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The C H A P   E-Newsletter

Welcome to the March issue of the CHAP E-Newsletter. If you have friends
and acquaintances who would enjoy receiving it please forward a copy to
them. If you want to subscribe or see any back issues they are listed on
the CHAP web page at www.chaponline.com.

Lobby in Harrisburg Mark April 4, 2001 on your calendar for the second
CHAP HELP (Home Educator¼s Lobbying Program) day. It will begin with a
working breakfast at 7:30 AM at the Harrisburg Hilton.  To date,
representative John Perzel, majority leader of the House of
Representatives, and Representative Sam Rohrer, a homeschooling dad who
sits on the education committe, have agreed to speak.

If you have been following the political scene you know that there has
been talk of changing the Pennsylvania Homeschooling Law. This meeting
will include updates about the status of the law.

The theme of the day will be to get out the message that Homeschooling
Works for Pennsylvania. A sub theme will be to present information to

the legislators about the success of parents in all states regardless of
the type of laws they work under.

Comments from the previous HELP day: „I had a great time- Thanks for the
opportunity¾ a 16 year old boy.

„A great family experience!¾ a family that attended.

„This was a very positive learning experience! I¼d love to do it again.¾
a homeschooling mother.

You can register for the CHAP HELP day by completing the form at the end
of this e-mail and snail mail it to the address below.

The CHAP Survey of Pennsylvania Homeschoolers

Last spring the CHAP board attended a meeting with state Representatives
Sam Rohrer and Tom Armstrong and other homeschool leaders from across
the state. At that meeting we were charged with finding out what our
constituencies wanted in a new law.

We set out to answer the question „What do the homeschoolers associated
with CHAP want in a homeschool law?¾ CHAP consulted with Dr. Brian Ray
of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and asked him
to us help design a survey instrument that would answer this question in
a scientifically accurate way.


The study was done in May of 2000. We randomly sampled 2000 names from
our database of approximately 7,000 names. (We used only people living
in Pennsylvania for this study.) Our return rate was 50%, a very high
rate for a mail survey. Thus we looked at about one seventh of the
families in our database. Because we selected those to receive the
questionnaire randomly, the results can be accurately extrapolated to
the whole population (The total CHAP database).

At the time of the study there were about 20,000 homeschool students
registered with the school districts. Some homeschoolers are
"underground" and therefore the official estimates are under-estimates.
The twenty thousand represents children between 8 -17 years of age,
again leading to an underestimate. However the twenty thousand is not
families but students. Therefore a reasonable estimate is that about ten
thousand families are homeschooling in Pennsylvania. Thus it is possible
that the CHAP mailing list represents a majority of the homeschooling
families in Pennsylvania.

Does the CHAP survey speak for all homeschoolers in PA? No. It does
however represent the largest group and is the only scientific survey on
the homeschooling law ever done in Pennsylvania. Some other people have
done questionnaires in Pennsylvania, including a taxpayer funded one by
Dr. Stephen Melnick. None of these queries were based on a scientific
sample of homeschoolers and thus the results cannot be generalized. If
the sample is not random the results only apply to the people answering
the questionnaire and to no one else. In addition, some surveys were
open invitation Internet based and thus have no protection against
redundancy and unacceptable selection bias.


What did the CHAP survey say? The survey was divided into two sections.
The first asked respondents to rate their opinions on a one to five
scale. The scale was: 1-strongly agree 2-agree 3-neutral 4-disagree
5-strongly disagree. The second section asked them to rate the items
they would like in a home school law in numerical sequence.

One of the strongest responses we received was agreement (82%) to the
statement „home schooling is a conviction for me.¾ Most homeschoolers
(86%)in the survey agreed that home-schooled students score strongly on
standardized tests. The homeschoolers participating in the survey felt
that the overall responsibility for their children's education rests
with the parents not with the government. The majority (53%) of
homeschoolers expressed the thought that they would work to improve the
homeschool law.

The parents in our study were nearly evenly divided (45% agree, 12%
neutral, and 43% disagree) about whether a "notice only" law would be
the correct one for our state. It is interesting to note that even
though there was a clear recognition (56%) that our law is burdensome
many people (53%) felt no need to change it.

Turning to the second part of the study, parents were asked to rank
seven items in the current law in decreasing rank order. With one being
the most desirable and seven being the least desirable items.
Notification was ranked highest. Most of the parents realized that there
was some need to notify the government of the fact that we would be
homeschooling. The second highest preference would be to leave the
year-end evaluations in place. After that came portfolios. Year-end
testing, state required subjects, and health and dental forms are
essentially tied for last place.

Our results differ from the non-scientific queries done on this issue.
There are several reasons for this. The CHAP questionnaire instrument
was different. Another is that our sample was much larger. It is likely
that the CHAP database represents a more diverse group. Although, some
may take issue with our scientific study because the results aren¼t what
they had hoped for, the results do reflect our database of seven
thousand families.

What should we do about a new law? It is very difficult even with the
survey to know what homeschoolers want. It would be a great help to have
this question answered definitively. We get calls, and e-mails demanding
that we support access to public school resources. (We pay our taxes,
too.) We get comments that say don't accept any government regulation at
all. Some people tell us that we can only make gradual changes and not
to hope to make major changes. Some say evaluators are OK, but don't let
them test us. Others say tests are OK, that's what President Bush wants.
What about special needs? What about sports?

