Families for Home Education of Missouri (FHE) joins Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) in issuing the following:

House Bill 540, introduced in the Missouri legislature, would IMPOSE MANDATORY TESTING ON ALL HOME SCHOOLERS IN MISSOURI.
House Bill 540 adds the following language to Missouri’s home school law: “[A parent must] [s]ubmit the child for assessment within the school of residence in accordance with the state-wide assessment program authorized pursuant to section 160.518, RSMo. The school district of residency shall establish a reasonable fee for this testing, with the cost to the parent or guardian not to exceed per pupil cost of the assessment for students attending the district.”
1. HB 540 would put pressure on home schoolers to depart from using their independent best judgment on what subjects to teach and pressure them to teach to satisfy the demands of the state-mandated test. 2. HB 540 effectively puts the government in control of home school teaching, which destroys one of the principle reasons for home schooling: to have instruction geared to each specific child in a manner known best to the child's parents.
3. HB 540 will inevitably lead to yet more encroachments on educational liberty. In order to enforce this testing requirement, the government would have to have a list of all home schoolers, leading to state-mandated registration of all home schoolers.
4. HB 540 will give the government more control over home schooling, even though there is no documented problem with the level of education home-schooled children receive. Home schoolers already outscore public school students on every standardized test. In the last ACT, Missouri home schoolers averaged 23.2. All others in Missouri averaged 21.5.

Under decisions of the United State Supreme Court, parents have a fundamental right to direct the care and education of their children. Government-imposed testing, as mandated by HB 540. erodes this right.

HB 540 was presented to the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 3PM. The hearing was preceded by a rally, coordinated by FHE lobbyist, Diane McLelland. Many constituents attended the 3 PM hearing and a number of home school Moms and Dads testified.
[FHE & HSLDA Alert, 2/5/99]

ACTION TO TAKE:
1) PRAY that the freedom to home school in Missouri and across this nation would be preserved.
2) CALL your Missouri State Representative with your concerns about state-mandated testing for home schoolers.
Switchboard: (573) 751-2000.
3) PRAY for FHE and lobbyist Diane McLelland as they work at the Capitol on behalf of home schoolers across the state.
4) If you do not live in Missouri, be on the alert for home school legislation in your state.

Super Bowl Ads Taint Big Game . .

Super Bowl XXXIII drew about 130 million viewers during the usually family-oriented late Sunday afternoon and early evening hours. FOX Television sold 30-second commercials at $1.6 million each. Among those ads was a revealing Victoria's Secret ad, complete with scantily clad models; a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) ad with a man and a woman having sex on a desk; and an ad for FOX's "King of the Hill" cartoon spoofing the hit movie, The Full Monty, by revealing the show's male characters' naked backsides.

The American Family Association has filed an official complaint with the FCC against FOX TV’s Mississippi affiliate for airing the WWF ad.

Contact:
NFL Commissioner, Paul J. Tagliabue, or Neil Austrian, NFL President
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
212-450-2000. Fax: 212-681-7573
Email: nfltech@aeromail.com.

FOX Sports
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900.
Email: foxsportsreply@foxinc.com

Baptists Teach The Truth . . ..

The Southern Baptists took a solid stand for scriptural truth last weekend when they introduced Sunday School lessons on the sin of homosexuality and the reality that homosexuals can change. The Bible teaches that homosexuals, as well as other people caught up in a variety of sins, can abandon their sinful activities and come to a place of healing and restoration. "Homosexuality is not acceptable, according to the Bible," said Ross McLaren, biblical studies specialist with Lifeway Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist denomination. It's "against nature," McLaren added. The lessons are designed to assure those trapped in this sin that they can achieve freedom, as well as to equip the church body on how to help people seeking assistance.

"The last two points of the lesson will deal with healing and hope," McLaren said. Southern Baptist churches are offering lists of books, videos and pamphlets about homosexuality. Included is contact information for ministries that help people leave the homosexual lifestyle, such as Exodus International and Kerusso Ministries. .The Southern Baptist church is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, with 15.8 million members.
[CULTURE FACTS, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2/3/99]