Author: NHN Board

We’ve endorsed two candidates running for FEDERAL offices:

SHARRON ANGLE, U.S. Senate

DR. JOE HECK, U.S. Congress, NV District 3

Sharron is a former homeschooler, sat for 8 years on the Assembly Education Committee, and was the sole sponsor of our 2007 Homeschool Freedom bill. She is a true friend of homeschoolers!

Dr. Heck served in the Nevada Senate, and is a homeschool supporter in principle and action.

Sharron’s opponent is Senator Harry Reid. Dr. Heck’s opponent is Congresswoman Dina Titus. NHN officer Laura Siegel has done some research, and we pass this along for your information.

Harry Reid is a NEA (National Education Association) hero. Here’s the link:

http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/2010/09/10/our-issues-harry-reid/

Here’s the beginning words of the article in the above link:
No single person was more responsible than Harry Reid when the U.S. Senate in August passed an education jobs bill to prevent class sizes from ballooning, stave off the elimination of school subjects such as arts, music and languages, and keep 161,000 educators in our schools…

A link to NEA “recommended” candidates is on this webpage:
http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/campaign-2010/
Specifically it says: For NEA members only: To find out which U.S. Senate and House candidates in your state are recommended by NEA for November’s elections as strong advocates of teachers, educators and public education, click here.

Both Harry Reid and Dina Titus are listed there.

Here is the NEA’s position on homeschooling (Resolution passed at the 2010 Convention in New Orleans)

B-82. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.
The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

The above resolution, along with many others that may interest homeschoolers, can be seen in the article by Phyllis Schlafly entitled “NEA’s Latest Shenanigans”
http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2010/aug10/psraug10.html

Lastly, the NEA’s report card for the Congress, both House and Senate, can be seen at this link: http://www.nea.org/home/19413.htm

The anti-homeschool NEA gives both Harry Reid and Dina Titus an “A”.

PLEASE VOTE!

Nevada Homeschool Network Officers
Frank Schnorbus (Chair)
Laura Siegel
Barbara Dragon (Treasurer)
Kelley Radow
Elissa Wahl (Secretary)

Postscript:
The Supreme Court decision earlier this year (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) has allowed NHN to exercise our free speech rights, so we can ENDORSE candidates without having to be a PAC, and we can tell you WHY we endorse them! NHN is organized as a 501(c)4 non-profit, exactly the same as the Citizens United group. Because we lobby and take positions on issues affecting homeschooling, we elected to organize this way instead of as a 501(c)3 non-profit, which is what most homeschool support groups and churches are.

State laws still govern whether we may or may not endorse candidates running for state offices. We are not attorneys, but we’ve been slogging through the NRS and so far we don’t see why we can’t do that also. To be safe, we haven’t yet, pending advice from more knowlegable people than us. If you can help us, please let us know!!

Nevada Homeschoolers: Help Preserve America’s Future

Generation Joshua is assembling teams of adult and student volunteers to campaign in the final four days of crucial congressional races around the country. GenJ members participate for free–all you need to bring is a willingness to shape the future of our nation. Registration deadline is October 15.

Sign up today by clicking here Generation Joshua – Election 2010 ACTION TEAMS

CALL TO ACTION:
Nevada Homeschool Network is asking homeschool teens AND adults to register with Generation Joshua and work on an ACTION TEAM to get out the vote! Please, don’t delay REGISTER today by clicking the link above!

ANGLE SIGNS PARENTAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT PLEDGE

It’s official! Sharron Angle, candidate for US Senate from Nevada has signed the pledge to support the Parental Rights Amendment to the US Constitution if elected on November 2nd!

NHN Officers Frank Schnorbus and Barbara Dragon both spoke with Sharron regarding the need to protect the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children as a fundamental right in the United States. With the threat of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that the Obama Administration is determined to have the US Senate ratify the time for this amendment is now.

For more information on this important amendment to the US Constitution being proposed; go towww.parentalrights.org We urge you to call other Nevada candidates running for federal office and Governor.

Thank you for your help!