One fact is becoming abundantly clear to me. A new law, no matter what
it says will not please everyone. I am reasonably certain that it won¼t
even be what I would like. In spite of this limitation I believe that we

can get a new law that will be better than our current law.

We do want your opinions. We are working very hard to get a new law,
which will improve homeschooling in Pennsylvania. If you have opinions
or ideas that you believe will help us please e-mail us at
chap@chapboard.org. Please do not use your reply button because we do

not read or reply to responses to this „broadcast only¾ address.


What Should You Do? The following are ways that every homeschooler can
help to get a less restrictive homeschool law:


1) PRAY! This should be high on all of our prayer lists as we seek our
Lord's guidance and His will in this matter.

2) Get to know your state senator and representative NOW. Be visible
with their staff. Let them know you are a homeschooler and that you
value your personal freedoms and less government control in your life.
Always be congenial even when disagreeing with their position. Ask them
how you can pray for them or their family and request that they would
let you know when they receive an answer to prayer. One family that we
know of developed such a rapport with their representative over several
years of time that the representative now has a daughter homeschooling
his grandchildren.

3) Sign up for the second lobby day!



Staff Editor		Bruce K. Eagleson, M.D. Publisher	Doug Rothgaber



Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania PO Box 115 Mount Joy,
PA 17552-0115 717-661-2428 www.chapboard.org


CHAP HELP DAY Information: One goal of this session is to develop
relationships between homeschoolers and their senators and
representatives. If the legislators know homeschoolers from their
districts, they will be more likely to be supportive of homeschooling.
Former Pennsylvania U. S. Congressman, Bill Goodling has said that
homeschoolers are the most effective lobbyists in the country.

A second goal is getting the message across that homeschooling works. We
will present data from major research studies, which show that
homeschooling is a successful alternative to other modes of education.
The national studies have shown that a state¼s homeschooling law has no
effect on the outcomes of homeschooling in the state.

Schedule 7:30-9:00 	Orientation 9:00-11:00	Lobbying
11:00		On your own for sightseeing

What: The second CHAP Home Educator¼s Lobbying Day. The theme of the day
is Home Education Works for Pennsylvania. It will begin with a
continental breakfast and an orientation meeting. Representative Sam
Rohrer will be the featured speaker.

Why: It is possible that new homeschooling legislation will be
introduced this legislative term. If this is the case our presence on
Capitol Hill will be essential.

When: On April 4, CHAP will hold its second Home Educator¼s Lobbying
Day. It will begin at 7:30 AM with a continental breakfast underwritten
by CHAP at the Harrisburg Hilton, Harrisburg, PA.

How: A training session will be held. After the training session, we
will adjourn and go to the Capitol Complex where you will meet with your
representative and senator. You will meet with them and provide them
with a homeschooling information packet and a treat for them and their
staff. You may be asked to visit other representatives and senators as
well.

Where: Training sessions will be at the Harrisburg Hilton at 7:30 AM
(located on Second and Market St.).  Take the second street exit (exit
23) o f I-83. Turn right at the third light (Market St.) Go one short
block and turn Left on Court St. Follow Court St. to the entrance to the
Walnut St. garage. The Hilton will validate your ticket so that your
maximum fee will be $3.00. After training we will adjourn to the Capitol
to meet with legislators.

Who: CHAP & YOU. Some of your children will help, too.

What you need to do. Return the registration form and appropriate fee.
For this event we can only accommodate the first 250 people, so register
early.

You need to call your representative and senator by March 25, 2001, to
set up an appointment between 9:00 AM and 11:00 on April 4, 2001. If you
don¼t know whom your representative or senator is you can find out on
the web page: PAvoter.com. Please let CHAP know what appointments you
have scheduled by calling 717-653-2454.  You will want to check the CHAP
web page for more details in March www.chapboard.org.

Dress code: Because our legislators are used to meeting with people in
formal contexts, you will need to be well groomed. Dress as you would
for Easter Sunday or a job interview. We would prefer that men wear
suits or sport coats and women dress in modest skirts or dresses. It is
our goal to make a good impression on all whom we meet.

Children: In general, we want you to bring children. They are among the
most potent lobbying strategies for homeschoolers. They must be well
behaved, well groomed and pleasant. If you are not absolutely certain
that your children will behave please make arrangements for their care
while you are in Harrisburg.

What CHAP will do. We will arrange a continental breakfast, training,
and information packet. We will provide information about the capitol
complex.

Plan on spending some time touring the capitol building. It is very
beautiful and you can count the day for civics credit as well.
Questions?:	Call 717-665-6707 email: chap@chapboard.org Write to: 
CHAP P.O. Box 115 Mt. Joy, PA 17552-0115

Application:

Name: ____________________________ Spouse: ____________________________
Children who will attend: _____________________________
_____________________________ _____________________________
_____________________________ Representative/ District
_____________________________ Senator/ District
_____________________________ I have made appointments with:
________________	at _______  am/pm ________________	at _______ 
am/pm Phone:_____________________________
Fax:	_____________________________
Email:	_____________________________


Address: _____________________________
City:	_____________________________ State:	PA
Zip:	_____________________________

Enclosed fee:	(circle appropriate item) $5 / an individual
registration $10  / for a family Make checks payable to CHAP Mail to:
CHAP P.O. Box 115 Mt. Joy, PA 17552-0115

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