A new Senate bill has been placed on the Connecticut Children’s Committee agenda scheduled for hearing on February 14.  National Home Legal Defense  (NHELD) offers more information about this bill in the organization’s new Bulletin - More CT Proposed Legislation Regarding Children’s Mental Health Assessment.

There are now two proposed CT bills regarding children’s mental health assessments: Senate Bill 374 [held in Public Health Committee] and Senate Bill 169 [held in Children's Committee].

The new bill, SB 169, does not contain language specifiying homeschoolers in this mental health assessment proposal.  SB 374 did  include homeschoolers in the proposed mental health assessments at 12, 14 and 17 years of age.  From the NHELD Bulletin and Deborah Stevenson pertaining to the new SB 169:

This bill is before the Children’s Committee.  It apparently was placed on the agenda of a committee meeting, and it has been scheduled for a public hearing on February 14, 2013.  While at first glance, it sounds as though Senate Bill 169 purports to do the same thing as Senate Bill 374, it is extremely important not to jump to conclusions.  Legally speaking, one needs to review the exact language in any bill to determine its true effect.
For example, Bill 169 does not include the word “homeschool” at all.  Therefore, as it stands right now, based on the plain language of the bill, this bill has no direct effect on parents who homeschool their children.  In fact, Bill 169 says that the statutes are to be amended to require the assessments. It does not even specify when those statutes are to be amended, or in what manner.  To be sure, there are many arguments that can be made that the bill, as it is written now, should not be adopted.  But it would not be accurate to say that, at this time, this bill directly affects the rights of homeschooling parents.

There are many stages in the life of any bill.  The chairmen of each committee may change the language in the bill before it gets voted on, before or after a public hearing takes place on the bill.  The public hearing on Bill 169 is scheduled to take place on February 14.  If anyone wants to comment on the bill, they are certainly free to do so.  But, NHELD suggests that those who do comment on it be very careful not to allege that this bill is a direct threat against homeschooling. If we approach the legislature as homeschoolers, it is most important that we speak with accuracy and intelligence.  Remember that the key is to persuade.  Appearing to react to something that is not actually contained in a bill will not achieve your goal.  It may have the opposite effect and may even make legislators disregard your opinion.

Read more at the NHELD site.

The National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD) –  Bulletin #74 responds to Connecticut’s Senate Bill 374 - An act requiring behavorial mental health assessments for children. Deborah Stevenson offered information and caution regarding this bill in the Public Health Committee with two sponsors.

Below is part of NHELD‘s response: CT Proposed Legislation Regarding Children’s Mental Health Assessment:

The bill does not specify anything about allowing any social services agency to become involved in your child’s healthcare. It simply states that the fact that an assessment was done will be provided to the State Department of Education. While anything is always possible, right now it is only a proposed bill - that is, an idea that is written down. We don’t know what the final language of the bill will look like, or whether it will be voted on in committee, or on the floor of the House or Senate. We need to be careful in how we approach anyone about this at this time.

Right now, it remains simply as a proposed bill, with only two sponsors: Rep. Toni Walker, and Senator Toni Harp. Before a bill becomes a law, after it is proposed, it must go through a screening process whereby legislative leaders determine whether it should be raised before the appropriate committee. In this case, the bill has been referred to the Public Health Committee. It is in the screening process at this point. The bill cannot go any further unless the appropriate committee acts upon it at one of its meetings. If the committee does not act on it, the bill dies. The first action the committee could take would be to place it on its agenda to determine if it will be scheduled for a public hearing. After the public hearing, the committee meets to vote on whether it will get approved to go further for action on the floor of the House and the Senate. If it gets a “joint favorable” vote in the committee, then the bill is placed on the calendar of the House and Senate and the leadership then determines when to call the bill for a vote on the floor of the House and Senate. At any point in this process, the bill also could be amended. If the leadership does not call the bill for a vote, the bill dies.

Deborah also adds:  If the leadership deem this to be a worthy bill to be placed on the agenda at the committee meeting, the Chairmen of the committee and the Legislative Commissioner’s office then can re-write the bill. So we don’t know yet if the bill will get on the agenda or what the final language of the bill will be. We certainly will be watching what happens and will advise accordingly. 

