Homeschool Horizons

AB 84 Latest Update From My Husband And Me

• Episode 19

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My husband is here to weigh in on the update.

To find your state senator go to, http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov

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You can send me a message or comment at homeschoolhorizons@yahoo.com

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Homeschool Horizons. I'm Yvette. Your host. And today, everybody, I told you last week that I was going to be updating you on the outcome of AB84. You know, I was going to let you know what the vote was. Today, I also wanted to invite my husband to weigh in on on what he thought about the outcome and just to give his opinion and his own opinions and his own outlook on several things. So please, you know, here he is, my husband, Lee.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, audience.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. So... Probably a lot of you have already heard about what the actual outcome was on July 16th regarding AB 84, but in case you haven't, the Senate Education Committee passed it by a 4-2 vote. Yep, they passed it. And what I wanted to tell you guys, though, is it's not a law yet. What will happen now is that it will go to something called the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the senators will review how much this bill will end up costing them. If they pass the bill through, then it will go to the Senate floor for a vote. There are 40 senators that will be voting. If they pass it, then it goes back to the Assembly for a vote as well. If that passes, then it will go to the governor for signature. Once the governor signs off on it, It would then become the law. So the process is going to actually take several months. I had no idea how long this process could take. I am so new to learning, as I told you guys before, about how all of it even works. But I have been so amazed at the dedication of so many homeschool moms that I admire who won't give in, no matter how long it takes. So... My husband and I watched the Senate Education Committee meeting on July 16th. There was a live stream link posted on Band, and we got to watch it that way. And this was actually the first meeting we've ever seen, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it was very enlightening, a lot of ups and downs, but it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, there were actually two representatives from the California Teachers Association that spoke to the committee as to why AB 84 should pass. And there were also two representatives from our homeschool community that spoke about why it shouldn't pass. Lee, how did you feel about those two presentations?

SPEAKER_00:

I thought it was fair. I was happy to see that the way the committee is structured that Both viewpoints got to present. Obviously, when the side that is for this bill was presenting, I couldn't help but feel the emotions of like, er.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, we were not liking that.

SPEAKER_00:

But I was delighted to see that our side of point of view was presented as well for homeschooling and the fairness of it. And that was nice.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, that was good. That was a good part. After those two sides spoke, they opened up the microphone for everyone else that came to the meeting. They called it, Lee was just reminding me, they called it like what?

SPEAKER_00:

I think it was the Me Too microphone. People,

SPEAKER_01:

yeah, it was weird. But there was like 200 people there, 200 families and different people. It was a lot of people. And what they were supposed to do was say that, you know, they were supposed to come to the mic and state who they were, what organization they were with, and whether they opposed or supported the bill. And so many homeschool moms attended and their children attended, too. It was really beautiful and heartwarming to see and hear them all, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I was inspired to see the commitment of so many families. You know, obviously, you know, when the people... stated where they were from. There were people that, you know, live close to Sacramento. So it wasn't, you know, as big of a trek for those families. But we heard families from San Diego, just different parts of California. And to see that they were able to commit to driving all the way to Sacramento, that was encouraging.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah. Completely encouraging. Yeah. The Freedom Angels were there as well. And so were some of our charters representatives. Definitely, we were very... The whole watching of it made us very emotional, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. And being a public school teacher myself, when I would see the people that were for the passing of this bill, you know, many of them were from the public school sector. When I would see them say, and we are in favor of this bill, as a public school teacher, I was... I was feeling emotional. I was like, that's not right. I mean, it's okay that they present their opinion, but I wish I could have been there saying, well, I'm a public school teacher and I think that families should have freedom, that education should be opened up and have that freedom for families all throughout California.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, education for everyone, regardless of how they choose to do it, education for everyone. Yeah, so, well... My husband actually also came with me to the silent rally that we attended on Monday, July 14th. So, you know, we attended with our sons and we went to the city of Santa Ana. And for me, it was really inspiring to see families come to that rally as well that day. How did you feel?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. In fact, as we were driving to try to find the offices of this California senator, I My wife was feeling a little slightly anxious because we had no idea how many people would be showing up to, you know, have this opposition, the rally.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And it was such a breath of fresh air to see how many people showed up. And, you know, I was the only adult man there. Oh my

SPEAKER_01:

gosh, it's true.