NHN Officers

CORRECTING THE RECORD: Favorable homeschool bill not passed in 1985 as reported by Wall Street Journal on 7/17/2010

Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for Wall Street Journal editorial pages, wrote a very lengthy and informative piece on Sharron Angle’s campaign to defeat Harry Reid printed in the weekend edition July 17-18, 2010 and posted online at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369093396496532.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Of interest to homeschoolers is her role in the homeschool movement in Nevada that he mentions about half way through. Regrettably, however his facts aren’t correct on what happened to us here in NV and implies that Sharron won the battle in 1985 which was not the case as we all know. The following correction was posted in the comments section (pg. 9, #216) to his piece which is probably irrelevant to most but to Nevada homeschoolers, who worked so hard from 1983 to 2007 to make homeschooling free, it is not.

Just to clarify a point regarding Sharron’s service to NV home school parents. Although there were “homeschooling” bills proposed in the 1983 and 1985 NV Legislative sessions to change the existing 1947 law and Mrs. Angle did participate in those fights, both bills died and did not become law.

The result was that the NV State Board of Education was empowered for the next 24 years to regulate the rights of parents to educate their own children. And regulate they did; making NV one of the most restrictive states to home school in during that time. It took dedicated home school parents 20 years of fighting the NV State Board of Education to scale back some of the most restrictive regulations.

In 2006, Assemblywoman Sharron Angle sought relief for home school parents by requesting a Homeschool Freedom Bill. The bill was picked up State Senator Maurice Washington and championed by Sharron (who had given up her Assembly seat to run for Congress in ’06) for the 2007 NV Legislative session.

Nevada Homeschool Network (a statewide homeschool advocacy group established in 2002 and built on the work of homeschool parents before them) authored the bill and worked with Senator Washington and Sharron to usher the bill through the NV Legislature to a unanimous vote of approval in both houses. The bill was signed into law on June 14, 2007.

Of most significance is that the law removed home schooling from the jurisdiction of the NV State Board of Education and grants freedoms delineated in both the US and NV Constitutions. It is this kind of dedication to upholding the Constitution and the rights of all NV citizens that exemplifies Sharron’s record.

Sharron’s candidacy has served to bring the Homeschool Movement front and center on the national scene. We are most grateful to Sharron’s constant support of parental rights.

Dear Homeschool Parents and Friends of Homeschooling,

This has been a busy time for NHN Officers. We have been tracking bills submitted to the 2009 Nevada Legislative session. We are pleased to report that at this time none affect our Homeschool Freedom directly. However, there are bills that may have affect upon some in the homeschooling community.

We have listed the bills that we have reviewed in numerical order for easy reference. You can click on the bill number and it will take you to the page where the bill description/our position is listed below. We’ve also categorized the bills by importance/interest to homeschool families.

After the bills section we explain different ways you can make your opinion known on one or all of these bills. Thanks for staying engaged in the Legislative process.

Legislative Alert 3-31-09

Governor Gibbons proclaims March 30th – April 5th Home Education Awareness Week!!

In 2008 Governor Jim Gibbons signed the first of two Proclamations declaring Home Education Awareness Week.  

In 2009 he again signed the 2009 Home Education Proclamation.

2009 – Reno Celebration

Nevada Homeschool Network is hosting a book fair celebration and fundraiser, Friday, April 3, 2009

Barnes and Noble

5555 South Virginia Street

Reno, NV

*Invite family, friends and homeschool supporters to acknowledge and honor Home Education Awareness Week.

*Local author book reading and signing

*Top gun pilot presentation and autographed photos

*Local politicians meet and greet

*Barnes and Noble presentation on benefits to home educators

Print out the voucher ! Forward it to friends and family! Print copies to distribute at work locations! Place a stack at your local library!

Let’s work together to promote Home Education Awareness Week in Nevada AND Support the fundraiser for Nevada Homeschool Network.

2009 – Las Vegas Event

Nevada Homeschool Network is hosting a Community Event Thurs April 2, 2009. Hours 11-3. Location Lone Mountain Park, 4445 N. Jenson (Craig/Jenson) very close to the 215/Lone Mountain exit or the 95/Craig exit.

