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

ISSUE: Our friend Chuck Muth (ChuckMuth.com) has just alerted us of an INSANE situation up in Waltham, Massachusetts. This one's so ridiculous, it makes our blood boil just to think of it. Take a look at his message:

Kim and George Bryant have been home-schooling their two kids, George (15) and Nyssa (13), much to the chagrin of the Waltham Public School (WPS) system. The Bryants thus far have refused to force their children to take a government-mandated standardized test to assess their education level.

The WPS empire struck back last year, obtaining a court order giving custody of the kids to the Department of Social Services (DSS), which ever since has been threatening to take the kids away from their parents.

As the MetroWest Daily News reported on Friday, "Both sides agree that the children are in no way abused mentally, physically, sexually or emotionally, but legal custody of the children was taken from Kim and George Bryant in December 2001." They were ruled to be "unfit" for not filing educational plans with the government.

Unfit. For not filing paperwork. With the government school system. Over the education of their OWN children.

In fact, George Bryant was actually ARRESTED six years ago for failing to comply with the government's dictates over the home-schooled education of HIS children.

Arrested. Thrown in jail. Like a criminal. For taking personal responsibility for the education of HIS kids.

This six-year legal battle exploded on Thursday as bureaucrats from the DSS showed up at the Bryants' home with police escorts at 7:45 a.m. and attempted to remove the children from their home and force them to take the mandated tests.

Once again, the Bryants told the government agents to pound dirt, resulting in a seven-hour standoff. "This has been a six-year battle between the Waltham Public Schools and our family over who is in control of the education of our children," said Bryant.

How DARE these parents stand up to the government and defend their right to raise their children as they see fit? Who do they think they are?

At least, that's the attitude of one outrageous government bureaucrat involved in this brouhaha.

"We have the legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit," DSS trooper Susan Etscovitz told the Bryants Thursday morning. "They are minors and they do what we tell them to do."

It is near impossible to describe the rage I feel inside every time I read those chilling words.

The sheer audacity of a bureaucrat to make such a statement about someone else's children who are in no way abused in any shape, form or fashion is beyond comprehension to me.

Comrade Etscovitz maintained on Thursday that, "No one wants these children to be put in foster homes. The best course of action would be for (the Bryants) to instruct the children to take the test."

One can just imagine her words being delivered with a thick East German accent: "Oon now, all vee need ees dee kidz!"

This isn't about education. It's about control. It's about an imperial government trying to crush a movement in its infancy which could one day spell the end of the public school monopoly over our kids' educations.

Home-schooling means children might start learning again. REAL learning. Not "whole language" and "self-esteem." Learning about radical notions such as freedom, liberty and personal responsibility. Notions such as limited government and the Constitution and the vision of our Founding Fathers.

ACTION ITEM: As it appears that DSS is getting its marching orders from the Waltham Public Schools, it seems the best place to start is with the School Superintendent there. Her name is Dr. Susan Parrella. She can be reached via email at parrellas@k12.waltham.ma.us or by phone at (781) 314-5400 or fax at (781) 314-5411.

Emails are great... but nothing quite ruins a bureaucrat's day like dealing with a flood of phone calls. I know. I just called. The woman who answered the phone hung up on me when she found out what I was calling about. They do NOT want to answer any questions about this.

Oh, and by the way. I reached Ms. Etscovitz this morning. She was not a happy camper once she found out what I was calling about. Refused to comment on her "we will do with them as we see fit" statement, saying only, "I'm terminating this conversation now," before slamming the phone down.

I think it would really bug her if a lot of people called (781) 641-8500, so please, please don't rattle her cage, OK? That number not to call again to reach Susan Etscovitz is (781) 641-8500. That's (781) 641-8500. (You could also fax her at 781-648-6909.)

We normally set up a website with a pre-written letter to Congress, etc. However, we thought it would be much more effective for our members to make contact as described above, in their own words. If you get a response you'd like to share, be sure to drop us a note. :-)

NOTE: The situation in Waltham has gotten WAY out of hand. Outraged Americans across the country need to contact these bureaucrats NOW to express their outrage and demand they do the RIGHT thing. Be sure to forward this Alert to everyone you know who wants to help preserve the integrity of this bastion of real American values. Thank you!

It's like I posted: Homeschooling is not for every family.

However, I agree with many of the posters here who have legitimate gripes about government-controlled/regulated schools and the leftist unions. (I also feel sorry for the poor teachers who have to kow-tow to such tripe when all they really want to do is help children learn the basic skills to survive in the modern world.)

Public schools are not the same as when I attended them thirty years ago. Today, there is way too much emphasis on self-esteem programs, (which most students view as hypocritical and silly) political correctness, studying for tests, hours of homework to make up for what didn't get covered in a 35-40 minute class and redirecting of precious educational funding towards over-paid, power-hungry administrators (not teacher salaries or materials) along with the latest learning fad.