SB 374 states:

“AN ACT REQUIRING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS FOR CHILDREN.

That section 10-206 of the general statutes be amended to require (1) each pupil enrolled in public school at grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 and each home-schooled child at ages 12, 14 and 17 to have a confidential behavioral health assessment, the results of which shall be disclosed only to the child’s parent or guardian, and (2) each health care provider performing a child’s behavioral health assessment to complete the appropriate form supplied by the State Board of Education verifying that the child has received the assessment.

More from NHELD regarding Mental Health Assessments

More from Home Education Magazine‘s Taking Charge column by Larry and Susan Kaseman:

Increased Mental Health Screening? Are You Crazy!?!

Why Children Are Not for Screening

ht to: Consent of the Governed

In the last month, the news media led many stories about homeschooling by pointing out Newtown and other school murders.  The buzz within the homeschooling community is the expanded interest and questions from concerned school parents. The start of a school session after the new year often seems a cleaner break from the school starting this new family adventure. We can wonder how many families actually took the leap into homeschooling.  Some parts of the country seem to have the Newtown reactive homeschooling interest, while other regions appear to have a more generalized basis for homeschooling considerations.

From Minnesota:  Home schooling steadily grows  Brie Groves

KASSON, Minn. (KTTC)–  With incidents like Columbine and the recent Sandy Hook massacre it’s no surprise that many parents have taken on the role of teacher.

In the past four years alone there has been a 54 percent spike in the number of children who have registered to be home-schooled.

It’s at an all time high and the types of families that are now choosing to home school span the demographic spectrum of backgrounds, income levels and education.

The Connecticut article below articulated the thoughts I know I had, as did many other homeschoolers, while our country tries to absorb and form some sort of solution to these horrific school murders and associated problems.

Connecticut based NHELD‘s Executive Director, Deborah Stevenson, also commented in the article with a different perspective:

Stevenson said roughly 2 to 3 percent of Connecticut students are home schooled.
“It’s clearly something that works for many people,” she said. “There are tons of resources for parents to get curriculum materials and individualized textbooks.”
She and several other representatives from Connecticut home schooling groups stressed that they have not seen an influx of new parents interested in home schooling since the mass shooting in Newtown. What’s more, they said personal safety has not been a dominant issue for parents.

Another Connecticut parent, Angelique Henderson, made this point, among many other thoughtful insights as a former high school teacher and homeschooling mom:

“Safety wasn’t really the major issue,” she said. “It was more determined by the atmosphere of schools. It had to do with the way systems just push kids through.”

More from Home Education Magazine News & Commentary about this subject:

Homeschooling Decisions After Newtown School Deaths

Newtown

Below are some examples of parents’ concerns and thoughts across the country after the horrendous Newtown deaths.  We will hope for a more peaceful new year for all families.

San Diego - Interest in homeschooling surges Fox 5 San Diego

Behana is a Lecturer in child and family development at San Diego State University.  She said parents should think twice about homeschooling.  Behana said a classroom environment provides key skills for life.

“Your socialization with peers is one of the best ways you figure out how you relate to the world,” said Behana.

She said homeschooling can be effective as long as there is a social component.

It seems odd Nory Behana is a child and family development specialist, but considers the institutional lineup of desks and controlled silence key for life skills.  There’s been many a conversation of what abilities are produced.

Fargo/Grand Forks - Connecticut Tragedy Feeds Homeschooling Debate Valley News Live

The horror in Connecticut from last Friday has prompted new interest from parents in homeschooling their kids. One Minnesota mom says her experience has taught her it’s not for everyone.

Lana Olson has been homeschooling her daughters, who are in sixth and third grades, for more than a year.

She says the family had to change their whole lives to accommodate their wish to homeschool the girls.

Knoxville - More parents choose home-schooling after Conn. shooting WATE 6

[Campbell County Director of Schools] Poston says he hopes parents realize the work that it takes to educate their children at home.

“Parents will be hard-pressed to stay with the national standards,” said Poston.

Both mothers feel the sacrifice to home-school will be worth it.