The event will be in the Southern Parking area and pavillion/grassy area. Non event vehicles would be asked to park in the Northern parking lot, to leave room for special vehicles (ambulances, firetrucks, etc)

Google Earth Map of Park

There is no fee to attend.

We would love each family to bring a potluck item to share; drinks, chips, main dishes, desserts, etc, but please come even if you can’t bring an item to share!

We will have all sorts of neat community resources on hand including (but not limited to):

LV Mounted Police

Fire Safety- Smokehouse

Cap’n Dave Eisenstein and his fossils

Nevada Amateur Radio Club

Go For It USA Gymnastics

Featured Speakers (At the Gazebo):

12 Noon: Dr. Joe Heck, former State Senator, will be briefly speaking and available to meet with families. Dr. Heck has been a staunch supporter of homeschooling and has been instrumental in helping pass many of the bills Nevada Homeschool Network has worked on.

1pm: North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon will give a short speech and be available for meeting families. Mr. Montandon and his wife are a homeschooling family!

2pm: Senator Ensign’s Representative will relay his message of support to homeschoolers!

We are truly blessed in this state to have such supporters of homeschooling looking at high-level government seats!

Media Coverage of the event is expected! We want to showcase homeschooling and the proclamation the Governor signed recognizing Home Education Awareness Week.

Please come out and have a lovely day at the park with us!

Donations to Nevada Homeschool Network may be made via paypal or via mail:

Nevada Homeschool Network

PO Box 1212

Carson City, Nevada 89702

For a change we’d like to focus the light on ourselves; momentarily, we promise! We Nevada Homeschool Network officers have 45 years combined homeschool leadership experience, and who knows how many child-years of homeschool teaching! But we know that it is what you do that makes homeschooling successful, not leadership in Carson City or in Washington DC.

Like any other special interest in today’s world, the right to homeschool and even the right to raise your own children without governmental interference cannot be taken for granted. Enter NHN: volunteer parents with a common vision for homeschool freedom.

NHN wants to pass the baton of leadership cleanly to the future, and needs volunteer dads and moms from across the state to come aboard as NHN officers. This is no small calling! Dads especially are needed.

Our board is self-perpetuating, which means that officers are not elected by membership. When the need is present and we feel that a certain person would be a good fit, we invite him or her to be an officer. While NHN members don’t need to meet any criteria, officers do. We have a statement of faith and a set of bylaws that we must agree to. The occasional intensity of the work that we do, which many would claim is not just political or physical but spiritual also, requires a like-mindedness amongst the NHN Officers to be as free as possible from the religious divisiveness that has befallen so many other homeschool organizations.

We all have other responsibilities (homeschooling, day jobs, families, cars and homes, businesses, you-name-it), and we just make homeschooling one more priority. Experience is nice, but we don’t expect any. We train as we go! And thanks to the internet, where you live is not a problem; we need your voice as well.

With the 2009 Nevada Legislature in session, now is a great time for “new blood” to join our effort and learn the ropes! Don’t worry, apprentice NHN officers aren’t thrown alone to the wolves. We do things together!

So please respond by email to any of us if you are interested.

Nevada Homeschool Network Officers

In light of the situation occurring in California we’ve decided to update a document used during our last legislature entitled Answers to Good Questions. Nevada law places homeschool responsibility directly on the parent, and also protects children from parents who might try to hide abuse by homeschooling.

A few homeschoolers want more restrictions!

In the 2007 legislature a small but vocal group testified against SB404 in favor of a more restrictive law based on the assumption that homeschoolers were ignorant when it comes to educating their own children and, even worse, may actually neglect their children’s education. Yes, they were “homeschoolers” who believe that most homeschool parents need oversight from the government, despite the overwhelmingly good record of unregulated homeschoolers. This same group has testified against homeschool freedom for years, calling us flower children that “…want to smoke dope and smell flowers”**.

Motives may be profit-driven

We believe their “concerns” are profit-driven as they provide fee-based services to new homeschoolers. Under the old homeschool law and regulations they made many new homeschoolers think their homeschools would only be legal if they used those services. We believe these tactics were and are dishonest. These people do NOT work with recognized homeschool leaders in Nevada to address their concerns, but instead show up at hearings and meetings and try to derail homeschool freedoms by misrepresenting themselves and the facts.

