by Rebecca Kocsis
Now that the Convention is over, it’s time to turn our attention once again to visiting our legislators’ district offices. As always, we are working in cooperation with Family Protection Ministries.
As leaders of homeschool groups, you are uniquely positioned to encourage your families to take an active role in developing strong relationships with our representatives. Visiting legislators is one of the most important things we can do to ensure our liberty. These relationships will prove to be critical when/if legislation is again introduced seeking to infringe upon our homeschool freedom.
We are seeking homeschool families with their well-behaved, well-dressed, well-spoken homeschooled students. Do you know any? I bet you do!
These families need to be willing to schedule a visit with their state representatives in their home district offices. Why district offices? Legislators have a completely separate staff in their district offices, so it’s vital that we visit there; not just their Capitol offices which we did in January. Families will be asked to introduce themselves and give their representatives an “Introduction to Homeschooling” packet, which will be provided. These visits can be done as individual families or even a few families can go together as a field trip.
When the subject of homeschooling comes up, either in the media or in a piece of legislation, they will already have a proper understanding of private home education. If we have another case of horrid abuse, legislators and their staff will know that, “those aren’t real homeschoolers.” They will also have our information packet on file and can call either CHEA or Family Protection Ministries for more information.
A few people have suggested that these visits aren’t necessary; that last year’s legislation was so soundly defeated that they wouldn’t dare come back with another piece of legislation this year. Maybe not this year, but what about next? We know what they think of our parental rights.
Let’s not wait until we have a threat to take action. All one needs to do is stay on top of the national news to see that opponents of religious freedom and parental rights are busy. Many are waiting for any kind of excuse to regulate private home education.
I realize many of your families might never have done anything like this before. Maybe you can go with them. I realize we are asking many of them to step out of their comfort zones and quite frankly, the thought of doing this may be a little scary. May I say it’s time to get out of our comfort zones? It’s time to step out in faith. Our freedoms need to be protected. Developing these relationships is one tangible way to do that–before we are in full emergency mode.
HAVE QUESTIONS? READY TO TAKE ACTION?
Please send inquiries to [email protected] along with any questions you might have. If you have families that are ready to take action, please have them email [email protected]. They will receive a link to a Google form to complete. More detailed information on how to do a district office visit will then be provided.