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S. 100—Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2009 (HOMES Act)

Background:
The goal of the HOMES Act is to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an optional tax deduction for parents who choose to homeschool their children. The legislation would help alleviate the financial burden incurred by many homeschooling families by providing a tax deduction of up to $500 per child (with an annual limit of $2,000) for education related expenses, including books, supplies, academic tutoring, special needs services, and computer equipment. Families who do not itemize their tax returns would still be eligible for a similar standard deduction. Furthermore, this legislation would apply to all homeschool programs, including those in states that only have a private school statute.

For years homeschooling families have paid a disproportionately high cost for education related expenses, as parents who homeschool their children fund not only their own educational materials but also continue to finance public education via their tax dollars. Hence, homeschool parents incur an inequitable financial burden in regard to their children’s education. The HOMES Act would help families afford homeschool materials and ensure that homeschool students enjoy similar rights and treatment to students enrolled in public education. If passed, this legislation would be the first time that the federal tax code provided homeschooling families with a tax deduction for homeschool expenses.

This legislation would not create a federal definition of homeschooling. HSLDA strongly opposes any federal definition of homeschooling and will continue to oppose any legislation that seeks to increase government control over education. The HOMES Act is simply a federal tax deduction bill that would create a tax deduction to help relieve the additional financial burden incurred by families who homeschool. This is not a voucher program, but rather a standard tax deduction, just like any other type of federal tax deduction, such as those for business expenses and charitable donations. While the IRS would define what constitutes a homeschool expense, it will not, in any way, create a definition for homeschooling. Hence, this bill would not expand government control over homeschooling, but, on the contrary, give homeschool families an optional opportunity to deduct a portion of their homeschool expenses from their federal income tax.

Introduced: 1/6/09: Introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance

Sponsor: Senator David Vitter (LA)
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Link

The numbers and average scores for the Public School students are compiled from the Department’s own TVAAS system which gives results by school and by school system.

I have a full report (TN ACT Scores 2008.pdf) which pulls the data together and shows the average composite ACT score for all 119 school systems in Tennessee with high schools. Here’s a portion of the final page:


Link


The report is an update to research I did last spring, during the furor over the Tennessee Department of Education’s arbitrary decision to reject homeschool and diplomas for state regulated jobs in law enforcement and daycare. I was hoping to discover the average ACT score for Tennessee homeschool students so that I could compare it to the average ACT score for Tennessee public school students. Sadly, the ACT Corp. doesn’t report the homeschool scores separately for individual states.

The irony and outrage here is that the state Department of Education has the audacity to reject the high school diplomas issued by homeschools and church-related schools while at the same time using the higher ACT scores from those students to boost their own average.

The Tennessee legislature needs to take steps in 2009 to clearly adopt a policy that recognizes homeschool and church school diplomas and overturn the arrogant attacks by the Department of Education.

Rob Shearer, Vice President
Tennessee Association of Church-Related Schools (TACRS)
Last edited by LMM
Hi greenhill,
I think it has as much of a chance of passing as the Tebow bill.

I liked TN attitude too. Even beeb agreed on the other thread that home school kids make higher on the ACT, but yet, they are being limited in their education?
LOL.

Who do you buy your supplies from? I used AOP for most of mine. Some Christian Liberty and Saxon math as well.
Nationally, homeschool students average ONE POINT higher, skewed by the very different student populations taking the exam. In other words, saying that homeschool students outscore public school students is not really statistically valid.

The average score for Caucasian public school students equals or exceeds that of homeschooled students, even though there are many, MANY more test takers, representing a much wider socio-economic spectrum.
(And, yes, I know very well that homeschoolers who take the ACT average one full point higher than public school kids--ask them if it matters.)
If it does not matter, then why did you bring it up?

'''The average score for Caucasian public school students equals or exceeds that of home schooled students'''
That actually sounds racist teacher and it also shows that home school kids equal or are slightly behind those Caucasian kids.
Do you think all home school families are white?
Homeschool vs Public School - Examining The Two Top Arguments
By Darin Sewell Platinum Quality Author
Darin Sewell


Darin Sewell is a online entrepreneur with many interest that range from personal finance to marine aquariums. He hopes to share his knowledge with the ... ...