Read our Answers to Good Questions to see FACTS about homeschooling and the measures that Nevada homeschool leaders have taken to protect our FREEDOM. A California situation is very unlikely to occur here in Nevada. Nevada CPS and Nevada courts are appropriately equipped to handle any neglect or abuse reports.

Nevada Homeschool Network response to correct the record:

• A decision by parents to enroll their child in pubic, private or to homeschool, does not equate with any type of abuse, either physical or educational. Parents and teachers who abuse are a small fraction, and exist throughout society.
• In Nevada over 90% of children attend public school, yet only 19% of all child abuse reports come from schools. NV law has built in protection for children against abuse, both physical and educational. Government schools and governmental oversight are NOT a foolproof safety net for children. Parents, neighbors, churches, and others are the real protectors of children.
• In addition to the existing truancy law in NRS 392 and the educational neglect law in NRS 432B, NRS 392.700 subsection 12 allows a court to evaluate a parent’s educational plan.
• Further restrictions in the law are unnecessary. Requiring homeschoolers to annually notify their district that they are homeschooling is misguided thinking. Current law requires a one time notification and annual re-notification only if the child’s address or name changes. There is no need to further burden local districts or parents with extra paperwork. Clark County, with over 3000 register homeschoolers, has NO dedicated homeschool staff, and does NOT want the extra burden!
• Nevada Homeschool Network is committed to protecting the right of parents to direct the education of their child as well as ensuring that all parents take full responsibility for the education of that child.

Homeschooling has become a mainstream choice in education. Yet, there are some within our own ranks who are fighting to go backwards to the 1980s when homeschooling was nearly illegal. As always Nevada homeschoolers need to remain vigilant to maintain the hard-fought liberties we gained in 2007.

NHN-Officers

Frank Schnorbus, Elissa Wahl, Barbara Dragon, Carl Lucas, Kelley Millard Radow, and Laura Siegal

**From the Las Vegas Weekly on 9/1/2005 describing homeschoolers as, “Flower children from the ’60s, they don’t like accountability,” says homeschooling parent Suzanne Nounna. “They just want to smoke dope and smell flowers. They’re at the forefront of this, pushing less regulation.”

This comment was made in response to regulation changes being proposed at that time to the Nevada State Board of Education.

Emotions of shock, fear and indignation continue to prevail amongst homeschool supporters nationwide regarding the California appeals court ruling on homeschooling last week. Many people are wondering how this will affect homeschoolers in other states. Our answer is that it depends on the laws in each state.

Just after our new homeschool law here in Nevada was passed last June I remember being asked on several occasions what was “different”. The most obvious difference is our one-time Notification. But underneath, homeschooling in Nevada was completely changed! The analogy I used was a bridge over a river: you can drive over a turn-of-the-century wooden bridge, and unknowingly cause structural creakings and stresses. Or replace it with a modern super-structure designed to handle modern traffic, and the bridge will hardly know you’re crossing. Although Nevada has had a homeschool law of sorts on the books since 1947, it gave broad powers to the local pubic school district and to the State Board of Education. In fact, a 1982 court case in Humboldt County resulted in a court opinion very similar to this California case; homeschooling was not allowed. Had our new law not passed, this California case almost certainly could have had a huge negative affect on Nevada homeschoolers. There could be significant impact in states with laws similar to our old law, or in states similar to California where homeschooling isn’t even defined.

Earlier today Dr. James Dobson had several important guests on his Focus on the Family radio show. Roy Hanson of Family Protection Ministries (the California version of Nevada Homeschool Network), Michael Farris of HSLDA, and others discussed the California situation. You can listen to the broadcast I also saw the San Francisco Chronicle had this homeschooling case as their front page top headline. It was encouraging to read this:

“State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell issued a statement saying he supports “parental choice when it comes to homeschooling.” That was encouraging!

Click here to read the entire article.

