Letter from Debbie Schwarzer
I have been talking to the other statewide groups about the upcoming election. Those who have been around the electoral and legislative block a bunch of times tell me that now is the time to reach out to the people who are running for statewide office and tell them how important it is to you and your family that you be able to continue to teach your children at home without government interference.
It is pretty easy to find out who the candidates for Assembly and Senate seats in your district are. Go to http://votesmart.org/ and enter your zip code. You'll be able to see who currently holds those seats and who the candidates in the upcoming election are. Your Senate and Assembly district numbers are probably different, so keep track of which is which.
It is usually a fairly safe bet that Republicans will support homeschooling given the importance of the religious vote to that party. Democrats, however, may not understand that they have current or potential constituents who expect their right to homeschool to be protected. We would suggest that you contact any Democratic candidates (you'll usually see a link on the right of the page you go to if you click on them to their home page, and there will be contact information for their election office). If you happen to be a Democrat yourself, it is doubly important that you tell your candidate that you need homeschooling to be supported.
When you call, ask to speak to the candidate yourself. If he or she isn't available, and you can't schedule a short meeting, ask to talk to the staff member who handles K-12 education. If you are free to visit the office, that's always best, and ask for a meeting slot, but a call is still good. Tell them briefly why you homeschool and why you need it protected. If you happen to be a Democrat who would probably vote for this candidate, make sure you mention that. If they start asking questions about the current legal case in Southern California, you can tell them that it is still in the appellate process and that homeschooling in California is still legal. And tell me if they seem to want to know more than you're comfortable telling them so that I can get in touch with them.
I would be interested in hearing what you hear when you call. If you write to me, please tell me the number of the Assembly or Senate district you're writing about, the name of the candidate and his/her party affiliation, and what you learned.
If you do get a meeting scheduled and want some materials to take with you, I have some in pdf format that you can print out and take. Just ask.
Thanks.
Debbie Schwarzer
HSC Legislative chair
It is pretty easy to find out who the candidates for Assembly and Senate seats in your district are. Go to http://votesmart.org/ and enter your zip code. You'll be able to see who currently holds those seats and who the candidates in the upcoming election are. Your Senate and Assembly district numbers are probably different, so keep track of which is which.
It is usually a fairly safe bet that Republicans will support homeschooling given the importance of the religious vote to that party. Democrats, however, may not understand that they have current or potential constituents who expect their right to homeschool to be protected. We would suggest that you contact any Democratic candidates (you'll usually see a link on the right of the page you go to if you click on them to their home page, and there will be contact information for their election office). If you happen to be a Democrat yourself, it is doubly important that you tell your candidate that you need homeschooling to be supported.
When you call, ask to speak to the candidate yourself. If he or she isn't available, and you can't schedule a short meeting, ask to talk to the staff member who handles K-12 education. If you are free to visit the office, that's always best, and ask for a meeting slot, but a call is still good. Tell them briefly why you homeschool and why you need it protected. If you happen to be a Democrat who would probably vote for this candidate, make sure you mention that. If they start asking questions about the current legal case in Southern California, you can tell them that it is still in the appellate process and that homeschooling in California is still legal. And tell me if they seem to want to know more than you're comfortable telling them so that I can get in touch with them.
I would be interested in hearing what you hear when you call. If you write to me, please tell me the number of the Assembly or Senate district you're writing about, the name of the candidate and his/her party affiliation, and what you learned.
If you do get a meeting scheduled and want some materials to take with you, I have some in pdf format that you can print out and take. Just ask.
Thanks.
Debbie Schwarzer
HSC Legislative chair
Labels: homeschool
posted by Sarah at 8:00 AM
1 Comments:
Good info!
Post a Comment
<< Home