Many parents across America have decided to follow a recent and growing trend of removing their kids from public school systems and homeschooling their children. While it is viewed by many teaching professionals as detrimental to a childs educational development the parents who have taught their children at home will tell you its the best thing for their kids.When the battle of homeschool vs public school rears its ugly head both sides will argue their points passionately. But it seems that two main points always come up in an attempt to discredit homeschooling. Knowing what these points are will help you make a more informed choice for your family.

Argument #1 The Kids Are Not Developing Adequate Social Skills

This seems to be the main complaint against home education. Many so called experts feel that kids who are instructed by the parents in the home do not engage with enough of their peers to develop good social skills. While this maybe true in some cases it is extremely rare, and many home schooled children have on average as many friends that public school children have. Many parents use church groups, neighbors,playgroups and many other social resources to keep their children properly socialized. In fact the type of children your kids associate with can be more closely monitored when home schooling, while the public school children have more exposure to the bad apples!

Argument #2 Parents Cannot Teach As Good

This argument appears to be based on emotional response most teachers have to kids who are given a home education. Many teaching professional feel that their college education makes them superior when it comes to instructing kids. But if you look at the education statistics in America you can see how badly the public system has been performing. The failing system is one of the main reason parents remove their kids from the public schools and take their education into their own hands. And with the many different resources available today for these parents it is hard to argue their kids are receiving a less then adequate education. After all it has been proven time and time again that home schooled children have academic abilities that are as good or in many cases better then their public schooled peers. This is because the parents can concentrate on teaching and developing their childs weak points. This is not possible in a public school setting where the teacher must keep the class moving and cannot slow down or change course for one student.

There are many more arguments in the homeschool vs public school debate that can all sway you one way or the other. So if you are considering teaching your kids at home do some research and make a well informed decision based on facts and not just emotion.
US News
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CBNNews US


Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools
By Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
May 2, 2007

CBNNews.com - It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, "To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Many homeschoolers share this sentiment when it comes to public schools, believing that the moral relativism, violence, peer pressure, drugs and promiscuity found inside their gates provide an inadequate setting to properly socialize their children.

CBN NEWS:
States Get Graded on School Performance
Yet 92 percent of superintendents believe that home learners are emotionally unstable, deprived of proper social development and too judgmental of the world around them, according to a California study by researcher Dr. Brian Ray .

What makes homeschool socialization such a hot topic?

With approximately 4 million children currently being homeschooled in the U.S., along with a 15- to 20-percent yearly growth rate, many professional educators and school boards are concerned that this exodus will keep funds from entering the public education system.

Many teachers also believe that successful home instruction by uncredentialed parents undermines their expertise and jeopardizes their jobs.
Racist? How? Racial differences in standardized test scores are widely acknowledged--I imagine that's why both the various testing organizations and the states report scores by ethnicity. Those differences are relevant to this discussion since, of the 2.2% of the nation's children currently homeschooled, more than 80% are Caucasian. By contrast, only about half the nation's public school students are Caucasian.
quote:
Many homeschoolers share this sentiment when it comes to public schools, believing that the moral relativism, violence, peer pressure, drugs and promiscuity found inside their gates provide an inadequate setting to properly socialize their children.


That is true of society as a whole. Always was, always will be.

The fact of the matter of that if you are allowing the school to teach your child morals, then it is YOUR fault (speaking generally, not directly at you, LMM) not the school's fault.

Sure, HS'ers perform better than average on the ACT. So do private schools (secular and non). I am not surprised, But if you take a sampling of the exact same public school student from the same demographic I am nearly certainly you would see identical results - behaviorally as well as academically.

The ONLY thing that matter with grades, morality, drug use and post-graduation success is parental involvement. Can you imagine how much better our public school would be if all the parents who are now private/HS would get involved with local education? I certainly am involved and certainly make a difference, You could too, you know. The goodness of your child might be a positive influence on some other deserving child who needs a little help (and I am now speaking directly to LMM Wink ).
[quote]Racial differences in standardized test scores are widely acknowledged--[/quote\

Hogwash. There is no correlation between race and performance. There certainly IS a correlation between poverty and scholastic performance (measured by the "free or reduced price lunch" kids) - which just happens to generally correlate with race making it appear (to the uninitiated)there there is a race correlation.