“There’s always a chance something bad is going to happen, but I think that having her at home while she’s young will give here a better base to go from, and then she can deal the different trials in life when she gets older,” said Jennifer Figueira.

Lubbock - Homeschooling An Option For Fearful Parents Everything Lubbock

President of the Texas Home School Coalition, Tim Lambert says, he often sees parents taking their kids out of public school to protect them.

“We see safety is an issue,” Lambert said.  ”It is not uncommon for us to get a call and say you know my child is not safe in the school and I want to take them out for safety reasons.”

But Lambert says while safety is an issue, other day to day problems are a bigger motivation for parents.

“They have decided to withdraw that child because of an already existing condition,” Lambert said. “Not something that they are afraid might happen.”

Oklahoma City – Homeschool in Wake of Shooting KOKH Fox 25

“I know so many of my friends are homeschooling their kids because of the shootings, because it’s terrifying to know those can be your kids,” said Chelsey Gravel.

Chelsey Gravel graduated from homeschool. After Friday’s school shooting, she says she’s even more grateful about her parents’ choice.

Mesa - Some consider homeschooling after Connecticut shooting CBS 5 KHPO

“It’s a knee jerk emotional response that people have right away because it’s a horrific thing,” said [homeschooler] Oliphan.

She thinks that most people will not follow through with the idea and said although it’s a decision that’s right for her family, there a lot of things that need to be considered.

For example, she said you need to evaluate your patience and think about the sacrifices that you will have to make in your own personal life.

Orlando - Parents consider homeschool in wake of school shooting Bay News 9

Even without the school violence headlines, more and more parents are making the decision to pull their kids out of public education. The number of students who are being homeschooled in Florida have gone up every year for the past 10 years.

More than 72,000 in Florida are homeschooled including over 3,500 in Orange county, but experts warn about making a knee-jerk decision due to an isolated incident.

“We don’t want parents to be making impulsive type of decisions, homeschooling takes a lot of commitment. It is work,” said Oliva. “When we get this increased response, we make an extra effort to just lead parents through the process so they know what they’re getting into.”

Houston - Parents concerned about recent violence consider homeschooling options KPRC Local 2

On Wednesday, police arrested a 14-year-old student for bringing a loaded gun to Sterling High School on Martindale Road in Houston.  Investigators said he told them he was carrying the weapon to protect himself from gang members.

That same day administrators at La Porte High School sent a letter home to parents after a threat was made that someone was going to, “shoot up the school.”

“I do see, definitely, an increase in interest for homeschooling,” said [homeschooler] Kilgore.  “Maybe those families who were on the edge, this may be the final push for them.”

I will leave readers with Connecticut homeschoolers’ display of their sympathy and support for Newtown.

Woodbury teen (un) schooled in ways of the world REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
BY MATT JOHNSON

“I really got a sense of being a self-learner,” he said. “When you’re unschooled, you never stop learning just because you leave the classroom. I know how to seek the information that I want, and that’s huge in college.”

But while he was able to gain a solid fundamental knowledge of English and science, as he spent time with friends he began to realize that there were gaps in his education — such as higher math.

“I was hanging out with my friends, and they were talking about something that had to do with math and I had no idea what they were saying,” he said. “I started working harder to keep up with them.”

Berkowitz said his passion for information technology and the desire to keep up with his friends pushed him to dive into math more seriously than he had. He developed his own curriculum for learning algebra, but found that teaching himself more complicated concepts like geometry were beyond his means.

That realization drove him to a place he had never before stepped foot in — a classroom.

The article specifically asks for comments regarding unschooling:

What do you think of unschooling? Do you think it can work with the right child? Share your comments using the form below.

ht to Judy Aron of NHELD

Apparently, Connecticut homeschoolers dodged more than one legislative bullet this past session.

• Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Connecticut, 11 May 2006, Conservatives find fault with legislative session

  “The session was more important for what it almost did than for what it did,” said Deborah Stevenson, the executive director of National Home Education Legal Defense, a home-schooling advocacy group.

  Stevenson was talking about bills that would have required preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and other measures the General Assembly opted not to pursue.