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

Metrowest Daily ^ | 6/13/03 | Beecher

[pabianice]

"We have legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit," DSS worker Susan Etscovitz told the Bryants in their Gale Street home. "They are minors and they do what we tell them to do!"

WALTHAM, MA -- A legal battle over two home-schooled children exploded into a seven-hour standoff yesterday, when they refused to take a standardized test ordered by the Department of Social Services.

George Nicholas Bryant, 15, and Nyssa Bryant, 13, stood behind their parents, Kim and George, as police and DSS workers attempted to collect the children at 7:45 a.m. DSS demanded that the two complete a test to determine their educational level.

After a court order was issued by Framingham Juvenile Court around 1 p.m., the children were driven by their parents to a Waltham hotel.

Again, they refused to take the test.

"The court order said that the children must be here. It said nothing about taking the test," said George Bryant.

The second refusal came after an emotion-filled morning for the family, when DSS workers sternly demanded the Bryants comply with their orders.

"We have legal custody of the children and we will do with them as we see fit," DSS worker Susan Etscovitz told the Bryants in their Gale Street home. "They are minors and they do what we tell them to do."

Four police officers were also at the scene and attempted to coax the Bryants to listen to the DSS worker.

"We are simply here to prevent a breach of the peace," said Waltham Youth Officer Detective James Auld. "We will will not physically remove the children."

Yesterday's events are the continuation of a six-year legal battle between the family and Waltham Public Schools and the state.

The Bryants contend that the city and state do not have the legal right to force their children to take standardized tests, even though DSS workers have threatened to take their children from them.

"There have been threats all along. Most families fall to that bullying by the state and the legal system," said George Bryant.

"But 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," Bryant continued. "In the end the law of this state will protect us."

The Bryant children have never attended public school.

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. The children will remain under the legal custody of DSS until their 16th birthdays.

The parents have been ruled as unfit because they did not file educational plans or determine a grading system for the children, two criteria of Waltham Public School's home schooling policy.

"We do not believe in assessing our children based on a number or letter. Their education process is their personal intellectual property," said Bryant.

George Bryant said he was arrested six years ago, after not attending a meeting that the city contends he was summoned to. The meeting was called by the Waltham School Department for his failure to send his children to school.

"We want these issues aired in the open, in public. The school system and DSS have fought to keep this behind closed doors," said Bryant.

Superintendent of Schools Susan Parrella said she was unaware of yesterday's incident and that, currently the school department approves of the education plan filed by DSS for the Bryant children.

"An acceptable home school plan is in place right now," said Parrella. "I was not aware of any testing occurring today."

The Bryant children freely admit that they have no intention of taking a test.

"We don't want to take the test. We have taken them before and I don't think they are a fair assessment of what we know," said Nyssa Bryant. "And no one from DSS has ever asked us what we think."

Kenneth Pontes, area director of DSS, denied that workers have never talked to the children privately, but admitted that this type of case isn't often seen by his office.

"This is an unusual case. Different school systems require different regulations for home-schooled children. Waltham requires testing," said Pontes.

Pontes said that a possibility exists that the children will be removed from their home, but that was a last course of action.

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

The Bryant family is due in Framingham District Court this morning, to go before a juvenile court judge. According to DSS, this session will determine what their next course of action will be and if the children will be removed from the Bryants' home.

"These are our children and they have and always will be willing participants in their education," said Kim Bryant.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

At least the kids are old enough to know the deal. What I might think of doing is putting my kids in school and telling them to do what ever they wanted, get suspended, get thrown out . Then what is DDS going to do? I am ashamed that I have a degree in social work. This is the reason I got out of it, to never return.

[Leisler]

Yeah, but never the less it's showing it's teeth. A vilent jesture. Reason enough to commence with belt-fed weapons.

[jgrubbs]

SIGN THE PROCLAMATION
"I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government
involvement in education."

http://www.sepschool.org/Proclamation

[Thud]

A writ of habeus corpus in federal court would be fun and likely rewarding under 42 U$C 1988.

