ACTION ALERT!!! Homeschooled Kids in Massachusetts Now in Legal Custody of State

Conservative Alerts ^ | 6/16/03 | Chuck Muth

[agenda_express]

"Government for the people and by the people" HUH???

[TheWillardHotel]

bump!

[Search4Truth]

Freeped.

[Mr. Bird]

I agree that this is about as outrageous as it gets. But now it appears that standing for principle is actually harming the kids. If they just take the stupid test, is the issue resolved? Because if it is, I'd strongly urge the parents to acquiesce on that point, and then take action.

[The Iceman Cometh]

I'd strongly urge the parents to acquiesce on that point, and then take action.

I don't think we know the whole story. Has a compromised been attempted? Could not the district examine some of the work of the students as a gage? I think there is a compromise in the offing but neither party will budge.

In the end, there is absolutely NO reason to remove these children. What a disgrace!

[agrace]

bump

[norton]

Unfortunately, I don't know the content of the standardized tests.

However, if there is a chance the kids would fail any touchy-feely part concerning relativism, diversity, or revisionist history; 'just taking the stupid test' would be problematic.

How's about - flying colors in the math, science, language, and civics sections, but total failure in the self-esteem-for-others, and liberal-dogma sections; ergo, no GED.

???

[hauerf]

"The woman who answered the phone hung up on me when she found out what I was calling about."

Consistent with your results, the young Nazette who answered my call to the Waltham Public Schools was not interested in talking. On the other hand, she DID want me to take the number of DSS. My sense is that this already may have become a bit of a hot potato that needs to be passed along very quickly. Good. I hope many others will be calling today.

[Search4Truth]

This is bigger than just Kim and George Bryant and their children. And they know that. They are fighting for the rights of us all. I pray that they continue to fight this tooth and nail.

The lesson the children are learning from their parents is to never give up your freedoms... ever. And that sacrifices sometimes have to be made, and suffering endured, to defend our freedoms from the evil doers who would take them away.

I've made my call and sent my e-mail to the the Natzi bitch Mz. Etscovitz.

[Lady Eileen]

bttt

[ChefKeith]

Well it seems the nazi witch is "not available at this time, what is this concerning?" as soon as I started telling them they hung up on Me.

Now for the next call...

I will update shortly

[ChefKeith]

Again "not available, may I take a message?"

I left a short one and was told thank You for calling.

NEXT....

[chiefqc]

DSS = The latest example of the little tin god complex.

[optimistically_conservative]

Seems this has been a running struggle of compromises and refusals. I think the kids are getting a great education about the state and the rights of individuals in the Communist Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Bryants lose court battle: Social Service now guardian of Waltham children in homeschooling case

By DeAnna Putnam Friday, December 14, 2001
WALTHAM - The two children of George and Kim Bryant have been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services because their parents refuse to submit a home-schooling lesson plan to the Waltham School Department.

The children, Nyssa, 12, and George, 13, remain at home.

In the latest twist to a long-running dispute, Framingham Juvenile Court Judge Kathryn White said that DSS will be the children’s legal guardian until they are 16. The Bryants can’t take their children out of state.

In her decision, White noted that the children have not been abused and their home life is good.

The Bryants yesterday offered DSS area Director Margaret Monnie a lesson plan to satisfy White’s court order. But Monnie said she did not want the plan and that the couple should submit it to the Waltham School Department.

Monnie told the Bryants that Waltham School officials will inform DSS if the lesson plan is acceptable.

The School Committee, an elected board separate from the school administration, has approved the couple’s plan and said it would like such plans submitted every year.

The Bryants yesterday went to the DSS office in Arlington to talk about their case. An assistant area director said DSS had just been informed of the judge’s decision and had not yet assigned a caseworker.

The couple has battled with the School Committee and Waltham School Department over home-schooling their children for five years.

The School Department this year filed a Care and Protection complaint against the couple because they did not submit a lesson plan for the 2000-2001 academic year.

The Bryants say no law requires them to do so.

Waltham Assistant City Solicitor Howard Rock agrees that no law requires the couple to submit a lesson plan, but he said the School Committee has the right to create legal requirements by its own authority.

To date, city attorneys have handled 16 cases related to the Bryants, including cases the city has filed against the couple and counterclaims the Bryants have filed against the city.

The Bryants submitted a lesson plan three years ago when the city went through similar measures to have custody of the children turned over to DSS.

Monnie told the Bryants that DSS would insist on visiting the children at home.

But White’s order says “home visits, however, may not be required for the approval of a proposed home schooling plan. Home visits are not presumptively essential to protect the state’s interest in ensuring the education of children.”

Monnie told the Bryants it was obvious that they “don’t want to play the game” that the city of Waltham has set up for them regarding schooling requirements.

People who resist opposed norms sometimes are to be commended, Monnie said, but for now, the state is requiring the couple to conform.

Although DSS had no part in bringing Care and Protection charges against the couple, DSS has to comply with the court order, she said.

George Bryant said he and his wife would drop off a lesson plan at the Waltham School Department by today.

Meanwhile, they are appealing White’s decision, and pursuing other complaints they have filed, because they feel their constitutional rights have been violated many times, George Bryant said.

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/news/local_regional/waltbryants12142001.htm

[Mr. Bird]

Obviously, we need more information. Have the parents objected to the content of the test? You correctly point out that the test could be a farce. If that is their objection, I'd be interested to see the test myself.

But what if they have an objection to the assessment requirement at all, which is how I read it? That's more problematic. It is likely that the parents will wish to see their children pursue a higher education, and they will need to be assessed at that point for college admissions via the ACT, SAT, or some other method.

The parents need to figure out a way to resolve this quickly and to the benefit of their kids. At 15 and 13, the kids could take the PSAT (or even the SAT possibly) and ask that those scores be used by the state to verify that they are being educated. I do not think that allowing your kids to be supervised (indeed, controlled) by the government is a healthy or responsible thing to do, regardless of the principle involved.

What would I do? I'd do whatever necessary to get my kids back and move out of the state immediately. And I'd never return.

[headsonpikes]

This is really great! The Bryant's win anyway!

Those two Bryant kids will see, up close, the mindless 'process' of a nascent totalitarian state.

It's the best education they could possibly get in these times, when the forces of socialism overwhelm all American civil institutions.

Provided they aren't killed in custody.

[Hitlerys uterus]

I just called the number for Ms. iscovitz or whatever the hell her name is and was told she was unavailable as was her superior. They apparently will be unavailable indefiniately.

I was given the number for the public affairs dept. which is 617 748 2000. This seems to be run by a Ms. Denise Montero who's cell phone number is 617 560 9332. Another contact number for her is 781 771 9691.

I recomend that everyone invest a dime or two and give them a call.

[agitator]

No, once you engage these nazis, it never ends.

[aruanan]

But now it appears that standing for principle is actually harming the kids.

You're engaging in some mental gymnastics here and don't even appear to be aware of it.

[Mr. Bird]

You're engaging in some mental gymnastics here and don't even appear to be aware of it.

You are correct that I am unaware of my mental gymnastics here. I wouldn't teach my kids about the American penal system by sending them to jail, why would I wish to educate them on the dangers of totalitarianism by surrendering them to the state? In case you didn't notice, the kids are no longer in the custody of their parents. I fail to see that as anything but a very bad thing.