ICHE Legislative Task Force Alert

Compulsory Age to Be Lowered from 7 to 5

Recently Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago) introduced Senate Bill 1307 (SB 1307) to the Illinois Senate. This bill would lower the compulsory education age from 7 to 5 in the State of Illinois. Many children are not ready to attend school at age 5 and this decision should remain with the child’s parents, not the state. As home educators we need to oppose any effort by the State to add more restrictions to how we educate our children.

Please contact Senator Lightford’s office and your State Senator’s office and ask them to leave the compulsory education age alone and to oppose SB 1307. You do not need to identify yourself as a home educator. There are other reasons to oppose this bill besides parental rights. For example, how will our bankrupt state afford the additional costs of this new legislation?

Here is a link to find your legislator.

Here is information on SB 1307.

A Bill to Redefine Marriage

Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is holding a Defend Marriage Lobby Day at the Capitol on February 20th to oppose Senate Bill 10 (SB 10) and promote Marriage between one man and one woman. This bill would redefine marriage and allow for homosexual marriages in Illinois. There are also other features in this bill that might affect the facilities that many home school support groups meet at. If a church rents or lends its facility to any outside organization such as the Boy Scouts or a home school support group then they would be required to rent their facility to anyone who wants to use it. This means some churches may decide not to rent their facility to outside groups to avoid having to allow a homosexual marriage ceremony to take place in their sanctuary.

Please support IFI on Defend Marriage Lobby Day on February 20th if you are able.

Here is a link for more information on the Lobby Day.

Here is a link for more information about SB 10.

Don’t Forget about ICHE’s Legislative Days

Please join ICHE and other homeschool families in Springfield for Legislative Days on March 19-21, 2013. We will take time to sing, meet with our legislators and then reconvene for fellowship. March 20 will be Cherry Pie Day! Bring cherry pies as we will be providing them to our legislators to thank them for their public service.  Speakers and local tours will be scheduled for March 19th and March 21st. Families are encouraged to participate in the Homeschool Display on March 20. Registration and details for the Homeschool Display may be found here. More details for Legislative Days coming soon!