The fact of the matter is that kids from the same demographic perform equally regardless of race.
''You could too, you know. The goodness of your child might be a positive influence on some other deserving child who needs a little help (and I am now speaking directly to LMM Wink ).''

Skep, if you had read all of the threads on home school, I said I was very involved at the elementary level, the high school pushed me away.
I am not going to rewrite all that. Or copy/post. You can find it.
My final word. (Yeah, heard THAT before Wink ).
This expresses all the points nicely and its a recent article.

HOME-SCHOOLING: Home-schooling popularity grows

By Michael Smith | Sunday, February 1, 2009


Recently, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Institute of Education Sciences under the U.S. Department of Education, released a study on home-schooling demographics. The first survey from the NCES on home-schooling was conducted in 1999, the next in 2003, and now the current survey, which is based on information compiled in 2007.

The 2007 survey estimates there are 1.5 million home-schooled children in the United States, representing 2.9 percent of the school-age population. This is up from 1.1 million in 2003, which represented 2.2 percent of the school-age population. In 1999, there were an estimated 850,000 home-schooled children, which means home-schooling has grown 74 percent since 1999, and 36 percent since 2003.

The survey also asked parents their reasons for home-schooling. The largest category selected by the parents was a concern about school environment with 88 percent. This compares with 85 percent in 2003. The next largest category was concerns over religious or moral instruction, which was chosen by 83 percent of parents. Seventy-two percent of parents cited this concern in 2003. The third highest category was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools, with 73 percent agreeing with this statement in 2007 compared with 68 percent in 2003.

When the parents were asked which one of the selected reasons for home-schooling was the most important, religious or moral instruction was the highest with 36 percent. For 21 percent of parents, the most important reason was concern about the school environment, and for 17 percent, it was dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools. Other reasons, including family time, finances, travel and distance, were cited by 14 percent of parents.

The obvious conclusions that can be drawn from the survey is that home-schooling continues to grow at a significant rate. Because it is unlikely there will be any major change in public schools in the near future, it's reasonable to believe home-schooling will continue to grow.

Because the modern home-schooling movement has been around for more than 25 years, it is becoming a more diverse education movement. Almost everyone knows at least one home-schooling family. Additionally, the outstanding academic and sporting achievements of home-schoolers are widely reported. For example, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was home-schooled until he entered college.

Another possible explanation for the rapid increase in home-schooling is that it's much easier to home-school now than even five years ago. More and more education programs and curricula are being produced for home-schoolers and are available through DVDs, the Internet, satellite TV, etc.

It is well-known that the average home-schooled child scores well on academic tests. This is because, in part, home-schooling parents can shape their educational program to their child. This contrasts with a school setting where the child has to conform to the educational program that is provided.

Some parents, especially as their children get older, have been concerned their children might miss out on the extracurricular activities available at the public school. Home-school networks across the country, however, have stepped up their efforts to provide a wide array of extracurricular activities for home-school students. Sports leagues, band, drama, debate and many other activities are now being provided for home-schoolers. Even football leagues are available for home-school students.

The bottom line in the continued growth of home-schooling is that every responsible parent wants to see their child succeed and they realize the upbringing and education of the child will determine, by and large, whether that child will be a successful adult. For more and more parents, home-schooling is being viewed as the best way to raise their children. The success of the home-schooling movement shows they are making the right choice.
Skep, I believe I've included "socio-economic" in my responses. My assumption is that scores continue to be reported by race because, a.) racial bias in the test structure continues to be a concern, and, b.) it would be impossible to accurately organize the results by economic and social demographics.

I believe that most rational folks understand that the kids who average highest on standardized tests are those living in affluent, two-parent homes in strong, established neighborhoods. Unfortunately, those continue to skew along racial lines, or do you live in a different world?
LMM--I use AOP, and Apologia science and we've jsut discovered Teaching Textbooks for math. Got Rosetta Stone for Spanish and just started that. We'll be getting their Mandarin for all of us, because of our little space alien I posted on another thread. Smiler

I loved this...
quote:
Argument #2 Parents Cannot Teach As Good

Shouldn't that be "cannot teach as well"--had that pounded into my little head by my mother. Big Grin

Good articles, thanks for posting them.
Good catch, I do believe you are correct.

