HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSN for HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSN
What was lobbied
4 issue areas, each in the filer's own words, with who lobbied on it and where.
Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX
Support of expanding the Coverdell Education Savings Account to include homeschool expenses, and also to expand 529 Plans to include k-12 homeschool expenses. Support of expanding the Child Tax Credit. Support of H.R. 2624, the Military Child Educational Freedom Act, introduced by Congressman Joe Wilson, which will expand Coverdell Education Savings Accounts for military families who homeschool their children. Meetings with Congressional staff, White House staff, staff to the Vice President, and Department of Education staff to oppose language such as in H.R. 610 which would give federal vouchers to homeschoolers. HSLDA opposes this because it could lead to future regulations on homeschoolers.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| WILLIAM ANTHONY ESTRADA | — |
Family issues/Abortion/Adoption FAM
Meeting with Members of Congress and their staff about the Parental Rights Amendment to the US Constitution, which would enshrine parental rights as a fundamental right into the text of the US Constitution. Meetings with potential sponsors of the PRA in the House and Senate to seek sponsors to reintroduce the PRA. Introduction of S.J.Res. 48, the Parental Rights Amendment, and urging senators to sign on as cosponsors. Urging staff for the President and Vice President to withdraw the United States as a signatory from the UN Disabilities Treaty and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as both of these treaties threaten US sovereignty and parental rights. Meetings with Members of Congress and their staff about the need to amend CAPTA (the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act) and ASFA (the Adoption and Safe Families Act) to better protect family integrity.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| WILLIAM ANTHONY ESTRADA | — |
Immigration IMM
Alerting Members of Congress and their staff and the Executive Branch about the threat to homeschool freedom internationally. Meetings with USCIRF on this issue. Urging the US to grant asylum to persecuted homeschoolers in Cuba, or to put sanctions on Cuba, for that nation's persecution of homeschooling. Support of H.R. 391 which includes HSLDA's language to grant up to 500 individuals per year asylum in the United States, if they are facing persecution overseas because of their decision to homeschool, or be homeschooled. Urging Congress and the Administration to help Pastor Ramon and Adya Rigal, homeschool parents in Cuba who were sentenced to prison for choosing to homeschool their children.
Foreign entity interest: Pastor Ramon and Adya Rigal, homeschool parents in Cuba, and their children.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| WILLIAM ANTHONY ESTRADA | — |
Education EDU
Protection of home education from government regulation - meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, White House staff, and staff for the U.S. Department of Education to talk about general homeschool success and to ask the federal government to "leave us alone." HSLDA strongly opposes any federal government involvement in k-12 education, as well as early education, including any federal money for homeschooling. Meetings with Congressional and White House staff to oppose H.R. 610, a bill which would give federal vouchers to homeschoolers. Meetings with Members of Congress and their staff on improvements to the Higher Education Act to clarify that homeschool graduates are considered to be high school graduates for the purposes of federal student aid.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| WILLIAM ANTHONY ESTRADA | — |
Shown as published by the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The official filing is the record; open it for the full form.