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Changing PA's Home Education Law

House Bill 2560 (HB 2560)

THE LANGUAGE OF THE BILL

House Bill 2560 (bill text) (PDF format of text) -- the proposed New Home Education Law. Please note that this is not yet law and is only on its way through the legislative process.
Simplified format -- This is a version of the language without all the deletions, etc. This is what the new law would contain if it would pass in its current form.

THE PROGRESS OF HOUSE BILL 2560

To date HB2560’s Bill History includes:

  1. has been introduced in the House of Representative
  2. has been referred to the House Education Committee
  3. has been scheduled for an informational meeting before the House Education Committee on Thursday, June 13, from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the auditorium of the Forum Building. Panelists who support HB2560 include the Home School Legal Defense Association, the National Home Education Research Institute, the Catholic Homeschoolers of PA, the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP), the Pennsylvania Home Education Network, and a representative from one of the state-recognized diploma programs. The opposition is represented by a school board member, a superintendent, Howard Richman, and a support group leader. The audience will not be able to comment. Therefore, everyone is asked to wear RED to show support for House Bill 2560. The opponents of this effort will be wearing blue.
WHO ARE YOUR LEGISLATORS?

Who is your Representative in the House? Is he or she on the House Education Committee?

Who is your State Senator? Is he or she on the Senate Education Committee?

GENERAL LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION

How to Read a Bill
Current language that will remain in the new law will be found in normal text.
[Deleted language will be in square brackets. Continue looking for the ending bracket to know the full number of words, sentences or paragraphs that are being eliminated. It is recommended that you draw a line through that language to avoid confusion.]
New proposed words, sentences or paragraphs will be underlined.
ANYTHING ADDED SINCE THE BILL WAS INTRODUCED WILL BE UNDERLINED AND IN ALL CAPS.
Anything eliminated since the bill was introduced will be indicated with strikethroughs.

How a Bill Gets Passed
Lengthy educational version for you and your children
Easy step-by-step version
Details on contacting legislators, getting a bill passed, problems passing a bill

The Easy Step-by-Step Legislative Process
[Note: Due to the importance of House Bill 2560, all links below deal with state legislation, not federal.]

  1. A legislator gets an idea or responds to a request from a constituent or special interest group
  2. The legislator asks the drafting attorneys at the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) to draft the language for him/her. If this is not to his/her liking, the language can go back and forth till the legislator is satisfied.
  3. The legislator circulates the language through his/her chamber (either House or Senate) with a memo requesting cosponsors. These are people he/she can usually count on to vote for the bill. The legislator will work on seeking continued sponsorships and acquiring votes on the bill from his/her colleagues until the bill is passed.
  4. Once satisfied with the number of cosponsors, the legislator will take the bill into the chamber (House for Representatives or Senate for a Senator) and hand it to the Bill Clerk. The Bill Clerk will assign a number to the bill and the bill is finally considered to be “introduced.”
  5. At that point the bill is finally available in the Electronic Bill Room.
  6. The bill is then “referred to a Committee.” Legislation dealing with home education would go to the Education Committee of that chamber and then the Appropriations Committee.
  7. If the bill is “voted out of Committee” (a vote in favor), then it is “read” or “considered” three times before being voted on in that chamber.
  8. If passed in the chamber where it is introduced, it is sent to the other chamber (House or Senate) where it is “referred to a Committee.” Legislation dealing with home education would go to the Education Committee of that chamber and then to the Appropriations Committee.
  9. If the bill is “voted out of Committee” (a vote in favor), then it is “read” or “considered” three times before being voted on in that chamber.
  10. If passed in that chamber of the General Assembly, then it is sent to the Governor.
  11. Once the Governor signs the bill, it becomes law based upon the time period set forth in the bill. Before that time, any and all previous laws are fully in effect.
The language of the proposed new Home Education Law is currently at step #6 above. There is still a long way to go till it becomes law. Please pray for this effort and contact your state Representative and Senator for their support of this bill.

Webmaster: Timothy Kramer -- E-mail: webmaster@catholichomeschoolpa.org
© Copyright 2002 Ellen Kramer or Catholic Homeschoolers of Pennsylvania unless otherwise noted.
This page was updated on July 10, 2002.