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!

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

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.

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