It’s important to know that, unfortunately, this case has it’s roots in a family where there have been several allegations of abuse over the past two decades. We’ve read some court documents – we don’t know if they’re “public” information and don’t want to be part of spreading them if they’re not – that depict some of the abuse the children have allegedly gone through. So we encourage people to sign the petition to depublish the court case, but we suggest people refrain from jumping to the defense of the family. The case centered around abuse, not around homeschooling. This court opinion, however, went far beyond the immediate case at hand, judging all homeschoolers in the entire State.

We will continue to keep everyone updated as we learn more. The bottom line for Nevada is, be thankful! And keep California homeschoolers in your thoughts and prayers.

NHN Officers

Elissa Wahl, Laura Siegel, Carl Lucas, Kelley Radow, Barb Dragon,

Frank Schnorbus

Just a few days ago, on February 28th, a momentous Appellate Court decision was handed down in California. Some of you may have heard about it elsewhere; let’s call it an “opportunity” for homeschool law improvement in California! HSLDA has stated that, if followed, this decision will cause California to have the most regressive law in the nation and homeschooling will be effectively banned. HSLDA was not a party to the case, and found out about it when the decision was made public.

In California the most common way to homeschool is to enroll your child in a private school. Below is a quote from “Private and Home Educators of California, Legal-Legislative Update” for August/September 2007, by Roy M. Hanson, Jr.. (Family Protection Ministries, PO Box 730, Lincoln, Calif 95648-0730):

“Enrolling your compulsory-age child in a private school (whether home-based or campus-based), which has filed a current private school affidavit, exempts your child from compulsory attendance at a public

school, according to California Education Code Sections 48222 and 33190. In California, there is no legally-defined entity known as a ‘homeschool.’ In order to be consistent with the law of our state, we do not use the term ‘homeschool’ with public school officials.”

The unanimous decision, by Justices Walter Croskey, Joan D. Klein, and Patti S. Kitching, said that enrolling the children in the private school (Sunland Christian School) was depriving them of an education in a public or private full-time day school setting. It was a “ruse of enrolling them in a private school and then letting them stay home and be taught by a non-credentialed parent.” The court also threw out the parental claim they were homeschooling their children because of religious beliefs. Citing the Supreme Court Amish case (Wisconsin v. Yoder), this family wasn’t religious enough, causing some commentators to wonder if it is necessary to be super-religious to gain special favors from the government.

All of this is on the heels of California passing into law the very controversial SB777, which prohibits public schools and teachers from “reflecting adversely” on gays and lesbians, which many say will prevent schools from using the terms “mommy” or “daddy”. Many groups have recently come together under “California Exodus”, calling for people to get their children out of public schools.

The court decision strikes me as very similar to the Nevada case in Humboldt County (the Wallace case) in 1982. In that case an application to homeschool was denied by the local school district because the parents weren’t credentialed, the parents had no Constitutional right to educate their own children, and the parents weren’t religious enough (according to the secular court).

Nevada now has a very different type of law protecting our legal right to homeschool. We are not considered “private” schools, and homeschooling is defined in law. Parents are directly responsible for the education of their children. Provision is made for the courts to verify homeschooling is occurring, if a court requests it, to help prevent abuse of the law from occurring. A religious clause similar to the Federal RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) helps prevent a secular court from deciding whether you’re “religious” or not. Many provisions have been included by our legislators to allow us to participate in public school special education, in public school classes, and in sports and other extracurricular activities, as well as full access to the state’s Millennium Scholarship program for our graduates. We have so much to be thankful for! Be sure to tell your Assemblyman or Senator thank you!

NHN Officers

Frank Schnorbus, Elissa Wahl, Kelley Radow, Barb Dragon, Laura Siegel, Carl Lucas

To learn more about the California situation, here are some helpful links:

Education in the News

Court’s homeschool ban creating ‘panic’

“Required by California law”

Homeschooling in California

Judge orders homeschoolers into government education

Court: No Constitutional Right to Educate Children at Home

Defending Homeschool Freedom in California

Court Ruling

The State Board of Education held a Public Hearing for changes to the NAC regarding homeschooling. The changes were unanimously passed. See NAC 392; as amended. They are effective immediately.