Senate Bill 2288 would give taxpayers an income tax credit in exchange for contributions that provide educational scholarships to low-income students. The credit would be equal to 75% of the amount contributed by the taxpayer.
Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota strongly believes that the best educational system is one that gives children a wide-open future and the tools to explore God’s calling in their lives. We want to advance policies that empower parents to have decision-making power when it comes to their children’s educational opportunities. This bill would help accomplish that.
This is an important bill, so please contact our Senators and ask them to vote “YES” on SB2288. The fastest way to do this is through our email alert system. Simply click here, fill in your information, and click send.
Thank you!
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director
When you turn on the national news, it’s easy to grow frustrated or face despair. Our president is a wicked man, surrounded by wicked ideologues, and possesses a House and Senate with pervasive wickedness. Yes, it’s sad.
But, here in Georgia, we are – for now – seeing a different story.
It’s easy to make jokes about the Capitol and the politicians that work there. And, yes, there are frustrating things about the way that building operates.
Yet, under the Gold Dome, we’re seeing a lot of good things. Here are just a few:
- Our bill (HB 212) “Simon’s Law” by Rep. Kasey Carpenter passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously after hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday. This bill is a pro-life, pro-parental rights bill that requires a doctor to get parental consent before placing a Do Not Resuscitate Order on a minor child – a glaring hole in Georgia code right now.
- Another FPA of GA endorsed bill, (HB 128) “Gracie’s Law” by Rep. Rick Williams passed the Health and Human Services Committee after a favorable vote on Tuesday. This life affirming bill prevents discrimination against those with physical or mental disabilities from being on the transplant list.
- After a great press conference last week for (HB 276) “Save Girls Sports” by Rep. Philip Singleton, we had a strong hearing in the Academic Support Education Subcommittee. We fully expect this bill to continue to move and, eventually, become law.
- FPA of GA endorsed bills (SBs 33 and 34) by Sen. Clint Dixon dealing with Human Trafficking passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- Another big priority bill (HB 290) “Right to Visit” by Rep. Ed Setzler” had a phenomenal and inspiring hearing. We had more than a dozen great testimonies, and we were proud to play a role. We expect this bill to move.
- Maternal Home Bills (HB 257 and SB 116) by Rep. Setzler and Sen. Randy Robertson are now both moving.
- Moreover, we made progress on legislation to empower homeschool families, enhance school choice, protect vulnerable children, and more.
- And, it’s also exciting to see, while egregious cuts are destroying state budgets, Georgia’s budget is in great health – and a $1,000 stipend was given to state employees who need it.
We’re actively lobbying, testifying, and strategizing to pass our legislative agenda, and none of this would have been possible if we had not won 80% of the elections we were involved in during 2020. If you want to keep this progress in Georgia, please consider a generous donation of $50, $100, $250, or greater today.
While these gains are encouraging, we don’t have to look far to see where this hope could fade:
- Georgia liberals continue to show how similar they are to liberals in California and New York. One of the most shocking and absurd statements occurred when one elected representative – speaking on gender – declared “we know according to science that the definition of ‘sex’ is a spectrum.” It was hard not to laugh at such an egregiously unscientific statement.
- Liberals unanimously voted against protections for businesses – the very businesses that have helped Georgia’s economy continue to thrive.
- After statewide wins have emboldened them, Georgia liberals tried to pass a resolution praising Stacey Abrams. She continues to loom in the background of everything.
We have hope. We’re seeing reasons for hope. And, we’re also seeing regular reminders of why we must continue to fight. I hope you’ll stand with us.
For Georgia,
Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director
The Covid crisis has reminded us of many things in New Jersey. One lesson we’ve re-learned: state government will happily seize unconstitutional power and tighten its grasp unless challenged by their own political party. And modern education does not work because it has a misplaced priority on unionized adults instead of the students. I urge us to take this Covid moment and change how we do education.
I believe children should not be required to attend failing school districts simply because of their zip code or financial status. In other words, I believe in Education Equality. Fourteen states recently passed bills approving Education Savings Accounts. This allows money to follow the student to whichever school the family determines is in the best interest of the child. Education Savings Accounts put the student first! It’s a parent driven, child-centered plan of education. How innovative!
New Jersey spends on average over $20,000 per pupil – the fourth highest in the nation behind New York, Washington DC, and Connecticut. Yet, with so much money invested in schools (notice I did not say in students – there is difference), the legislature and Governor Murphy are afraid to give parents a choice. They are aware of the data. According to Real Clear Opinion Research, 77% of people surveyed support school choice (educational equality).
