Dear Friends and Members of LEAH:

Great news, but there is more work ahead!

The Board of Regents met on Monday, March 17 and discussed the issue of homeschoolers and special-needs in front of a standing-room-only crowd of homeschoolers.  The Board of Regents stated that they are in favor of returning things to the status-quo (i.e., providing special services to homeschoolers like they were before the change of late 2007 / early 2008).  However, the Board of Regents, based on its own legal counsel, believes a change is necessary in state law to make it "fit" with Federal law.  The Regents and NYSED are in support of the NY legislature making the necessary changes.  This is very important because the legislature looks to the Regents and NYSED as being the "experts" in education.  Therefore, there is probably no longer any need to continue contacting your Regents. However, a note of thanks would be in order.

Draft legislation being worked on by the Regents and by key members of the legislature.  It would solve the special-needs problem by classifying homeschool students as private school students for the purposes of the Federal Individual Disabilities and Education Act (IDEA) only.  This change would enable the restoration of services that have been cut-off. Other states have resolved the Federal technicality in this manner.

Actions Needed:

We need your immediate letters, phone calls, and emails to the legislature, encouraging them fix this problem by passing this legislation.

Message to the legislators (Phrase in your own words):

1. Please restore critically needed services by passing the homeschool special-needs bill being recommended by the Board of Regents.

2. Please work with New York’s homeschool groups, including LEAH and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), to resolve issues with the wording of the draft bill.

When:

We need immediate action as the Board of Regents recommended that this provision be included in the next New York budget bill, due on April 1.

Suggested Itinerary for making six very important phone calls or emails:

1st Day (the day you receive this message): Phone or email the leaders of New York’s legislative houses and deliver the messages 1 & 2 above.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

Phone: 518-455-3791

Email: speaker@ assembly.state.ny.us

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno

Phone: (518) 455-3191

Email: bruno@senate.state.ny.us

2nd Day: Phone or email the chairs of the legislature’s education committees with the same message.

Assemblyperson Catherine Nolan (Assembly Education Committee Chair)

Phone: 518-455-4851

Email: nolanc@ assembly.state.ny.us

Senator Steven Saland (Senate Education Committee Chair)

Phone: 518-455-2411

Email: saland@senate.state.ny.us

3rd Day: Phone or email you own legislators (find them at www.hslda.org/toolbox) and deliver and encourage them to restore special-needs services to homeschoolers by supporting the bill being recommended by the Board of Regents.

Your legislator may ask you for a bill number.  That is not available yet.  I will pass it on when it becomes available.

Please remember to keep this issue in prayer.  Pray for wisdom for the legislature, and for homeschoolers to have favor in their eyes.

Thanks for standing up for and with the disabled homeschool students of New York.

Sincerely,

Rich Stauter

President, Loving Education At Home (LEAH)