-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --
CONTACT: NICHE at 1-800-723-0438
capitolday@homeschooliowa.org
Homeschooling Families from Across Iowa to Rally at the Capitol March 16
[DES MOINES, IA -- March 12, 2010] -- The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE)
will hold its 2010 "Home School Day at the Capitol" on Tuesday, March 16.
The event will present an overview of the legislative process
and help homeschooling families effectively communicate and build relationships with their elected officials.
Highlighting the festivities will be special presentations by Dr. Michael Farris, Esq.,
co-founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association;
and WHO radio talk show host Steve Deace.
Activities will begin at 9 a.m. in the East Wing of the Capitol Rotunda,
with display tables showcasing homeschooling in Iowa and lobbyists instructing families on legislation and lobbying.
Musical selections will be performed by home-educated students throughout the day.
Tours of the Capitol, provided by Capitol Tour Guides,
will be available throughout the day on a first-come, first-served basis.
Information will be available at the NICHE registration table.
A noon rally will be held on the west steps of the Capitol Building,
featuring Dr. Farris speaking on "Thinking Like the Founders: It's Time to Protect Parental Rights."
Individual legislators and gubernatorial candidates
will address families in the Wallace Building Auditorium from 1 to 2 p.m.
The afternoon will conclude with two keynote workshops:
Steve Deace will speak on "Making the Main Thing the Main Thing";
and Michael Farris will present "An In-Depth Understanding of the National and International Threats to Parental Rights."
Formed in 1992, NICHE is Iowa's only statewide homeschooling organization
providing support and information to home educating families through a variety of events and resources,
including an annual conference; a formal graduation service; a newsletter, e-newsletter and magazine;
legislative services; and multi-faceted assistance to local homeschooling groups and individual families.
Homeschooling Families Save Taxpayers Millions
-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --
CONTACT: Scott Bailey, NICHE President, (641-620-8131)DES MOINES, IOWA -- Feb. 22, 2010 -- In light of the recent media attention being given to homeschool funding,
the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE) would like to provide clarification:
Parents who homeschool their children in Iowa are actually saving Iowa taxpayers millions of dollars.
Many homeschooling families throughout our state educate their children independently at home,
at their own personal expense, using no taxpayer dollars whatsoever.
The savings for taxpayers is enormous.
At the current state funding level of $5,768 per enrolled public school student,
taxpayers save $1 million for every 174 independently homeschooled students.
The Iowa Department of Education estimates
there are about 30,000 CPI (Competent Private Instruction) families in Iowa.
Of these, only 4,643 are partially taxpayer-funded (30% or $1,750 per student)
through their enrollment in a public school Home School Assistance Program (HSAP).
With a 70% savings from the fully-enrolled-student funding level,
students in HSAPs still are saving taxpayers $19 million annually.
Additionally, those homeschooled students who receive limited services from the public schools
through dual enrollment (5,482 students),
save Iowa taxpayers enormous per-student savings
because such students are funded at a fraction of the total per-student level.
(Since HSAP students also can be dual enrolled,
the HSAP and dual-enrollment numbers are not mutually exclusive and may contain significant overlap.)
There's no doubt:
Iowa taxpayers are seeing extraordinary savings in educational expenditures because of homeschoolers.
NICHE's membership encompasses homeschooling families of all types,
including those who homeschool independently, those who use dual enrollment and those enrolled in HSAP programs.
The organization serves all Iowa homeschoolers with an annual conference, graduation program, publications, resources,
legislative action, group networking and personal assistance with a myriad of homeschooling issues.
NICHE fights for liberties for all homeschooling families,
but will not seek taxpayer funding that could result in loss of these liberties.
NICHE also teams with HSAP families and teachers on legislative issues that will benefit homeschoolers
without surrendering freedoms or parental authority.
One example is the pair of parent-taught driver education bills in the Iowa Legislature -- SF 350,
sponsored by Sen. Swati Dandekar (D - Marion) and HF 2098, sponsored by Rep. Brian Quirk (D - New Hampton) --
that did not make it out of committee this session.
These bills would have saved money for the state and created safer drivers,
as evidenced in other states that have had parent-taught driver education for years.
The current Iowa homeschool law was created two decades ago,
establishing government oversight of what then was a controversial form of education.
Today, as throughout much of our nation's history,
home education is widely accepted and extraordinarily successful.
Homeschooling families have earned high respect
through demonstrated outcomes that exceed publicly educated students
by an average of 37 percentile points on standardized tests.
(
http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2009/default.asp).
Homeschooled graduates have become productive citizens, raising families of their own
(
http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/default.asp).
The perceived need for regulation of any form of homeschooling has withstood the test of time
and proved to be unwarranted and unnecessary.
Government and private statistical studies on the results of home education,
the effects of regulation and a wide range of related topics are available
from the Home School Legal Defense Association website:
http://www.hslda.org/research/default.asp