They probably figure the kid must be doing fine, since he keeps getting promoted to the next grade.

This isn't even a serious legitimate answer. You're just typing to give your fingers a work out now. You think they can't read progress reports that are sent home? Report cards. Plus the fact that it is their choice to send the kid to the next year when he has failed. Maybe sometime in those 9 years they could have sat down with their kid and listened to him read?? You don't want a serious discussion about the issue.

I believe that SAT and PSAT (or MSAT) are voluntary, no?

I helieve they are tuned toward admission to higher schooling, no?

I do not believe they are mandated by or in support of the local high school, correct?

By all means, let the kids show they are or are not good candidates for higher education; there is no need to prove that they are as retarded as the average public school kid.

There surely is no need to evaluate whether or not they were fed on the same ideologies and bias' shown in most current school systems.

I can't bite my tongue anymore.

Shouldn't every one here be suspicious when things are done "for the children?" We've gotten so far away from our freedoms, that we think it's fine for the government to have so much control over us, even to dictating how/whether we educate our children. I think we swallowed that when we allowed laws mandating schooling to certain ages.

My argument would be that since there are laws on the books for child abuse, that should be sufficient. We, as a society, believe that no child should be physically/sexually abused, and I doubt few would argue that this is tyrannical (well, maybe the AMA and the APA, who want to sexualize children and other sickos). However, when we extend the control of government farther than that, we are infringing on basic freedoms. Education is synonymous with parenting; parenting is education. Once you say education is the government's job, you've said that parenting is the government's job.

Non-voluntary standardized testing is wrong on principle, especially since the teaching content and methods of public school are rightfully suspect. You submit to testing, you are submitting to content. Using the few folks who do it wrong (fake homeschoolers, truants) to leverage as a bludgeon against the most who do it right is disingenuous. Without being conspiratorial or anything like that, the bottom line is control.

I don't know all the facts in the Bryant case, and perhaps the Bryants aren't perfect, but the government/bureaucracy is a worse parent than most, but never gets called on the carpet for its abuses (e.g., lost foster children in Florida, state of the public school system, etc.). Sadly, the Bryants probably have lots of common sense, but ran afoul of technicalities and/or abusing bureaucrats reading more power into the law for them than there is -- this happens ALL THE TIME, whether you are trying to homeschool without running afoul of the law or trying to make sure your permits to install a dishwasher are square. It's called a loss of freedom.

"I don't know of any way to show that the parents are actually teaching their kids other than by a testing method."

There is the crux of the problem. By what right does the state seize control of YOUR children? This is about who has the parental rights. These people are fighting for their parental rights. Everyone, including the judge, admits these children have suffered absolutely NO abuse. Then what is this about? It is about the freedom from interference this courageous couple should have. Who sets the educational standards for any given community? IN THEORY, it is the parents of the students in that community, through the election of a school board. BUT, due to constant interference of the US Dept of Ed and teacher's unions pushing radical leftist agenda's, parents have lost the ability to direct the education of their children. As homeschoolers, we are simply taking back what was stolen from us by the nanny state. I salute these courageous parents.
How does the quote go...."He who surrenders freedom for security deserves neither".................

I wish I knew more of the facts regarding the Bryants case, too.A few cases similar to the Bryants happened here in N. California. Most of these cases were resolved through the courts with the families eventually winning. The situations usually involved a mean-spirited, petty educrat who turned the "concern for the child's educational welfare" into a personel vendetta. Liberals (educrats are almost always liberals) are like commie dictators--they don't like to be thwarted and hate to have their power and leftist dictates undermined.

My husband and I voluntarily have our son tested for several reasons.We wanted to see where he was in relation to his getting into college (SAT's, entrance exams, etc.) and as a record in case some snoopy government official tried to harass us and claim that we weren't doing our job.

Testing also kept my in-laws from griping too much. My in-laws were initially shocked that I would even consider homeschooling. After I sent them test results and samples of our son's work, they told me that this was probably the best option for their grandson.

Of course the key theme here is "voluntary." I would probably become like the Bryants and scream bloody murder if some state jerk tried to wrest my son from me because I refused to have him indoctrinated within the public schools systems and forcibly tested every few months just to satisfy some petty educrat vision of what constitutes an education.

Gracious. The public schools test the tarnation out of kids and it hasn't really improved a thing. There are still far too many students who can't read, write or understand basic math principles in the public schools. Unfortunately, many of these kids are ignored, put on drugs to "calm them down," or promoted by lazy teachers. I'm sure that a great many of these forgotten kids finally drop-out of school in their teens. (Way more than the homeschool average, I'll bet.)

Fix your own house, I say to these leftist educrats, before you dare try to fix mine!!!

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