Home School Legal Defense Association sends out legislative alert in opposition to House Bill 1020 ESA/Voucher bill

@SoDakCampaigns

On their website today, the national Home School Legal Defense Association has issued a legislative action center alert to it’s membership in opposition to South Dakota’s House Bill 1020, noting their desire to “Keep Alternative Instruction Free.”

Noting their position, the organization stands in opposition to the ESA/Voucher bill because:

WHAT’S HSLDA’S POSITION ON H.B. 1020?

HSLDA opposes H.B. 1020 for the following reasons.

First, we oppose the idea that alternative instruction is a qualifying school for purposes of government funding. If the South Dakota legislature wanted to create an ESA, they can (and should) do so in a way that creates a separate compulsory attendance category and does not overlap with the existing alternative instruction law. Several states, including Arizona, West Virginia, and Florida, have already done this. South Dakota can and should follow suit.

Second, H.B. 1020 defines curriculum as “a course of study … approved by the Department of Education.” This represents an increase in government control over education and a step-backward for Alternative Instruction. It is a strong example that what the government funds, the government regulates in some form. This is represents a potential loss of freedom for alternative instruction students and is a significant concern.

Third, we strongly oppose the idea that alternative instruction should be included in the definition of a microschool. We believe there is a fundamental difference between a school that requires enrollment and tuition and must register with the South Dakota secretary of state and parents who teach their children at home under alternative instruction. H.B. 1020’s definition removes what is at the heart of alternative instruction.

Read the entire page here.

The pre-filed measure will be scheduled for heading early on in the legislative session.

9 thoughts on “Home School Legal Defense Association sends out legislative alert in opposition to House Bill 1020 ESA/Voucher bill”

  1. Jem Beving is the source of the problems. If she is removed from the discussion we would see home school groups being heard.

  2. It’s not good when a national lobbying group with a political amateur serving as a deputy state director gets precedent over home school families in SD.

  3. Noem’s address indicated that her support was to low income family’s first. Baxter and the freshman who signed on to her crappy bill had nothing in HB1 1009 about income limits. Odenbach is smart. He knows it will require income limitations to apply. If it is based on income limits, South Dakota has the 2 of the poorest counties in the nation. If it’s based on income limits the first 4 million that Noem pledged, minus 750,000 to 1 million dollars ( the money it is going to take to get a 3rd Party Vendor per Odenbach’s recommendation to manage handing out our public tax dollars, most likely from out of state to launch this program) will go to home school students on the Native American reservations as well every student in the Red Cloud Indian School, St Joseph’s Indian School, Flandreau Indian School, as well as the new NDN Collective Oceti Sakowin Community Academy in Rapid City. Based on the numbers attending these schools and the level of poverty, the 3 million dollars left over won’t be enough, Odenbach’s buddies at all the Private Christian Schools will be left with crumbs. That’s exactly why he began adding all the Government Oversight verbiage in HB 1020 to try and block out some opportunities to our inpoverished Native American Communities from partaking in the tax payer funded train wreck. HB 1009 is now referred to as the “0 accountability” home school bill and HB 1020 will be referred to as the Government Subsidized break to the Wealthy Private School student.

    1. Yes. He is smart but beving will bring it down. She’s in the bus driving over homes chool families.

      The coalition is crumbling and session hasn’t even started.

  4. Someone please tell Heather Baxter to just simply add some income requirements to HB 1009 as Noem. Most certainly NDN Collective’s new school in Baxter’s District would have to be first in line based on the income guidelines. The way her bill is written with no accountability or oversight, Noem will have to hand Nick Tilsen a fat check to teach history the way he wants that isn’t whitewashed. Baxter and her eager little freshman all full of energy and zeal and wanting to change the world should probably pump their brakes and actually get to Pierre and stop dropping crappy written bills.

  5. NDN has an entire staff of 13 people in their Grant Writing and Cirriculum Writing department. Well funded and intelligent folks from around the country. It will be fun to see how Scott crafts this bill to keep money out of NDN’s hands. It will be impossible that any of this money will flow homeschoolers because of the language and requirements Scott will have to enact to prevent money from going into NDns coffers and onto the reservations, where if we are truly concerned about student achievement for those in poverty and where the biggest gaps are that affect our test scores in the State, is where it should probably go.

Comments are closed.