Twin Legislation Bill for Arizona

House Bill 2039 is being heard by the Education Committee this month (Feb 08). We are in need of parents to come forward and support this bill! Please contact me for more information on how you can help! If you have a story to share, please let us know. You can email me directly at: aztwinslaw@hotmail.com. Thank you!

To:  Arizona State Senators & Representatives

We, the undersigned, petition Arizona State Senators and Representatives to pass legislation in the state of Arizona similar to that of Minnesota's "Twin Bill". It was sponsored by Minnesota Senator Dennis Frederickson and signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on May 5, 2005 and gives the parents/guardians of multiple birth children the ability to decide whether to separate them into different classrooms. Illinois recently passed a similar bill and the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a resolution that recommends school districts take into account parents’ requests. Georgia and Texas have just signed into law their respective Twin Laws. We believe that arbitrarily separating all twins and higher order multiples based solely upon their multiplicity and the past practices of The Department of Education is discriminatory and therefore unacceptable. Multiplicity is a birthright and the decision to separate or keep the children together within the classroom should be made on a case-by-case basis, based upon the children’s individual needs.


Renowned twins researchers Dr. Nancy Segal, Dr. John Mascazine and the International Society for Twin Studies as well as support groups like the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs all advocate a flexible classroom placement policy. We also believe that parents/guardians of multiples should have the primary voice in any classroom placement decision made for their children, as they know best their individual psychological, emotional and social needs. With the increase of multiple birth children continuing to rise, this is an issue that will only gain more exposure and validity. We ask that Arizona introduce and pass legislation to reflect these parental rights and be among these early states in protecting equality for multiple birth children and their parents.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Twin Legislation Bill for Arizona Petition to Arizona State Senators & Representatives was created by and written by Heather Lombardo (aztwinslaw@hotmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.