This week, I had the opportunity to join school choice advocates from across the political spectrum. Together, we discussed how we can influence our legislature to put the health and future of children above the special interest of elections and political donations. In addition, I led a strategy conversation with key denominational and church affiliation leaders. We are working to mobilize the faith community to engage with their legislators on these issues: namely, to support parents’ rights in determining how and where their children are educated.
I look forward to making Education Equality a major emphasis of the 2021 elections. Candidates for office face a brutal and burdensome vetting process by the powerful New Jersey Education Association. Tragically, they fiercely oppose equal opportunities for students. Let us support those candidates who will give parents the ability to decide what is best for their children.
Let’s make New Jersey better!
Shawn Hyland
Executive Director
It’s a busy week in Topeka. One bill that is getting a lot of emphasis is the expansion of the Student Tax Credit Scholarship and we need your help to get it passed. This program has given hundreds of students an opportunity for a better education.
This is an existing program that allows taxpayers to get a tax credit for donating to a Scholarship Granting Organization. These organizations then provide scholarships to kids who come from low-income families and come from the lowest performing schools.
The expansion of the program will allow even more students into the program by broadening which families qualify based on income and what schools they attend. This will allow more students to receive the benefit of this program and use private funds that are already being held by the scholarship granting organizations.
This is a simple way to help low-income families and kids. Why wouldn’t we want to invest in our kids through this simple program? A better education is a pathway for many of these kids to invest in our communities and economies in the future.
Ask your Senator to support the Student Tax Credit Scholarship. It’s easy on our action center. S.B. 61 will heard on the Senate floor tomorrow.
So all kids thrive,
Brittany Jones, Esq.
Director of Advocacy
Friends,
I wanted to share with you the press release we just sent out regarding HB 290, the “Right to Visit” bill that will be heard in committee this week.
We are honored to work with Rep. Ed Setzler in this fight that values every life and upholds the importance of the family.
Cole Muzio
President and Executive Director
| For Immediate Release February 8, 2021 Contact: Brittany Ellison 
Family Policy Alliance of Georgia Backs Right to Visit Proposal ATLANTA – Family Policy Alliance of Georgia announced its strong support for House Bill 290, the “Right to Visit Act.” This bill, authored by State Representative Ed Setzler, would require hospitals and nursing homes to allow patients to visit with family members for a minimum of two hours each day, even during public health emergencies. “Access to loved ones while struggling and vulnerable is key to mental and physical well-being,” said Deputy Director Brittany Ellison. “No crisis should result in a person being denied the ability to visit family members in what could be their final hours of life, nor should anyone have to choose between vital healthcare and being with family.” HB 290 has been assigned to the House Human Relations & Aging Committee and is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, February 10 at 2:00 PM. Testimony from both medical professionals and everyday Georgians relating real-life stories of people being separated from their families during times of profound need is expected to overwhelm the available meeting space. “Requiring dying patients to say goodbye to sobbing family members through the 5-inch screen of an i-Phone is absolutely unacceptable,” said Rep. Setzler (R – Acworth). “In June 2020, the General Assembly provided unprecedented COVID-19 legal protections to all health care providers with the intent they would allow patients to visit their family members. Sadly, many providers accepted the legal protections, but continued to stonewall families from basic visitation, even if they could prove they were COVID-19 negative. We need to be crystal clear that the right to visit, subject to reasonable restrictions, is a basic human right that our non-profit hospitals and long-term care providers must find a way to accommodate.” Family Policy Alliance of Georgia endorses HB 290 as it fights for a state where “families thrive” and “life is cherished.” ### |
Dear Friends,
In less than 10 days, more than 4,000 people have used our Action Center to urge Governor Murphy to veto legislation that would force school districts to teach sexual orientation and transgender identity lessons beginning in kindergarten.
News media in New Jersey and national markets have covered this outrageous legislation.
First, if you have not contacted the Governor – click here! We need you to add your voice to the thousands who have spoken out already. Governor Murphy has 45 days after the passage of this bill on Jan. 11 to veto it. It is not too late to tell him that these lessons are inappropriate at such a young age and should be left to parents.
Second, we need you to share this action alert through text and email. The most direct way of informing your friends is to forward them this link. Social media sites often suppress “shares” of our action alerts to prevent people from knowing what is really happening. Please text or email your friends to encourage them to protect the minds and bodies of young children.
Thank you for spreading the word!
Sincerely,
Shawn Hyland
Director of Advocacy
Senate Bill 2176 would reimburse parents of students who previously received in-person instruction, but who now are receiving remote instruction by parents because of COVID. It would provide $1,500 in funds to the family for the first child, and $500 for each child thereafter and be entirely financed from federal COVID funding, not the state budget.
