An update from the FHE emergency rally back in May

Back in May, there was an emergency rally called and within 24 hours there were over 2000 people at the state capital (or only 200 if you believe the KC Star.)

Here is an email I just received through the FHE Region 3 loop about one legislator's impression of what happened. I thought it was very interesting.

I am a veteran homeschooler and now I homeschool two adopted children and two foster children. Today I was attending a Foster Care/Adoption Conference and heard something I wanted to pass along to you.

The speaker was a liberal senator who was speaking to foster parents about how they could advocate legislatively for foster children since Missouri is 49th or 50th in the amount of money they pay to care for foster children in our state. She spoke about the importance of contacting our legislators, getting to know them personally in order to put a face on the issue, writing letters, etc. Then she said, "Let me give you a great example." She went on to explain that last session the homeschoolers in Missouri got an inkling that there might be something in one of the education bills that would negatively impact homeschooling. She said, "Within 24 hours they had amassed one of the biggest crowds she had ever seen at the capital." She spoke respectfully, even though I doubt that she is a big supporter, (don't know for sure) when she talked about how families were ALL OVER THE PLACE. I didn't jump up and applaud, but I certainly did smile to myself knowing that FHE was able to muster that kind of support for our right to homeschool our children. Just thought you all might want to know that even a Senator that isn't supportive of homeschooling seemed to respect the efforts of our state organization.


Janet Richardson