To the editor:
I remain particularly concerned regarding the recent proposal by State Superintendent of Education Jennifer McCormick to mandate compulsory school attendance by children of the age of 5.
I truly feel this is a blatant overreach by the state/government to effectively diminish parental rights — and responsibility — for their children’s development and education. It’s quite understandable that Indiana’s educational establishment would agree that McCormick’s idea is meritorious — for the usual self-serving reasons.
What is not so obvious is any credible, objective evidence to suggest lowering the mandatory school attendance age to 5 will produce measurable academic performance improvement in later years. There in fact seems to be some evidence to suggest the opposite.
David A. Nealy
Greenwood
