Homeschoolers exempt from bill lowering mandatory school age
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington is one of only two states that don't require kids to start their formal educations before turning 8.
A measure gaining traction in the state Legislature would push that age to 6, but a loophole would exempt kids whose parents say they are homeschooled.
Rep. Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton, House Bill 1283's sponsor, said her reason for introducing it is simple: Society has changed since the early 20th century, when the current rules were created, and our laws should reflect that.
"We know today how important early education is," she said. "Kindergarten, first grade, second grade and beyond are a vital part of all students' preparation."
While 33 states require kids to start their education no later than age 6 and 15 states make it mandatory by age 7, only Washington and Pennsylvania don't require kids in the classroom until they turn 8.
The measure was unanimously voted out of the House Education Committee on Thursday.
The measure has broad support, including from the state's Board of Education, the Association of Washington School Principals and the Washington Education Association - the state's largest teachers' union.
"We are working toward all-day kindergarten, and yet we have this archaic law on the books that doesn't require families to send their kids to school until age 8," said Connie Fletcher, a member of the state's Board of Education. "It doesn't make any sense."
Despite widespread backing, however, it is not clear that the bill would do much to address what its supporters acknowledge is the rare occurrence of kids enrolling in school two years behind their peers.
That is because in order to calm fears of homeschooling advocates, the bill would keep current rules in place that don't require parents to file paperwork declaring their intent to homeschool until their kids turn 8.
What, then, is to stop a parent who doesn't want to enroll his or her 6- or 7-year old from claiming to be homeschooling?
"I suppose you could do that," Maxwell said. "I would hope that everybody is looking out for the best interest of the child. I'd like to give parents the benefit of the doubt."
Despite the concession to homeschoolers, some remain unhappy with the measure.
Emilie Fogle, chairwoman of the Washington Homeschool Organization, said that there is no evidence that kids starting school earlier helps them later in life. She fears that an exception made for homeschoolers could be ephemeral.
"An exemption puts us as a second group, and it can be taken away," she said.
The measure also would alter the law dealing with 6- and 7-year olds enrolled in school but with frequent absences.
Under current state law, once 6- or 7-year-olds are enrolled in public school, parents are responsible for ensuring they attend class. If a child has seven unexcused absences in a month or 10 in a school year, the school district is required to file a case against the parents in juvenile court.
Under Maxwell's bill, that statute would be removed from the state code, and truancy laws would be enforced starting at age 8.
The measure now goes to the House Rules Committee.
A measure gaining traction in the state Legislature would push that age to 6, but a loophole would exempt kids whose parents say they are homeschooled.
Rep. Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton, House Bill 1283's sponsor, said her reason for introducing it is simple: Society has changed since the early 20th century, when the current rules were created, and our laws should reflect that.
"We know today how important early education is," she said. "Kindergarten, first grade, second grade and beyond are a vital part of all students' preparation."
While 33 states require kids to start their education no later than age 6 and 15 states make it mandatory by age 7, only Washington and Pennsylvania don't require kids in the classroom until they turn 8.
The measure was unanimously voted out of the House Education Committee on Thursday.
The measure has broad support, including from the state's Board of Education, the Association of Washington School Principals and the Washington Education Association - the state's largest teachers' union.
"We are working toward all-day kindergarten, and yet we have this archaic law on the books that doesn't require families to send their kids to school until age 8," said Connie Fletcher, a member of the state's Board of Education. "It doesn't make any sense."
Despite widespread backing, however, it is not clear that the bill would do much to address what its supporters acknowledge is the rare occurrence of kids enrolling in school two years behind their peers.
That is because in order to calm fears of homeschooling advocates, the bill would keep current rules in place that don't require parents to file paperwork declaring their intent to homeschool until their kids turn 8.
What, then, is to stop a parent who doesn't want to enroll his or her 6- or 7-year old from claiming to be homeschooling?
"I suppose you could do that," Maxwell said. "I would hope that everybody is looking out for the best interest of the child. I'd like to give parents the benefit of the doubt."
Despite the concession to homeschoolers, some remain unhappy with the measure.
Emilie Fogle, chairwoman of the Washington Homeschool Organization, said that there is no evidence that kids starting school earlier helps them later in life. She fears that an exception made for homeschoolers could be ephemeral.