I did not know of Apologia when we were studying. Let me know how the Rosetta Stone works. I have been curious about using it to teach myself Japanese,(long story), but I am not sure this old brain could handle it. Big Grin

Your little space alien is adorable. You should clone him.
I'll add you to my buddy list so you can send me updates.
Hang in there, you know you're right! Wink
beeb,

"Nationally, homeschool students average ONE POINT higher, skewed by the very different student populations taking the exam. In other words, saying that homeschool students outscore public school students is not really statistically valid."

US Department of Education funded research does not agree with this:

According to a report published by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, homeschool student achievement test scores were exceptionally high. The median scores for every subtest at every grade were well above those of public and Catholic/private-school students. On average, homeschool students in grades one to four performed one grade level above their age-level public/private school peers on achievement tests. Students who had been homeschooled their entire academic life had higher scholastic achievement test scores than students who had also attended other educational programs."

Link
quote:
The study states, "Even with a conservative analysis of the data, the achievement levels of the homeschool students in the study were exceptional. Within each grade level and each skill area, the median scores for homeschool students fell between the 70th and 80th percentile of students nationwide and between the 60th and 70th percentile of Catholic/Private school students. For younger students, this is a one year lead. By the time homeschool students are in 8th grade, they are four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts."


Thanks Interventor, great article.
I'd read that homeschooled students, in the main, scored better than public school students. However, did not wish to comment until I found proof. Engage brain, before engaging mouth.

I'm not against public schools, just wish they would improve. Homeschools equate to competition and give public schools the impetus to improve.

I especially like that some public systems allow homeschoolers to attend specialized classes such as chemistry and physics.
quote:
I'm not against public schools, just wish they would improve. Homeschools equate to competition and give public schools the impetus to improve.


I agree, Int. But the competition must go both ways.

Public schools (especially here in Florence) have much to offer. It ought to be a difficult decision to yank your child out of public education because public schools offer so much more than an academic education.

When parents pull them out, they do so with full knowledge that that they are preventing their children from participating in those extracurricular activities.

It galls me that parents do this then expect the world to cater to them. The real world doesn't work like that.
quote:
According to a report published by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,


Which is really sort of meaningless.

I have soem serious doubts that HS outperformed the same demographic of private schools by a whole grade average. If there is a major difference, it could be because of a difference in demographic no not necessarily a better learning environment.

I have no reason to doubt that HS'ers outperform [i]public students[/] ON AVERAGE. But if you compare the SAME DEMOGRAPHIC, I would bet large sums of money that there would be a statistically insignificant difference.

It is the level of parental involvement that makes the difference, not the school system (at least here in the Shoals). The sooner we all recognize that fact and GET INVOLVED with the system, the better off we all will be.
skeptic,

"It is the level of parental involvement that makes the difference, not the school system (at least here in the Shoals). The sooner we all recognize that fact and GET INVOLVED with the system, the better off we all will be."

That is not a valid argument against homeschooling.

Did you read the link?

Further info:

"The study states, "Even with a conservative analysis of the data, the achievement levels of the homeschool students in the study were exceptional. Within each grade level and each skill area, the median scores for homeschool students fell between the 70th and 80th percentile of students nationwide and between the 60th and 70th percentile of Catholic/Private school students. For younger students, this is a one year lead. By the time homeschool students are in 8th grade, they are four years ahead of their public/private school counterparts."

Also, "Homeschool students did quite well in 1998 on the ACT college entrance examination. They had an average ACT composite score of 22.8 which is .38 standard deviations above the national ACT average of 21.0 (ACT, 1998). This places the average homeschool student in the 65th percentile of all ACT test takers."
Skep,
Who would be more involved? The parent at home with the child reading, teaching, and loving them or the parent who drops them off at 7:30am and sees them again at 6pm?
I am not insulting any parent, but since the parent has to help the kid of the public school system learn the material and do the homework, why not cut out the middle man? One of the reasons we pulled our kids out was we were doing more teaching than the teacher!

