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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 183 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 183

  Designating the week beginning on September 19, 1999, and ending on 
          September 25, 1999, as National Home Education Week.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 14, 1999

 Mr. Ashcroft (for himself, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Hagel, Mr. 
 Helms, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. 
 Gorton, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Smith of New Hampshire, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. 
 Grams) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

                           September 16, 1999

             Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Designating the week beginning on September 19, 1999, and ending on 
          September 25, 1999, as National Home Education Week.

Whereas the United States is committed to excellence in education;
Whereas the United States recognizes the importance of family participation and 
        parental choices in pursuit of that excellence;
Whereas the United States recognizes the fundamental right of parents to direct 
        the education and upbringing of their children;
Whereas parents want their children to receive a first-class education;
Whereas training in the home strengthens the family and guides children in 
        setting the highest standards for their lives which are essential 
        elements to the continuity of morality in our culture;
Whereas home schooling families contribute significantly to the cultural 
        diversity important to a healthy society;
Whereas the United States has a significant number of parents who teach their 
        own children at home;
Whereas home education was proven successful in the lives of George Washington, 
        Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams, John Marshall, Robert E. Lee, Booker 
        T. Washington, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, 
        Woodrow Wilson, Mark Twain, John Singleton Copley, William Carey, 
        Phyllis Wheatley, and Andrew Carnegie;
Whereas home school students exhibit self-confidence and good citizenship and 
        are fully prepared academically to meet the challenges of today's 
        society;
Whereas dozens of contemporary studies continue to confirm that children who are 
        educated at home score exceptionally well on nationally normed 
        achievement tests;
Whereas a March 1999 study by the Educational Resources Information Center 
        Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation at the University of Maryland 
        found that home school students taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or 
        the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency scored in the 70th to 80th 
        percentiles among all the students nationwide who took those exams, and 
        25 percent of home schooled students were studying at a level one or 
        more grades above normal for their age;
Whereas studies demonstrate that home schoolers excel in college with the 
        average grade point average of home schoolers exceeding the college 
        average; and
Whereas United States home educators and home instructed students should be 
        recognized and celebrated for their efforts to improve the quality of 
        education: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the week beginning on September 19, 1999, and ending 
on September 25, 1999, is designated as National Home Education Week. 
The President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation 
recognizing the contributions that home schooling families have made to 
the Nation.
                                 <all>
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