Home-schooling standoff (MA Liberals try to get state custody for 'abused' home-schooled kids)

Metrowest Daily ^ | 6/13/03 | Beecher

[cgk]

I may call the HSLDA about this one

I was very surprised to not read mention of them in the article. This is their kind of case. Why are they NOT involved?

[SarahW]

In MA, per the statute and related discussion of relevant court cases above, it gives too much discretion to the local school districts, IMHO, and is vague enough to invite a hodgepodge of regulations across the state with regard to what constitutes an acceptable plan of education.

In fact, it does not only invite such abuse, there IS a hodgepodge of regulations from district to district.

Even the MA statutes allow more than one way of evaluating progress. The problem here is DSS has custody and is demanding testing the parents object to. Ordinarily the parents would be permitted to choose another method of evalution. The "LAW" here seem only to be what DSS has laid down for this family.

The school district did not approve the education plan of the parents; why is unclear, although I suspect it is possible that they chose to reject an unschooling plan.
Unschooling does not violate the statute, per se' in fact, the statute expressly forbids the local district from interfering in the manner of instruction.

However, the local district is given far to much discretion in what kind of plan it will or won't accept, and is given several weasel clauses to throw up roadblocks for any parent that desires to homeschool.

DSS filed the "educational plan" with the district. Their students have rebelled against unscheduled and unwanted testing. DSS says the parents don't have custody and have no authority in the education of their children, and yet demands the parents instruct their rebelling children to take the test.

The whole situation is wrong, and my present opinion is that the school district improperly rejected the teaching plan of the parents because of a vague statute that invites abuse by localities with axes to grind.

The education of children is a responsibility that belongs to parents. In principle I think state oversight should be at a minimum.

[Geritol]

Being a product of the public system myself, I am not sure if this book "The Law" by Bastiat you are speaking of is the same one I am finding freely on the web or not. Is the printed book you had the same book or is it essentially different than the text found at these sites?http://www.jim.com/bastiat.htm or
http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html or http://www.lexrex.com/informed/otherdocuments/thelaw/main.htm
Assuming that it is the same, I am not quite surprised that I am not finding this work on the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) since it seems to be missing many truly important works.

[cgk]

Is this something available at any book store?

[don-o]

I may call the HSLDA about this one

I was very surprised to not read mention of them in the article. This is their kind of case. Why are they NOT involved?

Addressed in the thread a few posts up.

I am not sure on the technicalities. One poster said that HSLDA would not tale the case, because they knowingly broke the law. Another poster said the law had ab "opt out" for testing.

And, if they are not dues paying members, HSLDA may not consider the case worthy of engaging.

[Mo1]

No. All this over power -- who has it, the family, and who wants it, the state.

I know .. these people are pretty scary

[cgk]

Thanks so much for the reply... I tried to read the whole thread but as I came into it at 300+ posts, I'm sure I missed a lot. ;)

I plan on homeschooling our 9 month old, and I've already decided we'll be joining HSLDA ... probably when she turns 4 or 5 and the "fight" begins, (and when our situation is a bit better). Their website is a wealth of information: it is even helping us decide where we should live. (PA vs NJ or CA or OR - where family is) and what we'll be up against.

As for their fee of $100 a year - it's a lot for us now all things considered - but it's a pittance in the long run. It's less than ISP fees which helps make things relative, and it's protection for my children.

[SarahW]

I wanted to find the backstory on this case; there is plenty of it.

Here is a page of links to news articles documenting the whole saga.

http://www.educationalfreedom.com/pages/bryant.html#bryantfamilyupdates

[dasboot]

I agree with your sentiment in spirit; but the reality is that "they" are much better endowed with time and funds and the cudgel of "made-up de-facto law" in their favor: I've seen some homeschoolers thwarted when their rightious battle with "them" took up more time than they could give to their students. I cannot say it was wise. You gotta figure out what the priority is. Often, the avoidance of an assaultive thrust is beneficial to the defender: the antoginist is carried off-balance by his own momentum. Just a side-step. Not a defeat. A child, educated to his or her natural capacity , is the triumph.

