[Early Discussion] Choice in Education

Sil Dorsett

The Belt Collector
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Deputy Speaker
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TNP Nation
sil_dorsett
Discord
sildorsett
I would like for us to start thinking about our recommendation to this draft while we have some downtime. Christian Democrats has been working on it for a while and I have feeling it will be submitted sometime in the near future. Once submitted, it will very likely gain the necessary approvals quickly, so I'd like for us to be prepared.


General Assembly Proposal
Choice in Education
A resolution to improve worldwide human and civil rights.​
Category: Human Rights
Strength: Significant
Proposed by:Christian Democrats
Onsite Topic
Proposal Text (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):
The General Assembly,

Recognizing that education -- like speech, association, religion, or marriage -- is a civil right; that civil rights necessarily imply choice in their exercise; and, therefore, that people should enjoy freedom of choice in education, just as they enjoy freedom of choice in speech, association, religion, or marriage,

Further recognizing that parents have a natural right and duty to direct the upbringing and provide for the welfare of their children, free of arbitrary interference, and that the role of the state in childrearing should be subsidiary to that of the family,

Understanding that the diversification of education is beneficial to society because it helps to combat the pernicious effects of intellectual and cultural homogenization and to promote the circulation of a diversity of perspectives in national life, thus enhancing opportunities for people to discover truth and achieve happiness,

Further understanding that non-state schooling can serve as a praiseworthy supplement or a necessary alternative to state schooling in nations where state schools are controlled by totalitarian interests that try to indoctrinate children with illiberal or immoral values, where state schools are overwhelmed, or where state schools are unable to meet the needs of certain minority communities,

Seeking to strengthen freedom of choice in the exercise of civil rights, to reduce coercive monopoly in the provision of necessary services, and to assist all children in developing their minds and actualizing their potentials,

1. Defines, for the purposes of this resolution, the following terms:

  • State school: a primary or secondary school that is owned or operated by the government;
  • Non-state school: a primary or secondary school that is owned and operated by the private sector;
  • Homeschooling: the condition of receiving primary or secondary education in one's home under the direction of one's parent or legal guardian, another adult relative, or a private tutor;
2. Affirms that parents and legal guardians have a right, at their own expense, to remove their children from state schools or to keep their children out of state schools and, instead, to have their children homeschooled or educated in non-state schools;

3. Further affirms that people have a right, at their own expense, to establish and maintain non-state schools;

4. Permits the government to impose reasonable regulations, such as curricular requirements, standardized testing requirements, and financial disclosure requirements, on non-state schooling and on homeschooling;

5. Forbids unreasonable regulations on non-state schooling and on homeschooling -- for example, regulations that impose curricular requirements on non-state or homeschooled students that unduly exceed or differ from the curricular requirements imposed on state-schooled peers; regulations that inhibit religious affiliation or prohibit religious instruction; regulations that require religious, moral, political, or economic indoctrination; and regulations that prohibit instruction in foreign or native languages; and

6. Allows the government, with due process of law, to mandate that a parent or legal guardian (re)enroll a child in a state school if the child is not making reasonable academic progress in a non-state school or homeschool, compared to the progress of state-schooled peers.


This is not a voting thread. This is for us to come to a consensus of what our recommendation is and what to say in it.
 
I worry about the effect sections 3-4 would have in a corporatocracy or oligarchy. "Here, learn some stuff (the stuff you'll need to work in the factory where you were born), and it'll be free if your parents work for us or if you promise to work for us when your done" type deal. Are there other WA legislation that would protect school children from being taken advantage of by non-state schools?

There is ambiguity whether the "examples" from paragraph 5 binding or recommendations? The language should read something like "including."

For a "strong" bill, it sure does a lot of Affirm, Permit, and Allow -ing. Since the Forbid is the strongest part, we should focus on shoring it up. It's extremely vague, even if it does list a few "examples" of what's intended. I don't think examples carry lots of weight in court? I may be mistaken...
 
Hundred Worlds:
There is ambiguity whether the "examples" from paragraph 5 binding or recommendations? The language should read something like "including."
The examples are types of unreasonable regulations, which the clause forbids.

Comparing to "state schooled peers" in clause 6 seems like an issue, because the reason that the non-state schooling may seem ineffective is just because the child is a slow learner, and the state school would not be an improvement.

If a child is in a private school, for example, and they are passing, they could still be kicked out if they are not making "reasonable academic process compared to their state-schooled peers."
 
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