"An exemption puts us as a second group, and it can be taken away," she said.
The measure also would alter the law dealing with 6- and 7-year olds enrolled in school but with frequent absences.
Under current state law, once 6- or 7-year-olds are enrolled in public school, parents are responsible for ensuring they attend class. If a child has seven unexcused absences in a month or 10 in a school year, the school district is required to file a case against the parents in juvenile court.
Under Maxwell's bill, that statute would be removed from the state code, and truancy laws would be enforced starting at age 8.
The measure now goes to the House Rules Committee.
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A scam by a spammer. jhponjack8 has hit the KOMO site at least eight times in the past hour.
Responsible parenting is really the issue. Â Without it, most children are set up to fail, no matter what the "school age requirements" are. Â Neither of my kids went to preschool, and are college graduates, supporting themselves and living on their own. Â Most of the parents that choose to homeschool do a wonderful job, and raise responsible, productive, hard working adults. Â It's the uneducated, unemployed parents, who party their life away, and send their kids off to school, so that they can sleep all day, that we need to address.Â
Speaking of school..... It's one of two states that doesn't require NOT don't require.
Public schools...get two extra years to make them even more stupid! What a joke. I got an idea, how about we just get the government out of education all together?
@sometimesright And while we're at it, let's start building more workhouses so that kids can start contributing to society earlier. I received a great public education. So did my wife. And so are both of my kids. Wonderful teachers who care - not all, but most - and a system that works to keep parents involved and supportive. If the public school system isn't perfect, let's work to make it better.Â
@MVDad----Other countries are blowing us away......
Hmm did not the communist in Russia have a lower school age of 5 or 6 so they could indoctrinate them to the party line.
Are we still ranting about 'communists'? Sheesh
Lowering the school age has nothing to do with what's best for children, it's all about the money. And, contrary to what the officials say, research has shown that children who start later catch up quickly with those who started earlier. Socialization begins in the home, in the close family relationships, and that is the important job of the early years.
Yes, we must make certain their indoctrination starts as early as possible.There are still a few that slip through without completely adopting lock-step socialism.Those are the enemy that zero talks about.Eliminate them as young as possible.Freedom of thought can not be allowed.
'Exemption'Â favoritism is continuously evolving for unions, businesses and everyone else.Â
Can I have my 'exemption' as well?Â
@George It is a sign of either organic inability or much more likely just stubborn unwillingness to think for oneself to believe that all people and their children either are or should be just alike and require precisely the same rote teaching, testing and treatment by the state educational system. The true definition of "sheeple": those who get their very thoughts from usually "conservative" websites.
@George Government types love exemptions. It gives them power over the rest of us. We have to beg and promise donations to the politicians so they don't extend abusive laws to the rest of us. Quite the scam, really
Does it really matter? Doesn't every parent have their kids in school by 5 or 6 anyway?
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@Wildstar So you are saying that moms who CHOOSE to stay home with their kids have less worth than those who don't? My wife is an educated and highly skilled professional who at times has made up to $15,000 a month. She has at other times CHOSEN to stay home with her kids or currently she CHOOSES to stay home even though her kids are in high school. She loves to be a wife and a mom. It is a hard and thankless job and idiots like you who demean it make me sick! Maybe that is what is wrong with the world? Maybe if more mothers took their mothering as responsible as mine does we would have less idiot, raised by the teacher's union kids like yours probably are (if you even have any).Â
@Wildstar @chuckh0308 So are you sharing this from your own personal experience of how you grew up? describing your life in the last sentence?
@Wildstar I know a lot of home schoolers and have never known one with this philosophy.Â
@chuckh0308 Yes and no. Yes it matters, because it is yet another item in the long litany of "the Government Knows Best, we will decide FOR you." It is all about control, government control, and NOT letting parents make the decisions as to what's best for their child.
As a parent and a taxpayer I have to say I think this bill is a complete waste of money. Most of the parents I've met have been counting down the months until they can send their child off to school, so that they can get back in the work force or stop paying for so many daycare hours. The very few (non-homeschooling) parents that don't put their children in school at age 5 probably do it because they know their child isn't ready for sitting in a classroom yet. Some kids just aren't ready. If you tried to put them into a classroom situation at age 5 or 6 you'd instantly be asked to medicate them because "they can't sit still", "he won't listen", etc...