Consider the tales of slaves learning to read in secret. A legacy was established under the oppression of the masters....without a direct confrontation...which the slaves would have assuredly lost.

Am I saying we are slaves? Well, think about it.

Work to keep the lagacy alive first, and fight the battle with the masters when prudent and profitable.

Liberty is the cart: education, the horse.

My opinion.

[Osage Orange]

Hello.......

Having nearly completed our HS'ing with our two children..I can give you some personal experiences that maybe of some help to you in the future.

We started when our oldest was 4 yrs. old...she's now almost 18 and finished.

We started in So. Calif. and never had one problem with the Government School District that we lived in. We joined groups of like-minded HS'ing families....CO-OP's they called them. We "filed" with an umbrella school that helped with our "needed" paperwork. We even joined HSLDF....

If I remember correctly after 2 or 3 years we stopped using the umbrella school...( There was a fee...maybe $100 a year..) and we stopped HSLDF...too. We found that in our case...they were unneeded. Although each individual School District is/was different in Calif...And "trouble" tended to be directly correlated with whomever the District Superintendent was.

All in all...CA. was and to the best of my knowledge remains a fairly easy state to HS in. We now live in OK...and it's just as easy...if not easier.

My recommendation to you would be to hook-up with some HS'ing familes in your neighborhood/city and find out the in's and the out's.....

HS'ing our children has been the absolute best thing we've ever done FOR our children.

Best FRegards,

[SuziQ]

Sounds like a nutcase to me. Why wouldn't a homeschooling parent test their kids? Something fishy going on here.

The Bryants decided to push this using the Constitutional argument, and put their kids at the forefront. I don't agree with their decision, but I don't live in the Waltham school district, so I don't know how ticky the School Dept. is. Homeschoolers in MA are divided on the issue; some agree with the Bryants, some don't

Our MA town is very hands off concerning homeschool. I sent a letter of intent along with a one page description for each child of the subjects we'd cover and the main resources we'd use. I don't consider that too much to ask, though there are many homeschoolers who do. We sent our letter Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. We got the green card back, but never heard another word. Fine with me; I did what was required of me. We did standardized tests with both kids last year for our own info, but we won't do that this year.

[MarkL]

The pitiful thing is that in every other case I'm aware of, it's the leftists who go on and on about how unfair and wrong it is to make children take standardized tests, and how they don't accurately show what the children really know!

Disgusting!

Mark

[SoulStorms]

Ok then.. what WOULD you die for?

...to keep my child.

[ccoutlaw]

HSLDA is great if you follow their standards. They will not help everyone, even if you pay their dues.
Check it out. I have 6 children and we looked into it.
If it would help everyone no matter what I'd join too but they dont.

[eno_]

MCAS is a slam dunk for most bright kids, and anyone homeschooled should pass any state test in a walk. I think these parents are being a bit stubborn. Worst case, they spend two days on test prep to make sure their kids pass.

But the state also has a duty to be reasonable. Unless there is evidence the kids are illiterate indoctrination vitims - and even then there should be a strong presumption in favor of parents' judgement in these matters - the Mass DSS should not be threatening to take these kids.

[ladylib]

Private school students are not required to take state exit exams and homeschoolers are specifically exempted from No Child Left Behind tests.

[f.Christian]

Education needs to be privatized ...

we have compulsory brainwashing and indoctrination via liberals ---

an illegal bolshevik monopoly ! To: f.Christian

Dakmar...

I took a few minutes to decipher that post, and I must say I agree with a lot of what you said.

fC...

These were the Classical liberals...founding fathers-PRINCIPLES---stable/SANE scientific reality/society---industrial progress...moral/social character-values(private/personal) GROWTH(limited NON-intrusive PC Govt/religion---schools)!

Dakmar...

Where you and I diverge is on the Evolution/Communism thing. You seem to view Darwin and evolution as the beginning of the end for enlighted, moral civilization, while I think Marx, class struggle, and the "dictatorship of the proletariat" are the true dangers.

God bless you, I think we both have a common enemy in the BRAVE-NWO.

452 posted on 9/7/02 8:54 PM Pacific by Dakmar