SB2176 is a bill long overdue. Parents have needed financial help for instructing their children during COVID for a long time and this bill seeks to remedy that situation. We need your help encouraging your Senator to vote “Yes” on Senate Bill 2176.
Please send a message asap, urging your Senator to support this bill. The system will automatically send your request to your own Senator, based on your address.
Now is the time to speak up to support families here in North Dakota. They have borne these COVID costs long enough and need to have some relief!
Sincerely,
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director
Fellow North Dakotans,
COVID has been a trying experience for us all, but perhaps in a unique way for parents of K-12 students. Parents have had to instantly become teachers at home, taking an enormous amount of time to help their children study, as well as buying computers and supplies, upgrading internet service, supplying lunches, arranging childcare, and sometimes providing special education and employing tutors. Nevertheless, the vast majority of federal COVID funding earmarked for education that North Dakota has received so far has gone to schools, not to parents incurring these costs. Senate Bill 2176 would fix this inequity, and your voice to legislators is needed!
Senate Bill 2176 has a number of features that would apply to any ND student who previously received in-person instruction, but who now is receiving remote instruction by parents because of COVID. It would provide $1,500 in funds to the family for the first child, and $500 for each child thereafter, with a cap of $2,500 per family. The bill would be targeted at average and below-average income families, would be retroactive (reimburse expenses already incurred), and would reimburse for child care – an expensive component for many families. SB2176 would tap remaining federal COVID funding as well as future federal COVID funding, so it would not create a drain on the state budget.
SB2176 is a bill long overdue. Parents have needed financial help for instructing their children during COVID for a long time and this bill seeks to remedy that situation. We need your help in encouraging the Senate Education Committee to render a “DO PASS” decision on this bill.
There are two ways to do this. First, you can send a message to all of the members of the Senate Education Committee, urging them to support North Dakota parents. Second, you can testify via written document or online during the hearing by signing up here. Now is the time to speak up to support families here in North Dakota!
Sincerely,
Mark Jorritsma
President and Executive Director
Dear Friends,
As you have heard, the Senate and Assembly have passed a bill that mandates sexual orientation and gender identity diversity lessons starting in kindergarten. This will only complicate and confuse the understanding of human sexuality for these very young children.
- The original bill was approved by the Assembly on Oct. 29, 2020. It only mandated these sexual orientation and gender identity diversity lessons in 9th-12th grade.
- However, the Senate approved an amended version on Dec. 17, 2020. Their amendment required these human sexuality lessons beginning in kindergarten.
- On Jan. 11, 2021, the Assembly voted in favor of this amendment to lower the age of students learning about human sexuality from 14 years old to 5 years old!
Gender identity lessons present an unscientific and unhealthy view of human sexuality. It indoctrinates students with the idea that a person’s gender is different than a person’s gender expression and might be different than a person’s biological sex. This conversation should be left to parents to have with their child at an appropriate age.
We need you to contact Gov. Murphy to urge him to respect the fundamental religious beliefs of millions of New Jersey citizens by vetoing this legislation. Please protect the minds and the bodies of children in New Jersey.
Thank you for spreading the word!
Sincerely,
Advocacy Director
Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey
Friends,
The Coeur d’Alene Press is reporting that an elementary school counselor gave “guidance” on gender transition to a ten-year-old female student, encouraging her decision to live as a ‘boy’ without even notifying the girl’s family.
The counselor works for Northwest Expedition Academy, a public elementary school in the Coeur d’Alene School District. A phone recording released by the family reveals that the counselor told the student she supported her decision to identify as the other sex. The counselor even gave the student tips on how to come out as a boy to her family.
The young girl tragically lost her father three years ago in Afghanistan while he was serving in the Army. She currently lives with her mother and grandmother, who argue that the trauma and emotional pain this young girl feels will not be solved by “transitioning.”
We’re speaking out to the school district where this happened – and we invite you to do the same.
Providing so-called “gender affirming treatment” for children who struggle with gender dysphoria is not only psychologically harmful but also often puts confused children on the road to dangerous hormonal therapies and sex reassignment surgeries. Many young girls have suffered irreversible harm – including permanent , as well as the maiming of healthy body parts through mastectomies and other surgeries – while receiving “gender affirming treatment.”
Parents have an inalienable right to direct the upbringing of their children. School officials should never circumvent parents when it comes to intensely personal and very controversial topics like gender identity.
The Coeur d’Alene School District plans to review their policies for school counselors at an upcoming board meeting. Send a message now asking the school district to protect parental rights. It only takes a minute of your time—and it could make the difference for a vulnerable child and their family.
Standing for your right to raise your children,
Blaine Conzatti
Director of Advocacy