February MiCHN Moment: Prayers Needed! Plus exciting events!🙏☺

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In Their Own Words:
Michigan Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Polehanki opened the 2023 committee with the following statement on 1/24/2023:
 

"I'd like to take a minute to outline my vision for this committee as 'committee' is the first stop on the path for a bill to become a law. At this STOP, we are going to listen to educators first. At this STOP we're going to include bonafide educational research in our decision-making. At this STOP, we will seek to undo legislation that doesn't work and move new legislation that the educational community wants. At this stop, we will NOT participate in the demonization of teachers or LQBTQ students and we will not give credence to fake scandals or conspiracy theories. Let me be clear. Those days are over.  For the next four years, while I hold this gavel."



President of MiCHN, Mike Winter, along with MiCHN's legislative team, will be meeting with Senator Polehanki on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in order to introduce ourselves and prayerfully build bridges. Please pray for a fruitful conversation and for the Holy Spirit to lead in all future legislative endeavors the Senator seeks for education in Michigan.
Come have your faith built and your vision sharpened at our 2023 INCH conference! We're gathering in Lansing May 18th-20th! Register and Check out more info here!


INCH SPEAKER SPOTLIGHTS:


Israel Wayne: Foundations in Faith-A Bible Doctrine Curriculum
Phylicia Masonheimer: How to Think Theologically About Everything
Steve Demme: Parents are Uniquely Qualified to Teach and Disciple Their Children
Kim Sorgius: Homeschool Resources that Grow Faith
Wil & Meeke Addison: God's Manifold Wisdom Revealed in the Church
REGISTER NOW
 

CALLING ALL LEADERS, anyone in a position of influence in the homeschool community (current or future!) We hope you'll join MiCHN for an encouraging and informative time where homeschool leaders and consultants Ashley Richards and Becky Abrams tackle everyday issues facing homeschool leaders. Becky and Ashley will cover a variety of relevant issues including starting a new program with a clear mission, a solid foundation, and other important aspects to consider (insurance, finances, and more.) Join us to learn not only how to start a homeschool program but also how to avoid burnout in the process! A short time of Q & A will be available at the end of the Zoom presentation, so come ready to ask questions. Don't miss it!

REGISTER NOW

MICHN exists to continue the fight for homeschool freedom in Michigan. It is our goal to connect homeshool groups across the state with one another, to be the portal where you get the lastest updates, ideas, and attend events. Be sure to visit our website and become a member today. FAITH. FAMILY. FREEDOM.

 

2023 Academic Achievement Study
Defending Homeschool Freedom

You are invited to participate in a multi-state research study to protect homeschool freedom for generations to come! MiCHN is partnering with National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and BJU Press Homeschool to conduct a research project that will provide new and helpful information to homeschool families, homeschool support organizations, policymakers, and the general public. This is a national research study, and we are excited to be working with other homeschool state organizations like CHEA of California, HEAV of Virginia, and IAHE of Indiana.


While testing is not required of homeschooled children in Michigan, strong scores make a convincing argument that homeschooling is successful without government control. We know that quality research is a powerful tool in protecting homeschool freedom. Current research is decades old. Michigan families now have the opportunity to help prove home education works by contributing to this new nationwide research study!
 

*ALL test scores, survey questions, and other data collected will remain 100% anonymous and  confidential*

The Parent Portal is Now Available!

 
Order Now & Receive 10% Off
 
These are quite uncertain times. Right now, MICHN would advise you to make sure your account is up to date and accurate with Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Be sure to visit their website, and if you have not done so already, BECOME A MEMBER today.

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4407 W St. Joseph Hwy
Lansing, MI 48917

