Legislative Update
May 12, 2006

The 2006 Legislative Session is quickly coming to a close. AFHE was involved in two bills that had possible implications for homeschooling in Arizona:

The first bill was SB 1527.

This bill, introduced by Senator Hale from Eastern Arizona, would have allowed a 16 year-old to self-enroll in a public school without the consent of his or her parent. Sentaor Hale, who represents the Navajo reservation area, had a complaint from a constituent who could not enroll in school due to his parent's incapacity from substance abuse. Senator Hale was trying to remedy a specific problem in his district, and he unwittingly opened the issue of parental authority --something that homeschoolers watch vigilently as it is upon that recognition of our authority that we have the freedom to homeschool. Senator Ron Gould (a homeschooling dad himself) of Havasu City worked with AFHE to secure an amendement to this bill that would have allowed written consent to substitute for physical presence for enrollment. However, this bill did not pass through the House and therefore it effectively died in committee. AFHE and HSLDA both worked to make Arizona homeschoolers aware of this bill, and we thank all of you who made calls and sent e-mails voicing your opposition. Several senators mentioned that they understood us and wanted to remedy our concerns over this bill.

The second bill was SB 1380.

This bill was amending a section of the law that deals with special education. Congress passed a law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and one provision of this law is known as Child Find. Under the Child Find section, school districts have an affirmative duty to seek out all students within their jurisdiction who might be eligible for special needs services. Homeschooled students are included in this mandate. HSLDA has seen a nationwide problem with the implementation of this law, however, as some school districts implied that to prevent their loss of federal funding they were required to evaluate homeschooled children for special needs. IDEA does not require that a parent consent to an evaluation, only that they be offered the opportunity for one. Some school districts worded their notification letters such that it was not clear to the parents that they did not have to consent to an evaluation if they did not believe their student needed one. AFHE worked with Representative Laura Knaperek and Senator Linda Grey extensively on drafting an amendment to SB 1380 that reads as follows:

"A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR CHARTER SCHOOL SHALL SPECIFY EXPLICITLY IN THE OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION TO ANY PARENT THAT AN INITIAL EVALUATION MAY BE CONDUCTED THAT THE PARENT HAS THE OPTION TO CONSENT OR REFUSE THE INITIAL EVALUATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (20 UNITED STATES CODE SECTIONS 615 AND 1414.)"

This amendment passed and the bill was signed by the Governor on May 10, 2006. AFHE wishes to thank Rep. Knaperek and Sen. Grey for their invaluable help in securing this amendment. Parents who desire services are free to consent, and parents who do not will better understand their options when they are contacted by the school district.

AFHE also wishes to thank Christina Trefzger and Cathi Herrod at the Center for Arizona Policy for their help in following bills of interest to homeschoolers this session. Their daily presence at the Capitol is something that our limited resources cannot begin to match, so we value their willingness to work with us!

Carol Shippy
AFHE Legislative Liaison