Tuesday, February 26, the Nebraska legislature’s education committee will be considering four bills, among them LB 1141, the anti-homeschool legislation we are working against. Senator Schimek has already begun talking about compromise, and I am not sure exactly what to think of that:
- 1) Does she recognize the bill was a misstep? Is she trying to salvage what she can?
- 2) Or was this the plan from the beginning? Introduce something that could not possibly be accepted to make the resulting “compromise” more palatable?
Am I too suspicious? I must say I do not have great confidence in Senator Schimek at the moment. After all, her justification for the bill rests not in any known problem with homeschooling in Nebraska, nor even any sensationalized cases to be reported recently. As Channel 10 reports:
“Do you think there are kids falling through the cracks? I don’t know. Is that what you’re worried about? Yes,” said the bill’s author Sen. DiAnna Schimek.
By her own words, this bill solves no verifiable problem. It only presents a drastic solution to a hypothetical concern over one aspect of Nebraskan’s lives which has thus far escaped governmental intervention.
“Maybe with oversight we’ll find out there are no problems out there and it’s fine and dandy. I hope that’s the way it is, but it’s our responsibility. Those kids should get an education in this state,” she said.
Again the emphasis that the bill is in response to no actual, real problem in the state of Nebraska. But it is “our” responsibility? Who are “we?” And who are “those kids?” What should happen before “we” decide that “they” are not up to “our” standards? Which, by the way, nearly 20% of school districts are already failing to meet. (I am no friend of No Child Left Behind, but it is the standard our schools are striving toward).
Schimek said she just wants quality control checks, she doesn’t care how they’re done.
Focus on the system that is paid for by taxpayer money and to which most Nebraskans have entrusted the education of their children: the public school system. Find some ways to increase the involvement of the one thing proven to actually increase education quality, regardless of the measure: parents. Instead, we are seeking to increase state involvement in the one area of education not actually proven to be faulty.
Because Senator Schimek thinks that maybe somewhere, there might possibly be a homeschooled child who isn’t getting an adequate education as compared to the standard of the public school. What is this I find on the NE Department of Education website?
Your involvement and that of all families is key to improving the educational opportunities our children receive. Research shows that parental involvement is most critical to the success of individual students.
The family? Not the state? And what is the point of all that data that the NE Department of Education puts out, anyway? So that parents may assess the public school system? Or dare I say it more clearly…so that the public school system remains accountable to parents?
Because education is our responsibility and we want to make sure our kids are getting one.
Why should we be willing to compromise on that?
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Hearings begin at 1:30 and LB 1141 is currently first on the agenda, although this may be changed even the day of the hearings. The public is welcome to attend, and you may submit written or oral testimony. There is a little more information on NCHEA’s website, including a listing of senators who have committed to voting against LB 1141 withouth reservation.
Twenty names are on the list (including my senator’s!), which is a little less than half of our 49 senators. Assuming everyone else is for the bill, with or without amendments, it may have enough votes to pass the legislature, but not quite enough to override a veto.
If you are planning on attending, let me know!
Karen Edmisten shares her thoughts, as well. Some interesting comments, too.
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For more information on LB 1141, you can click on the category LB 1141 and find everything I have written so far.
[tags]homeschool, homeschooling, Nebraska, LB 1141, Schimek[/tags]
Compromise? Who do they think they’re fooling?
[Am I too suspicious?] No! I think that is pretty much how politicians and teenagers work.
FWIW Dana, here’s my education policy take:
“Testing, Best Practices and Other HS Evaluation Efforts”
I think that is pretty much how politicians and teenagers work.
Thanks for the laugh, Julie!
Why is it that no one mentions the fact that DiAnna Schimek’s husband is a lobbyist for the state teachers union? After all, who benefits the most from her proposal?
Thanks, Amy! We actually have discussed that in other entries on the topic, but it is definitely worth bringing up again!
Ironically, the NEA says interesting things like, “Local teachers, not policy mandates, should be able to determine what is best for each child.” How much more so for the parent?
Senator Schimek wanted to clarify today that she did not actually propose compromise on this bill…it is likely more accurate to say that there a portions of the bill she is willing to change.
She seemed frustrated by the assertion that NCHEA would oppose any change to current law and thus stopped making any changes to the bill.