SPEAKER_00:

It was only moms.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And children

SPEAKER_01:

and children and moms and children and you. Yeah. Yes. Oh, my gosh. Well, unfortunately, we didn't get to speak to the senator's staff members like I thought we would because they didn't have their doors open for their constituents. So when I say constituents, because, again, not everybody knows. So, like, my husband and I don't live in that district. that senator's district. So that particular senator is not our senator that represents where we live. But we still wanted to go there to support them, the people that live in that district. So the people that live in that district are the constituents. And they didn't open the door for their constituents. They even drew their shades down as well. What do you think about that, Lee?

SPEAKER_00:

I was aghast. I was mortified. This is their public servants. Their job as representatives is to listen to their constituents and vote to literally represent what their constituents believe in and want to vote for. And the fact that they closed their doors and what they cited was for safety reasons.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, for safety reasons.

SPEAKER_00:

They were... afraid of all of these moms and children and you know maybe there were like a couple teenagers but most of them were little tiny children and me the sole adult man and there is the offices the grounds they have security that walk yep they had two security

SPEAKER_01:

guards that were walking around

SPEAKER_00:

and yeah so I was aghast at the I would call it It

SPEAKER_01:

was coward, coward. But I was just so grateful when I saw. So I saw a homeschool mom talking on the phone vehemently to someone. And and later I found out she was an attorney and I was so thankful that she was there. Did you hear her any of what she was saying? I

SPEAKER_00:

did. She was very calm. And she spoke as someone who knows legal rights. You could tell just by the way she spoke that she knew about the law and not just the law, but the process of our political process of how people are heard. She even at one point said, could we at least sign the book? that it's official, that your constituents are here and they're registering their formal opposition to this bill. There's a book that's supposed to be, it's for this purpose. When constituents come in, to have a written record of this. And they wouldn't open the door.

SPEAKER_01:

Did they talk? But then next thing I knew, I thought I saw her call over a lot of the constituents and they were talking on the phone?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. Yes. Basically, the attorney woman was pleading and reasoning with the staffers from the senator's office. Can we at least... Can the constituents that are out here at least voice their opinion over the phone? You don't have to open the doors, but maybe they conceded to that.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. Well, I was just so thankful that she was there. To me, she was like a rock star for what she did. I mean, the whole thing was really sad to me, though, because of the children that were there. Because, you know, our own children were there, and it was a horrible example of our judicial system. You know, like... Yep. But, I mean, and then after that, I heard on band from many who visited other Senate offices throughout California, and their experiences were wonderful. I mean, many of those staff members had their doors open and welcomed the families in to talk, and some even gave out cookies to the children. I'm

SPEAKER_00:

just shaking my head here.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we're just shaking our... That's how it should have been in Santa Ana.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. Because... Many of the moms, you know, we get to overhear conversations. They really had kind of built this up for their children to like, this is a part of our process. You know, our social studies, our social studies curriculum, our freedoms as citizens of this great state of California. And to have those freedoms and that process be squashed against little children. It was just it was awful.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I know. You know, in spite of all that, though, I'm chose and I'm continuing to choose to focus on the families that did show up. You know, there were some so like, as you said, there were a lot of families there. I didn't expect there to be such a big outcome.

SPEAKER_00:

I would say there was like at least 40 or 50 people there. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And and, you know, and that attorney mom who fought for our right to be heard. You know, that's what I choose to focus on.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

So anyways, you know, I want to talk about now the bill that passed, right? So the bill passed, as I told you earlier, the Senate Education Committee, and it's going to go to what's called the Appropriations Committee next. All of the senators actually are now on vacation until August 18th. I think that once they return from their vacation is when we're going to need to begin calling again. Yeah. But again, I've been posting the numbers of the of the Senate Education Committee on my podcast. But today I'm going to post just the link to find your rep because who you're going to call now is your state senator. So I'm going to be posting that link, you know. So you're going to be calling too. Are you going to be calling too, husband?

SPEAKER_00:

I will be calling too. And just as a reminder, these are obviously for individuals who reside in the state of California.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, exactly. I'm going to keep you updated from time to time over these next few months as to what more we can do. Thank you to all of you who so diligently called the senators on the education committee. Those of you that also attended the silent rallies and those of you that made the trek. to Sacramento, from places like San Diego, on July 16th, right? Yeah. God bless all of you guys. Let's keep praying and working together to defeat this bill. Thank you guys so much for listening today. And thank you, husband, for being here again and sharing your thoughts and your opinion, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

You are very welcome.

SPEAKER_01:

Everybody have yourselves a wonderful week. Talk to you guys soon. We'll

SPEAKER_00:

be

SPEAKER_01:

right back.