I'm a homeschooler and this article struck me as negative about homeschooling. The "homeschool fears" was that the original bill changed the mandatroy age for all Washington children but DIDN'T change anything about the homeschool law, which kind of left us in limbo-- since we weren't required to file forms until age 8 we weren't legally homeschooling yet, but we weren't sending our kids to school-- so were we breaking the law? Homeschoolers asked for the legislators to make the bill clear, which they did (so this article is not up to date!). The change on the bill that was approved is that homeschoolers have to file the Declaration of Intent at age 6 but the yearly testing requirement doesn't start until age 8, which is when public schools start testing also.
@Kate W.,
I'm not convinced HBI (homeschoolers) won't be required to assess/test, file our D of I and otherwise follow our law started now at SIX. The Substitute bill is not yet available (as of Tues., the 19th). You have to listen to the public hearing testimony (link on the Leg. website for 1283) , it is at the very end. The amendment which was made changes page 11, line 24. This is where HBI must file, test, etc.. It will be changed from age 8 to 6. This changes our law, period. It's a back door method.
As other posters have mentioned, this bill is unnecessary.
a) Most families already access public school at age 5
b) Why lower the compulsory attendance age and then not charge families with truancy if they do not comply? This only breeds contempt for the law and/or it is a means to come back later and restate truancy back down to 6.Â
c) Gov. staff claim the bill is needed because children who enter public school late "don't fit in" and "struggle". No evidence proving this. There is not even a means to gather evidence via past truancy petitions because the State does not keep those records by age.
This is a complete waste of time and money. And by the way, I believe the bill was sent to Appropriations because, there very well might be a cost to the State.
in light of all the other issues, I'm surprised that Darcy thought this was so important. Â
well, they don't want to face the budget, so they look for any thing they can to look like they're actually doing something.
too bad they keep getting re-elected.
@Dave Lancaster Representatives don't halt all other work to work on one piece of legislation. They don't halt all other work because of one priority.Â
@Dave LancasterSo I assume you are running then next term? Â I am not saying you are wrong here, but everyone always wants to just point fingers rather than do something. Â It is always someone else's faut and thus someone else's job to fix the problem. Â What is your solution to current government? Â If it is just to criticize, I highly doubt that is going to bring the change you are looking for. Â It is easy to sit back and whine about stuff, but it is harder to actually do something about it.Â
@The206 @Dave Lancaster Hey 206...maybe we need these idiots in government to do less? As Ronald Reagan said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"
@Dave Lancaster EXACTLY!!!!
They had a article here the other day that was talking about children being in pre-school to bring them up to the current standard for kindergarten. How many children didn't read or do math at that level when they entered kindergarten. The expectation that ALL children will be ready for that standard is not reasonable. You are talking about very small children here and given that they all have their own capacity for retention, the ability to focus, and the ability to concentrate not all of them are going to mainstream by age 6. How about we treat them like the individuals they are and not the robots that they are expected to be.
Kindergarten Standards - LOLÂ
Jatok, I agree with you. Look at the research, kids need adult participation, play, more play and involvement in their community.Sitting at desks learning the alphabet and numbers sets them up for boredom and failure, particularly boys. Formal education should wait.
@Jatok I disagree, kids in the past were prepared for school at home and they were ready to enter school. The few exceptions were for the rare kid who was a little less mature or who was significantly smaller than the other kids, they started school a year later. Nowadays parents can't be bothered to teach their own kids how to count, know the alphabet and sit down, focus and behave so they are prepared to enter kindergarten and first grade.Â
I'd really like to know how society let this abdication of parental responsibility get so far out of hand. I hear so many excuses about how kids just can't do that a such a young age and I say rubbish, they can if you teach them how and have higher expectations of them. It is not unreasonable or unachievable nor is it child abuse to prepare your kids for school before they are enrolled.Â
Well, unfortunately until parents DO take up the responsibility we have to pretty much go with the current standards. They are what they are. Having been very involved with my own two during the elementary years of school I think I'm incline to stand by my post.