See the thread "Optional Homework"
Link
What Skeptic is saying is that if the parents who gave a crap about education would leave their kids in public schools and get involved, the overall quality of public schools would rise. I am a firm believer that those who pull their kids out of public school, and those who leave their kids in but do not get involved, are every bit as much to blame for the sorry state of public schools as the teachers, administration, NEA, and whoever else you want to point the finger at.
Thanks, but I tend to think the companies who own, administer, and score the tests are the least impeachable source on their results.

And, Librarian, I would like to be right there with you, but many homeschooler parents are homescoolers because they wanted to RUN the school, and someone declined to let them.
quote:
Originally posted by interventor1:
That is not a valid argument against homeschooling.


To clarify, I wasn't arguing against homschooling. I fully support a parent's right to do homeschool.

quote:
Within each grade level and each skill area, the median scores for homeschool students fell between the 70th and 80th percentile of students nationwide


Which illustrates my point succinctly.

Kids from Hoover, Muscle Shoals, and Mountainbrook score, on average, between the 70 to 80 percentile.

Student from the SAME DEMOGRAPHIC in the Florence, Tuscumbia or Sheffield public schools also score in the 70 to 80 percentile.

The difference, again, is the involvement of the parent, not the teachers, principals or sports programs. Your kid, my kid and LMM's kid would ALL perform in the 70 to 80th percentile just because we give a damm.
beeb,

"Thanks, but I tend to think the companies who own, administer, and score the tests are the least impeachable source on their results."

You've made numerous statements of belief, without attribution to substantiate the statements. My old high school english teacher would assign a C- for such work. Why would the companies skewer the tests to give homeschoolers the edge? Its not a logical conclusion.

Please backup such statements, otherwise, you sound like an NEA flack.
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
Who would be more involved? The parent at home with the child reading, teaching, and loving them or the parent who drops them off at 7:30am and sees them again at 6pm?


Well, you certainly spend more time with your child, I guess. That's cool. On the other hand, my child gets to spend time with kids from other walks of life. You know, the ones he will be working with the rest of his life.

Does your deeper involvement translate to a better learning environment? According to ACT scores, no, not really.

All things being equal, your child would excel in public because you will not settle for less than their best. Just the same as me, I imagine.

The big difference is that (on top of the honors courses) my child gets to experience sports, cheerleaders, welding class, astronomy, small engine repair and poor, under-privileged kids. I think all that is terribly important. Homeschool parents obviously disagree - as is their right.
quote:
The big difference is that (on top of the honors courses) my child gets to experience sports, cheerleaders, welding class, astronomy, small engine repair and poor, under-privileged kids. I think all that is terribly important. Homeschool parents obviously disagree - as is their right.



Skeptik, my kids get to do all those things with the exception of welding, cheerleading and high school sports. And if they wanted to learn welding, we'd figure out a way to do that, too. Honors classes are easy to make arrangements for. Your view of homeschool studies is somewhat skewed.

But I do agree with you on this: when the parents are involved, regardless of where the child is schooled, the child does achieve his best.
Skep, I have stated MANY MANY times why we left and how I was involved in the elementary. You post once every three days and never come back to a post.
Your view works for you. Ms Beeb made her mind up a long time ago. That whole 'run the school' line is crapola. She has never once set down and talked to the parent of a successful home school system because she says she can't find any. Its obvious she was not looking. You and she have decided home school kids sit in the proverbial dark away from other kids, activities, sports, and being around those poor underprivileged kids who they would never see. You have us living like lepers of the dark ages. Pleeease.
Until the two of you open the mind and close the prejudices, this conversation is going no where. The snide remarks of "You know, the ones he will be working with the rest of his life." have absolutely no merit and are you simply making a very wrong assumption. There are congressmen who were home schooled, doctors, lawyers, ordinary people who spent their childhood learning about the world like any other kid, its just that its not 'normal' that ticks all of you off. You all think that somehow we cheat the system even though our kids take the same standardized tests, go to the same colleges and have the same ideals your kids do. Perhaps if we put a sign on our door, then maybe we could get a pass by the social and cultural narcissistic society that deems we must all be little robotic drones blindly following the 'correct' path without the benefit of a single thought not approved by the powers that be. Think outside the box, you would be amazed at the results you can achieve.
quote:
Originally posted by interventor1:
skeptic,

The study did not identify specific demographics, only median scores.


