Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Homeschool stuff in our state.

Yesterday I got an email from the Home School Legal Defense Association. This is a great organization - they do a lot to protect our rights to homeschool, this is the first thing they have sent along that I am not too sure about.
Here is what they have to say: (This is for the state of Oklahoma.)
Calls are needed immediately to stop Senate Bill 1690 which would prohibit 16 and 17-year-olds from obtaining a driver's license unless they first pass a state-approved math test. The bill is scheduled for a hearing today at 2:30 p.m. in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

A student would be required to pass either the state-wide 8th-grade math test, or another test approved by the State Department of Education. Homeschooled students would be at a tremendous disadvantage since they don't use the state's math curriculum and would have no control over the alternative test the Department of
Education might approve.


I can see part of their point. This looks like just another hoop to jump through to get a drivers license, and I wonder what 8th-grade math really has to do with being able to drive. But I can't see calling and identifying myself as a homeschool parent and then saying I was opposed to this. What does that say? That I'm afraid my kid will not be able to pass the math test and might not get a driver's license? At 16 or 17, they had better be able to do 8th-grade math! I am not sure that homeschooled students would be at a tremendous disadvantage.

Of course, I'm one of the people that doesn't think it is a terrible idea to raise the driving age to 18, so what do I know?

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