There is more to education than the three R's. The Prussian education style is preferred by bureaucrats because it is easier to organize and administrate. Easier for the adults, but less effective at providing kids an all-round education. Parents and teachers are the most effective deciders of what an education is. One-size-fits-all decrees from DC bureaucrats are flipped around each time a different political power gets control of the executive branch. Public education results, nationwide, have consistantly gone downhill since education was federalized in 1979, hence the migration by parents toward private and home schooling. Get rid of the federalization of education and return it to local control. Get rid of the U.S. Department of Education.
@marsneedswomen But then how would the Left indoctrinate children with their propaganda? Or try out their latest fashionable education scheme? Or, most importantly, reward their faithful public union supporters?
@Iconoclast It's a control thing.  Too many politicians want to be rulers rather than leaders.
@marsneedswomen @Iconoclast And, sadly, there are to many people who have been trained to be afraid of freedom, and want rulers, rather than leaders. Which was, of course, Dewey's original goal. Seems to be working out for the left.
How about you spend happy numnuts figure out how to fix the budget before you start spending more money that you do not have!! This is just craxy and is just a nother prime example of why this state is flat out broke...
Two billion dollar deficit and legislators screwing over the rights of citizens from mandatory starting age of children to one year to obtain a divorce. Some kids are simply not ready to attend school at age 6 and dragging out a divorce for a year hurts the children. Let the parents decide.
This is absolutely the WRONG direction to go, and I am glad that homeschoolers at least are going to be exempt.Â
Check out a DVD entitled "The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World's Most Surprising School System" - available by reservation through SOME local libraries. The Finnish school system is ranked unequivocally #1 in the entire world in terms of academic success and achievement - and yet it does almost everything exactly OPPOSITE what we do here in the United States - including starting formal education LATER.Â
Now, would anyone like to hazard a guess at who is doing it "wrong"?
@JLS1950Â While successful education systems are to be admired (Finland, Japan), there is an element of your statement that is comparing apples to oranges. A uniform student population is easier to address than one so diversified as what we have here in the U.S., the most ethnically and sociologically diverse population in the history of mankind. A public education system that works well in Bismarck, ND, probably doesn't translate to an effective system in East Los Angeles. Get rid of the federalization of public education and return it to local control. Get rid of the U.S. Department of Education.
@marsneedswomen @JLS1950 What you say about our diversity is quite true, but that does not discount what I mentioned about the Finnish system. Because you see the Finnish school system is NOT tightly centralized, and both individual schools and even individual teachers are allowed to set curricula to apparently a fairly wide degree. If the Finnish formula were implemented here, the school in Bismark and the one in East LA would actually both look and operate quite differently - and yet both would be very successful within their differing contexts.Â
Here is a sample of what you may learn about Finnish schools if you view this video: virtually NO standardized testing - indeed little testing at all; very little homework; students start school at a slightly later age (about 7) and usually end school at a younger age (about 16-17 before entering university); class days are shorter; there is a 3-mo summer break; essentially all teachers hold Masters degrees; teachers have wide latitude in how they teach; students work almost exclusively in teams - not against each other; students can be left alone even for extended periods and yet continue to work on studies and learn; discipline problems are quite rare; schools are much more likely to teach how to discover facts than to teach facts themselves; teachers earn about as much as teachers do in the U.S.; teachers have a very strong union...
Was that what you were expecting?
@Insomniac Dreams@JLS1950@marsneedswomenNow that wasn't in Granite Falls, was it? Couple of teachers up there doing some fantastic work in multilevel team teaching.
@JLS1950 @marsneedswomen My son was in a classroom with two wonderful teachers in fourth grade and advanced TWO years in reading. If this is what the Fins are doing, more power to them.
@JLS1950Â Yes, thank you. Very well stated. I need to read up on what you have brought to light. If only our own bureaucrats would promote what is most effective for the kids and parents, rather than what is easiest to decree and administer. But that would mean varying from a path they have committedly followed for the past four decades. Bureaucrats and union leadership are very defensive about change. It might be construed as admission that what they were originally doing is not as effective as what could be, which in turn might infringe upon their self-appointed power. The decision-making power should be with the parents, teachers, and local school boards.
