Iowa Homeschooling Families to Rally at Statehouse March 17

DES MOINES — The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE) will hold its 2009 “Home School Day at the Capitol” on Tuesday, March 17. The event will present an overview of the legislative process and help homeschooling families effectively communicate and build relationships with their elected officials.

Activities will begin at 9 a.m. in the East Wing of the Capitol Rotunda, with tables showcasing homeschooling in Iowa and providing families with instruction on legislation and lobbying. Musical selections will be performed by home-educated students throughout the day. Tours of the Capitol, provided by Capitol Tour Guides, will be available throughout the day on a first-come, first-served basis, with signup at the NICHE registration table.

A noon rally will be held from 12:00 to 12:30 on the west steps of the Capitol Building. The rally will feature Scott Woodruff, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association, speaking on “Protecting Parental Rights.”

Individual legislators will address families in the Wallace Building Auditorium from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., followed by two workshops: Representatives from the Nebraska Christian Home Educators Association will discuss their close call in nearly losing their rights to homeschool last year and how they successfully defended those rights; and Woodruff will present an audience-participation “mock trial” depicting what could happen to parental rights if the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child is ratified.

Formed in 1992, NICHE is Iowa’s only statewide homeschooling organization providing support and information to home educating families through a variety of events and resources, including an annual conference, a formal graduation service, a monthly newsletter, legislative services and multi-faceted assistance to local homeschooling groups and individual families.

For more information about NICHE, click here.

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