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📠🔔Legislative Update: Report From the Capitol📓✒
Report From the Capitol: Our legislative team attended the House Education Committee meeting this morning. Dr. Michael Rice (Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction) met with the committee. He is the one who has been pushing for mandatory registration of homeschoolers the past couple of years. We wanted to be present to see what is being suggested and give you an immediate heads-up! Fortunately, home education was not mentioned once during this meeting. However, it did give a window into some of their agenda. Dr. Rice would like all students to be REQUIRED to begin their formal education by age 4. This sentiment has been previously proposed by Governor Whitmer, and we will be on the lookout for this in Governor Whitmer's budget proposal that should be released soon. Changing the compulsory age for Michigan children is apparently the solution they are coming up with in lieu of the 3rd grade reading law we currently have. During the meeting, it was made clear that we currently have a situation where teachers are needing to be "coached" by professionals on how to teach literacy to their students. We taxpayers are paying for these "literacy coaches." There is, allegedly, not enough funding for this program and not enough "coaches" available. Our big takeaways from the meeting: Mr. Rice wants to require education to begin at age 4. This would change the compulsory age in Michigan from 6 years old to 4 years old. Michigan's public educators truly are not prepared for their professions upon graduation. More money and more government oversight always solves the problems, from their perspective. We are pleased that home education was not specifically mentioned during this meeting. We were also able to have conversations with new House Education Committee members, some of whom appear to be promising allies of home education and would help to push back if negative legislation is introduced in the future. We plan to continue to follow up on and nurture these relationships with new legislators on the education committee (as we have done since 1984). While MiCHN is a volunteer organization made up of concerned homeschooling parents just like you, we believe there is strength in numbers and there is cost involved in maintaining the presence we have had in the legislature for almost four decades, and keeping homeschoolers in the state networked and informed. If you would like to help protect and preserve homeschooling freedoms here in Michigan, please consider supporting our work through donations (we are a tax-exempt, 501-c-3 non-profit organization) and through annual memberships. **It is important you understand we can not act on a bill, unless one is introduced. At this time, there has been NO BILL introduced in committees nor the chambers that would stipulate more regulations on homeschoolers. With that in mind, MICHN would encourage you to prayerfully consider what you can do TODAY: Write a letter introducing yourself and your family. In the letter thank them for all their hard work and service to the people of Michigan. Tell them you are praying for them, ask them if they have any specific prayer requests they would like to share with you-be it work or family related. If they share a request-be sure to follow up with a 'Thinking of You Note' and see how they are doing. Pray for our elected officials. Considering using a resource like pray1tim2.org. Visit them in their local district office or in Lansing. Many legislators set aside certain times in their districts to meet with their constituents. Consider blessing them by taking a delicious treat with you or leaving a small gift like special "made in Michigan" food or decorative item. Send cards of encouragement throughout the year. Birthdays (usually posted on their website), 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all great opportunities to thank them for their service. Consider including a family picture and hand-drawn pictures or notes from your children to make it more personal. Invite them to homeschooling events in your area-picnics, programs, graduations, concerts, etc. Consider volunteering in their office or on their campaign. If you have confidence in what they stand for, offer your time to help: homeschoolers can assist with mailings, phone calls, placing yard signs, distributing literature door-to-door, marching in local parades, etc. -Your MiCHN Legislative Team  
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Are Public Schools Safe for Children?
August 31, 2018 by Israel Wayne In the past, MiCHN has responded to media bias against homeschoolers. Particularly, in an article in the Detroit Free Press (DFP). In short, the article by the DPF suggested that because a public school family had seriously abused their children, (CPS had known about the ongoing abuse for eight years), and then attempted to withdraw their children from public school, ALL homeschoolers in the state of Michigan needed to be regulated! It’s obviously a massive logical leap, but one they were willing to take. There is a certain narrative that some in the media wish to present: Public schools are safe and homeschools (parents) are dangerous. We, at MiCHN, and most of the homeschoolers we know and represent, obviously do not share this bias. Are Homeschools Dangerous? Responding to the accusation that homeschools are a cover up for child abuse and neglect, I cite research that demonstrates that there is absolutely no connection between the degree of state regulation of homeschooling and abuse of children, AND the fact that students who are homeschooled are actually 257% LESS likely to be sexually abused than students who are in public schools! We sent this information to the DFP but received no response. While we do not deny that there have been families who claim to homeschool their children who have abused and neglected them, there is no research (including an extensive study from our own federal government) that links homeschooling as a risk factor for child abuse. Are Public Schools Dangerous? The story goes, however, if children were in public schools, where they could be closely monitored by teachers, school counselors, school staff, etc., they would be kept safe from all harm and abuse. It sounds almost as though it’s only when they are homeschooled that abuse can take place, or go undetected. Our previous article, mentioned above, gives ample evidence that just because a child attends a public school, and CPS is aware of his or her abuse at home, that he or she is therefore safe from ongoing abuse from his or her parents. Sending a child to public school does not, in many cases, solve any of the abuse going on at home. But even worse than that, there is significant reason to believe that a child who attends public school faces dramatically increased risk of abuse at school, that he or she does NOT face otherwise. Child Protective Services (CPS) and Public Schools Cover Up Abuse Despite the accusation against homeschoolers that they are keeping their children at home as a cover-up for abuse and neglect, there is a demonstrated example of public schools and CPS doing just that in the Chicago Public School scandal (from a study that exposed them in August of 2018)! According to MSN.com: “The report describes how understaffed and underfunded CPS investigators struggled to process reports of potential sexual harassment, notifications sent to the Department of Children and Family Services, employee misconduct allegations and altercations