had to be enrolled in a secondary school. Maryland homeschool students are not considered to be "enrolled in a school," so they were excluded from the program. H.B. 1077 fixes that by giving homeschool students the same access as all others.

H.B. 1077 does not give special treatment to homeschoolers. It simply gives us equal access to a taxpayer-funded program.

ACCESS TO PUBLIC SCHOOL SPORTS AND CLASSES

A bill that would give schools authority, at their discretion, to allow homeschoolers to participate in academic classes or extracurricular activities, will also receive a hearing during the 1 p.m. hearing. Delegate Smiegiel's House Bill 1249 was originally problematic because it included a definition of "homeschooling" that conflicted with state law. We have received assurances from the delegate's office that the troublesome definition will be replaced with one consistent with state law. We will review the new language as soon as it is available.

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Group 1

Sheila Hixson, Chair
(410) 841-3469

Ann Doory, Vice-Chair
(410) 841-3476

Joseph Bartlett
(410) 841-3080

Kumar Barve
(410) 841-3464

Jon Cardin
(410) 841-3833

Group 2

D. Page Elmore
(410) 841-3433

C. William Frick
(410) 841-3454

Ron George
(410) 841-3439

James Gilchrist
(410) 841-3744

Carolyn Howard
(410) 841-3919

Group 3

Jolene Ivey
(410) 841-3478

J. B Jennings
(410) 841-3698

Anne Kaiser
(410) 841-3036

Susan Krebs
(410) 841-3200

Peter Murphy
(410) 841-3247

Group 4

John Olszewski
(410) 841-3458

Craig Rice
(410) 841-3090

Justin Ross
(410) 841-3652

Melvin Stukes
(410) 841-3544

Frank Turner
(410) 841-3246

Jay Walker
(410) 841-3581

Thank you for standing with us for liberty!

Sincerely,

Scott Woodruff
HSLDA Staff Attorney