Yes, I know that. That has been my point all along.

Show me a study that compares "specific demographics" and I would bet large sums of money that there would be no significant difference between HS, private and public kids.

The bottom lines is that taking your child out of public education in the Shoals* in order to provide a "better" education is not supported by the evidence.

Taking them out for a thousand other reasons is a parents right, of course - as long as they know the sacrifices they will make in doing so (such as inaccess to extracurricular activities).

(* I keep say the Shoals because there are "inner city" schools and other schools that I would be terrified to send my child to but this is strictly a Shoals-centric conversaion. We dont' have those problems here)
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
Skep, I have stated MANY MANY times why we left and how I was involved in the elementary. You post once every three days and never come back to a post.


I do not disagree with your reasons for leaving. I would have handled it differently (you never said you went before the board with this matter - that certainly would have been a valid action IF you actually wanted to stay involved because I KNOW this system will work with you) but you exercised your right to do what you thought was right for your child and I applaud you.

I am simply asserting the FACT that there is no appreciable difference in the overall quality of education your child receives compared to the one my child received.

I am most definitely asserting that you fully knew the consequences of a loss of extracurricular activities yet chose to pull your child anyway. It seem foolish for you to bemoan the loss when you were fully aware of how it would affect your child.

I am most certainly bemoaning the fact that my child and your child (figuratively) will never be able to interact. I think they are both missing out on a mutually beneficial friendship.

As for the "welding" class - that was also figurative. The Florence city system has one of the best (perhaps even THE best) career development centers in the entire state offering 60 different career/technician courses. It is impossible for a HS parent to provide that wide array of paths to explore.

I passionately believe that HS and private parents should take a very close appraisal of what they will give up when they yank their kids off the grid.

Like many beliefs, I think that once you really think about it objectively, most parents would re-consider and perhaps even get involved.
quote:
I am simply asserting the FACT that there is no appreciable difference in the overall quality of education your child receives compared to the one my child received.

I am most definitely asserting that you fully knew the consequences of a loss of extracurricular activities yet chose to pull your child anyway. It seem foolish for you to bemoan the loss when you were fully aware of how it would affect your child.


We finally agree that home school kids get the same quality education as public school kids.

I have never 'bemoaned' any perceived loss nor has any affected my kids.

FYI, I was in a meeting with a principal, a counselor, and the Superintendent of Education. The reasons are not for public display, but the meeting only enforced our decision to withdraw from the 'public school system'.

It was not one of those 'good' city schools that you praise so highly so perhaps my view is tainted by the events of that memorable day.

Could be.
quote:
(* I keep say the Shoals because there are "inner city" schools and other schools that I would be terrified to send my child to but this is strictly a Shoals-centric conversaion. We dont' have those problems here)


Skeptic, I became convinced of the power of parental involvement when I lived in Philadelphia, which has some terrifying schools. We chose to live in a neighborhood, Mt. Airy, that was known for its excellent public elementary and middle schools. This neighborhood was fairly diverse economically, with working class, middle class, and affluent pockets, and diverse racially (75% black, 25% white), but what the families had in common was that they cared about their school and demanded excellence. While kids in neighborhoods with similar economic demographics floundered, kids in Mt Airy could be expected to test into the best magnet high school and go on to good colleges. One side effect of this great school was that the property values steadily rose. Drug dealers and crackheads were priced out of the neighborhood. And, people who demand good schools also tend to demand safe neighborhoods. I remember an incident where some drug dealers from North Philly had decided they were going to start selling outside of a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. A group of about 40 men from the neighborhood went in a group and told the guy, "Nope, you're not going to do this here" and he took his wares somewhere else.

Nashville also has some terrible schools, but a kid can also get some of the best education in the state in the Nashville public schools.

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