between students and staff – thousands of reports during the 2016-17 school year alone.” Notice how they claim that if they just had more money, they could start doing their jobs? There were thousands of reports of sexual harassment (including many sexual assaults against children by school staff), in just one school year, in one city! This certainly does not fit the story the media wants us to believe: That public schools are safe havens against all child abuse and homeschools are vile dens of all kinds of abuse and neglect. It’s interesting to me that right after the Chicago story broke, newspapers around the country (including the DFP), immediately started shining the spotlight on homeschoolers, as if they are the real concern. Thankfully, the best DFP could come up with this round was a family who wasn’t even homeschooling (they were in the Lansing area public schools!). To be clear, MiCHN is totally against all forms of child abuse. We believe that those who abuse children should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law utilizing the perfectly adequate child-abuse laws that already exist in Michigan. What we do not believe is that public schools in Michigan are free from even the worst forms of abuse (by teachers and school staff). Let us demonstrate why. Abuse and Neglect of Children by Michigan Public School Staff In July of 2018, NBC News showed video footage of a Detroit public school assistant principal, slamming a 14-yr-old boy to the ground. He was then allegedly punched in the face by a school resource officer, who allegedly broke his jaw. In July of 2018, the Detroit Free Press themselves reported on a Hazel Park lawsuit regarding an 8-yr-old girl who almost lost her finger when a school aide allegedly, “slammed the door closed on Serenity’s finger with such force that her finger was nearly severed.” As similar lawsuit regarding a 7-yr-old boy reported in July, 2018 in Detroit in which, according to a report in The Detroit News: “The teacher kicked Jason out of the classroom and made him sit on the floor,” Marko said Tuesday. “He was trying to get back into the room and she lost her temper and slammed the door and basically guillotined his finger.” Again, the Detroit Free Press reported in March 2018: “A 33-year-old Marshall Public Schools teacher was arrested Tuesday on charges he had sex with a 16-year-old female student…The mother found the daughter with the guy in Marshall…She got her daughter and went home and the daughter told her she has been having sex with the teacher.” In February 2018, WWMT.com reported a 29-yr-old Athens High School teacher who was reportedly having sex with his 16-yr-old student. The DFP in August 2018 reported: “A Troy middle school assistant principal was charged with second-degree home invasion Saturday after she allegedly broke into the home of a student to look for prescription pills…(A) video reportedly showed Buchanan, 47, looking through a purse and drawers and walking through the home. The homeowner said $40 was taken.” In August 2018, an investigation was launched regarding Van Buren Township elementary reading teacher who operates and performs for an X-rated internet porn site with her husband called, “Hot for Teachers.” These are the people who many parents are expecting to keep their children safe! I could go on and on and on with these kinds of stories (just in Michigan!). Years ago, the conservative news site, WorldNetDaily.com started a page of just female teacher / predators who had been arrested for having sex with their students. They complied a massive list, and then had to give up in 2014 because there were so many similar reports each week from across the country, they couldn’t keep up with it. There is a Facebook group called, “The Real Truth About Public Schools” that posts, sometimes dozens of stories EVERY SINGLE DAY of crimes and abuses against children in American public schools. And we haven’t even addressed bullying and cyber-bullying from other students, or school shootings! Students Assaulting Other Students A lawsuit was reported by MLive.com in March 2018 of the sexual abuse, in a teacher-monitored classroom, of a Grandville kindergarten student, by his classmates! “Parents of a boy say he was sexually assaulted in kindergarten by classmates who photographed the abuse on school-issued iPads. Grandville Public Schools, administrators and a teacher are named in a federal lawsuit alleging the district allowed the abuse to occur and failed to conduct a proper investigation after the allegations came to light.” October 2018, Fox17 reported that a 5-yr-old Muskegon Heights boy was reportedly sexually assaulted by his classmate. His mother had this to say, “I leave my son in you guys’ hands to protect him, and I feel like they neglected to protect him.” Also in October 2018, a horrible situation was reported by FOX2 where a 5-yr-old boy was forced to perform oral sex acts on an older elementary student on the school bus. Reportedly, the bus driver did not intervene, and other students just watched. “Parents say what’s even more upsetting is that the school district has not said anything about the incident,” FOX2 reported. This is happening in Kindergarten! Are Students Safer in Public Schools than at Home with Their Parents? While there are those who wish to scrounge around looking for any negligent or abusive parent, who claims to homeschool, as an excuse for regulating all homeschoolers, there is simply no evidence that putting perfectly safe children into a public-school environment makes them safe. I would argue the opposite is true. In the statistically rare occasion that a homeschooled student is being abused, at home, by his or her parents, those parents need to be prosecuted by existing-child abuse laws in the state (just like any other family where abuse takes place). Some may argue that homeschoolers have no one interacting with them to report abuse if it is occuring. The same could be said of public school students during summer break. Should all public school families have mandatory home visits to ensure none of them are abusing their children during the three months their students aren’t in school? The fact is, real homeschoolers interact with their families, their neighbors, their churches, and their communities, just like everyone else. They are also usually involved in some kind of homeschool support group or co-op (like those you can find HERE on our website), with other families, sharing academic classes, team sports, band / music, drama, debate, field trips, etc. It is ultimately people who care who are going to report child abuse, and you can’t create people who care through regulation. Making loving, caring homeschooling parents submit to additional requirements and government red tape like: Standardized testing, annual reporting, home visits, social worker visits, etc., only needlessly burdens them, costs taxpayers huge amounts of money to implement, and burdens a system that MSN.com says is already hyper-extended…just trying to keep up with all of the sexual abuse going on in the public school system alone. Our recommendation to legislators and reporters is to focus on what will actually solve the problem: Enforce the perfectly adequate laws we already have, rather than constantly trying to create new ones. MiCHN is committed to continuing our long legacy of defending homeschooling freedoms in Michigan. We appreciate your support as we stand up for parental rights to keep homeschooling free from unnecessary and useless additional regulation in our state. Please consider becoming a member of MiCHN.