California Alert: A chance to teach (and learn) civics while making a real difference – Cedar Life Academy Blog
California Alert: A chance to teach (and learn) civics while making a real difference--written by Karen at Cedar Life Academy
California legislators are currently considering a bill that will impact generations of young children if we don’t stand up to protect our children and unborn grandchildren today! This is NOT a homeschool issue, but is something that will impact every future 5-year-old. Please let your legislators know your opposition with a quick phone call, fax, or letter. They will be making some decisions next week, so time is critical. They need to know if there is opposition. If you are short on time, just tell them you are opposed to AB 2203. It’s that easy.
The Bill: AB 2203.
What it would do: Lower California’s current full time compulsory education law from age 6 to age 5.
Why does it matter? You might be wondering why it matters if this law is enacted, because most kids already attend kindergarten. Yes, it’s customary for a child to attend kindergarten, but it is not required by law! It matters because all children would have to attend kindergarten, ready or not. The choice for a parent to make the decision of readiness would be taken from them.
If most kids are in kindergarten anyway, why change the law?Well, legislators have been trying to do this for years, because it’s part of the master plan to institute Universal Preschool – a plan that would get our 3-4 year old preschoolers into the public school system.
It’s once again time to speak up and say NO! I participated in an effort to lower compulsory education over a decade ago. We can do it again! All it takes is everyone, whether they have young children or not, to contact their legislators and let their voice be heard. Legislators do listen!
My personal reasons for opposition:
If you have older children, this would be a tremendous civics lesson, better than any workbook. Explain to them how to search for a bill and how to be an informed citizen, and how to let a legislator know your thoughts. And let them know how important it is for parents to have the right to decide when a child is ready for kindergarten. Your head will be spinning if this is new, so read the information on this page with your kids (because homeschool learning is a family project!)
You should always read the legal stuff for yourself, so here are some important links. If you’ve never followed a bill as it works its way to becoming the law, I think you’ll find it fascinating!
I’d love to hear the responses to your phone calls, if you choose to call. Send me a private email or post on my Facebook page. And if you decide to write and want some moral support or even proofreading, just send it to me at karen@cedarlifeacademy.com. I would not make such an offer if I didn’t feel so passionate about protecting our young children. Together, we can make a difference!
The Bill: AB 2203.
What it would do: Lower California’s current full time compulsory education law from age 6 to age 5.
Why does it matter? You might be wondering why it matters if this law is enacted, because most kids already attend kindergarten. Yes, it’s customary for a child to attend kindergarten, but it is not required by law! It matters because all children would have to attend kindergarten, ready or not. The choice for a parent to make the decision of readiness would be taken from them.
If most kids are in kindergarten anyway, why change the law?Well, legislators have been trying to do this for years, because it’s part of the master plan to institute Universal Preschool – a plan that would get our 3-4 year old preschoolers into the public school system.
It’s once again time to speak up and say NO! I participated in an effort to lower compulsory education over a decade ago. We can do it again! All it takes is everyone, whether they have young children or not, to contact their legislators and let their voice be heard. Legislators do listen!
My personal reasons for opposition:
- The law is not needed. Most 5-year-olds attend kindergarten, so we don’t need to legislate it. Legislators need to stop trying to fix things that aren’t broken.
- It will cost the State more money, and none of us can afford more taxes or the loss of a more important program!
- It will bring us closer to Universal Preschool because the State will set up new classes for 4- to 5-year-olds who just missed kindergarten or aren’t ready. So, we’ll be paying for pre-kindergarten classes. I don’t like the expense, but more important, I don’t like taking kids from their parents at such a young age.
- Parents will be required to enroll their children even if they don’t believe their child is ready for kindergarten. This is wrong!
- As I read the bill, it looks like they are talking about full timerequired schooling starting at age 5. Children just aren’t ready for full time school at that age! The only reason to do so is to support working parents so that they have free child care, and I’m not willing to be part of such a horrible change that will affect innocent unborn children in the future.
If you have older children, this would be a tremendous civics lesson, better than any workbook. Explain to them how to search for a bill and how to be an informed citizen, and how to let a legislator know your thoughts. And let them know how important it is for parents to have the right to decide when a child is ready for kindergarten. Your head will be spinning if this is new, so read the information on this page with your kids (because homeschool learning is a family project!)
You should always read the legal stuff for yourself, so here are some important links. If you’ve never followed a bill as it works its way to becoming the law, I think you’ll find it fascinating!
- Legislative Counsel’s Digest. This is an analysis along with current law and the proposed changes.
- Committee On Education. This is the committee that will be hearing this bill on March 28, 2012. Contacting them immediately would help a lot, since it’s better that they hear about opposition before they make any decisions.
I’d love to hear the responses to your phone calls, if you choose to call. Send me a private email or post on my Facebook page. And if you decide to write and want some moral support or even proofreading, just send it to me at karen@cedarlifeacademy.com. I would not make such an offer if I didn’t feel so passionate about protecting our young children. Together, we can make a difference!
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