SB412 in the House - Update Was Sent

Below is a copy of a letter being faxed to the chairman of the House Education Committee. As you will see from reading it, there is no need at present to call House members. We believe that Chairman Porter will probably let the bill die in subcommittee since it has done its job of calling attention to the Board of Regents' new policy. Please thank the Senators for their support of homeschooling, whichever way they voted.

The parents of homeschoolers and non-accredited private school graduates view the new admissions requirements for the University System of Georgia as very unfair. SB 412 was introduced by Senators Boshears, Balfour, and Ralston in an attempt to provide a remedy. As the debate in the Senate showed, the homeschooling community is united behind the objective, but divided on the wisdom of this specific bill.

Ken Patterson, Tim Echols, and I discussed this bill on Sunday, March 8. We agreed to recommend that the bill be allowed to die in subcommittee in the House. We believe that the favorable treatment of the bill in the Senate demonstrates the support in the General Assembly for the concerns of homeschoolers regarding the admissions policy. It certainly has gained the attention of the Chancellor, and the entire homeschooling community is very appreciative of the efforts of Senators Boshears, Balfour, and Ralston. However, we also agree that, at this time, legislation is not the best way to address this issue. We are discussing alternative approaches to convincing the Chancellor to change the policy.

We appreciate your continued support of homeschoolers and anticipate working with you on this and other homeschooling issues.