[Jambe]

Is that a PITBULL in that picture???

No, it looks like a yellow Lab. Dog's just yawning!

[ladysusan]

Sam, she deserves to be sued for malfeasance, possibly malpractice. The law , however, gives her immunity from all that, so she is not accountable to anyone. Hence, her taunt. Part of the fix ffor these socialist thugs is to repeal their immune status. The other part is to take the funding away from CPS.

[dasboot]

Sam, Your scenario--welfare tramp watching soaps while kids run wild--simply does not exist where parents homeschool. It is opposed to the nature of the thing, which is this:

No neglectful parent wants to have his/her pestiferous kids underfoot unless absolutely necessary. As soon as is possible, these types pack their kids off and away.

Nope...never seen that one....but heard that very argumant lots of times from social workers, state reps, and others. No there, there.

[Blood of Tyrants]

From the tone of the story, the parents are well versed in both the law and the Constitution and are willing to tell the DSS to kiss their collective @$$e$.

[jgrubbs]

George Bryant, a civilian engineer for the U.S. Air Force, said the couple submitted several educational plans to Waltham school officials, but none were deemed acceptable.

He told the court the burden should be on the city to show that the children are being harmed, not on the parents to prove they aren't.

[ChemistCat]

The children in my kids' private school are given standardized testing as part of their school's certification. They take the same tests that the public school children take. (And do much better on it for less money per child, but that's irrelevant.)

However, I do not believe that all private schools in my area give this test--not all are certified by the state or the North Central Association, nor do homeschoolers have to take any such exam here (unless they want to, or before attending a certified school.) So I have the choice and if I didn't want my children to take the test I could avoid it.

These parents do not have the right to move to a state where they have choice, because they've lost custody. Sounds like bondage to me--if you don't have the right to leave, you are a slave.

[ladysusan]

I am ashamed that I have a degree in social work. This is the reason I got out of it, to never return.

Please tell the people here about social workers and immunity from from lawsuits.

[headsonpikes]

Is nmh the official spokesman for the Republican Party on this thread?

Where is the Party of Lincoln on the issue of freeing the children?

Anybody?

This is the sort of issue that drives folks to the fringe parties.

Some things are just so damn wrong that they drive people to acts of principle!

[Roughneck]

"Furthermore, why should these kids be excemt from testing? Why must they be the exception to the rule?"


Public schools receive public funds, therefore children in public schools should be tested to make sure taxpayers are getting their money's worth.

Home-shool children do not receive federal funds and should be exempt form testing. If these children wish to attend a college, I am sure they would submit to entrance exams, but that is their choice (or their problem if home schooling did not bring them to the standards they need to succeed)

I say BRAVO to this family. If more of us would stand up to this tyranny this country would stand a chance...

[dasboot]

Actually, they may be able to move to another district within the state that is kinder to homeschooling?? I was given no flack for ten years that we homeschooled here in rural southern Mass.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

First of all standardized tests are tools to make sure the civil servants we pay to teach are doing their jobs and therefore "worth" our money.

Parents are the one's who should decide what is good for the child, unitl the child is old enough to make those choices. If we had more parents actually working with their own children we would not have the mess we have in this country with young people. The state does not own children, they do not get to decide if kids should be raised in Day CAre,should read ceratin books or should be tested for IQ. It is none of the state's business what the child's IQ is.

Social workers, who are usually below average IQ, should not get to make up their own rules re: acceptable testing metods for young people. This is a case of social workers out of control and on a power binge. If that doesn't worry you, nothing should.

[Leisler]

D

[TXBubba]

I have to disagree with you on the point of it never happening. We have a family friend whose sister took her kids out of school to be homeschooled. He told us he was going to have to report his own sister because she wasn't doing a darn thing about educating her kids. She was just unhappy that she kept getting called for their misbehavior at school. It does happen. This isn't to put down the serious homeschoolers out there.