[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 578 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                    September 26, 2000.
Whereas the United States is committed to excellence in education and to 
        strengthening the family;
Whereas parental choice and involvement are important to excellence in 
        education;
Whereas parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing 
        of their children;
Whereas home schooling families contribute significantly to cultural diversity, 
        which is important to a healthy society;
Whereas home education allows families the opportunity to provide their children 
        a sound academic education integrated with high ethical standards taught 
        within a safe and secure environment;
Whereas home education has been a major part of American education and culture 
        since the Nation's inception and demonstrates the American ideals of 
        innovation, entrepreneurship, and individual responsibility;
Whereas home education was proven successful in the lives of George Washington, 
        Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams, John Marshall, Robert E. Lee, Booker 
        T. Washington, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, 
        Woodrow Wilson, Mark Twain, John Singleton Copley, William Carey, 
        Phyllis Wheatley, and Andrew Carnegie, who were each home schooled;
Whereas today the United States has a significant number of parents who teach a 
        total of approximately 1,700,000 home schooled students, thus saving 
        several billion dollars on public education each year;
Whereas home schooled students exhibit self-confidence and good citizenship and 
        are fully prepared academically and socially to meet the challenges of 
        today's society;
Whereas scores of contemporary studies, including a 1999 University of Maryland 
        analysis of the nationally recognized Iowa Test of Basic Skills, confirm 
        that children who are educated at home perform exceptionally well on 
        nationally normed achievement tests, and such performance is also 
        demonstrated by the fact that home schooled students scored well above 
        the national average on the 2000 SAT and the 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 
        ACT;
Whereas studies demonstrate that home schooled students excel in college, with 
        the grade point average of home schooled students exceeding the college 
        average;
Whereas home schooled students continue to exhibit excellence in academic 
        competitions, as demonstrated by home schooled students finishing first, 
        second, and third in the 2000 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee and 
        by a home schooled student finishing second in the 2000 National 
        Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society; and
Whereas National Home Education Week, beginning on October 1, 2000, and ending 
        on October 7, 2000, furthers the goal of honoring home educators and 
        home schooled students for their efforts to improve the quality of 
        education in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates home educators and home schooled students across 
        the Nation for their ongoing contributions to education and for the role 
        they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for the 
        Nation;
            (2) honors home educators and home schooled students for their 
        efforts to improve the quality of education in the United States; and
            (3) supports the goals of National Home Education Week.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.