Another government mandate that shouldn't even exist. The government has no right to tell a parent how a kid is to be taught or whether they're to be taught at all. I never had kids, but if I had I never would have let them into the public school system until they were at least teens.
I say lower it until 6 1/2, I do not see the problem honestly if parents want to home school than that is their choice as parents, but I have personally known some family's who "home schooled" and in reality it was just chores, these kids did not know how to read, only knew how to write the alphabet and their names. Only knew simple addition and subtraction and I mean simple as 1+1=2 and 2-1=1 when those kids were 9 and older. That to me is neglect. But I also know other families who home schooled and their kids were extremely smart and were not lacking in education at all, and I am talking about kids who knew 2 languages and were in college coursework by the time they were 14 and 15.  It all depends on the parents and if parents want to home school than cool, but they can let fill out the paperwork declaring they are choosing to home school at 6 1/2 I do not see the big problem.
@@amber@Â I also know public schooled seniors who graduate with never learning to read or write, the basics of composition, science fundamentals, and any history at all. Â Kids slip through the cracks everywhere, it's just the very sad reality of life. Â However, I think it happens a lot less in the homeschooling community, frankly. Â Most homeschoolers understand they are taking back the very real and serious responsibility of their children's entire education--academic, moral, physical, social. Â Everything. Â It all rests on our heads, and it's something we as a whole take very seriously. Â While everyone seems to "know someone" whose kids are "homeschooled" and illiterate, or weird, the statistics just don't hold up to that. Â The actual facts are that happens extremely rarely.Â
@amber@ and I know many who graduate a year early with AAs and get BAs at about the age of 20! I know of a whole family of 4 kids who have done this, one is a Captian in the Army now, his twin is a successful writer at about the age of 25. I also know another family who all three of their kids graduated with AAs. I know a few more who are working on them and one kid I know actually got an AA and a pilot's license by the time most kids graduate. Your exacmple is a farse! It is proven that as a whole home school kids are way more successful than either private school and escpecially public school kids. If I had the patience I would do it, I don't so I do the next best thing and pay REAL teachers to do it! Wouldn't go near your public drop out factories!
"We are working toward all-day kindergarten, and yet we have this archaic law on the books that doesn't require families to send their kids to school until age 8," said Connie Fletcher, a member of the state's Board of Education. "It doesn't make any sense."
There's yer problem Connie. 'All day kindergarten'.
Why should the taxpayers be held responsible for daycare for someone elses kids?
Last I heard, having children (and the obligations involved) was a personal choice. Mind yer own business!
My kid was reading and writing when he was 5. Reading at the 8th grade level. He was reading at the college level when he was 15. He didn't spend one day of his Sr. year in HS. He didn't need to. The government had little to do with it.
Now he's in college, can't get any financial help, and learns NOTHING because he's that far ahead of the curriculum. But he has to pay to get the recognition (transcripts/degree).
It's all about the money and creating government dependancy.
@bobalouie Actually, putting kids in stressful large-group social situations like all-day kindergarten before they are neurologically ready is probably at least part of the reason for the formation of and gravitation towards gangs. Children who are not ready to manage that many social peers are forced to find ways to "IFF" - Identify Friend of Foe - and gang association is the readiest form of such identification. I suspect the destruction of neighborhood schools in favor of "magnets" and other large specialty schools may also be part of this issue. Once again, the #1-ranked school system in the world (Finland) does not do these things.
@JLS1950Â @bobalouie an interesting thought. And of course the administrative structure and the desire of the teachers to have children "fit in" and "meet minimum standards" would contribute to the stress factors. Then you have children who can't and get shunted to less desirable classes with IEPs and emotional control guidelines, because they're acting like children instead of mini-adults. And fit in, because the classes are smaller and more individualized--of course, proving the pigeon-holing right. A vicious circle.
@chandler @JLS1950 @bobalouie Preaching to the choir here! My sister retired following a career in teaching and after co-developing an award-winning multilevel team teaching program. She has told me volumes about how public school faculty and administrators really work. Not pretty at all. And the more constrained the teaching environment ("standards", "testing") the uglier it seems to get.
Why is this no surprise for Washington state education standards to wait till eight years old, by that time most kids can color in between the lines....