From: Peschke
To:
Date: 5/24/2008 2:48 PM
Subject: Subways says no to homeschoolers.
Dear Sirs,
Subway says no to homeschoolers.
Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with
children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that
serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.
http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/kids/contest.aspx
It would be nice for you to drop them a line on behalf of
homeschoolers across America. I know we have a homeschool group that
meets for physical fitness activities we should not be discriminated
against.
Cathy
I received the following in response. I also informed Ms. Ridley that we were the family that appeared on Fox and Friends this morning.
On May 27, 2008, at 1:02 PM, HSLDA Legal Dept. wrote:
Dear Cathy,
HSLDA is very disappointed to hear of Subway's exclusion of homeschoolers in their contest. For this reason, we are in the process of drafting a letter to Subway expressing our disapproval and requesting that they change their contest's policy to include homeschoolers. We believe that Subway will be changing their policy soon since not only has a homeschool family already been featured on Fox News upset about Subway's contest, but many homeschoolers have on their own accord already contacted Subway in outrage of being excluded.
Sincerely,
Vanessa N. Ridley
Legal Assistant
Today the following was posted on the HSDLA website.
Open Letter to Subway: Let Homeschoolers Enter Contest
May 27, 2008
Subway Restaurant Headquarters
325 Bic Drive
Milford, CT 06461-3059
Dear Sir/Madam,
By way of introduction, I am the President of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and we represent 83,000 member families nationwide. This letter is to draw attention to your “Every Sandwich Tells a Story Contest,” and the unfortunate fact that homeschoolers are not allowed to participate.
The rules clearly state: “Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted (emphasis added).
It is extremely disappointing that Subway would choose to exclude the estimated 2 million homeschooled students.
We understand that the competition is focused on traditional public and private schools because the grand prize of $5,000 of athletic equipment is designed to be used by a traditional school and not an individual family. A potential homeschool winner, however, could simply donate the grand prize to a public or private school of their choice or to a homeschool sports league.
Homeschooling is a thriving educational option. All the available research shows that homeschoolers are excelling academically and socially. We do not deserve to be overlooked.
We hope that you will reconsider the rules of your competition and choose to amend them to include homeschoolers.
Sincerely,
J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President
Thank you to the HSLDA for being a strong advocate for homeschooling families.
Cathy
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