Forced to Go to Public School Based on Religion??!!??

I don't think the court can make a kid go to a public school because she is too religious, I hope they fight this to the supreme court.

I hope so too...if this happens it may set a precedence for all legal action against homeschooling families!! that would be horrible!!!

You wouldn't think so, Sheryl...but they just did....

I just read about this too. Obviously the dad is trying to punish mother and daughter in his divorce proceedings. I cannot believe that the court even allowed itself to be manipulated this way.

One more reason why every home school family should be a member of Home School Legal Defense Association.

I agree!!

Amen, Marilyn. I haven't joined yet because my husband and I are BOTH very much in agreement with homeschooling but I'm definitely rethinking that now....

The HSLDA will defend you whether it's against your hubby, or the public school system, or the government...it's a really really good thing to be in!! It costs around $80 a year and then if you ever need their help they don't charge you legal fees!!

I was talking to my husband about this. We will definitely be joining.... Like I mentioned in my post, my mom is against me homeschooling. I don't think she'd every do anything about it, but when she gets in a snit, it's hard telling....

I am not outraged. I was exposed to religious indoctrination in public schools at age 10. It didn't hurt me and I seriously doubt that being a public school that does not mention religion will hurt her.

I do feel outraged that the court seems to feel that a child of 10 needs to have any religious beliefs at all. Home schooling is better than schooling and the court should keep its nose out of that family's business. The court should only intervene if the child's academic education is not sufficient. The court is out of bounds here.

I do believe that (commenting about your first paragraph) you do not have to be homeschooled to be a Christian, however it does help where you focus is. You are not influenced by other beliefs and can focus completely on the One True God. However I know that home is where the most influence comes from, therefore we are told to raise our children up in the Lord and they will never stray...therefore God knows if you are unable to homeschool, yet you are raising your children up in Him and will take care of the time they are at school.

(commenting about second paragraph) You are completely right! The government should have no say in whether you choose to homeschool or public school. As long as your child is making progress, and learning religion should not be a determining factor in the court system.

Jenysie, learning religion should not be any factor at all in the court system in this kind of situation. The court should not be in the business of evaluating anything about the religion or who has it.

I am not sure ignorance of other beliefs helps in finding either faith or Truth.

Larry, do you know where you are going to go when you are done here on this earth?

I ask wondering if you have faith...

I am not saying that our children should be ignorant to other beliefs, however I am a Christian and will raise my children as Christians and when they are old enough to decide if they will follow my religion or another then the choice will be theirs.

I do know from personal experience that there is absolute Truth and there is only one place to find absolute Truth...however most secular people will say this is an opinion.

I agree that the courts should have absolutely no right evaluating a persons religion or forcing other belief systems on anyone.

Larry, I agree that the court nor the school system should have any right to make judgment on someone's religion UNLESS they are causing some sort of harm to others. That's why our constitution has a freedom of religion written into it. But, this just goes hand in hand with the UN treaty on the Rights of the Child - taking a parent's right to choose what is best for their children away....

Jenysie, I have no idea whether I will exist at all after death. I don't worry about it. I am agnostic and quite happily so.

Renita, if someone is causing harm to others then that action, regardless of their religion, is the problem which must be addressed. If children are human beings then they deserve the protection of the society. I believe children are human beings, not property.

Of course children are human beings and not property. But as a parent, it's our JOB to raise them up in the way they should walk. We, as parents, HAVE to teach them right from wrong. You can't just turn a kid loose and say "have at it" and not direct them. Sadly, there are some extremists who call their beliefs their religion that do harm, kill people, brainwash them into committing suicide, etc all in the name of religion. In those cases, I can understand the courts stepping in. But when they say a child is socially and academically doing well, the gov't should not be stepping in.

People do not always live up to their responsibilities. Yet we grant anyone and everyone the right to create children without limit. What does that say about the child? "The child is property" is what it says. Unless and until having a child is something which the society takes responsibility for and which the society restricts to those who give evidence of being responsible parents, the child is being treated like property.

Your latter comments beginning with "We, as parents,..." I agree with completely. But those extremists are not a product of the religion since they exist in all major religions. I have seen posts and comments on Gather indicating a desire to kill all members of some nation or religion. Clearly these persons have been brainwashed (in my opinion). So it isn't the religion, it's the persons, the individuals who use and manipulate their religion to justify the killing. (See Crusades.)

that is just crazy
the courts can't tell you you are too religious!!

My ex tried to pull some crap on me in my homeschooling in juvenile court, but the judge tld him he would have to get his own lawyer and take it to family court....of course he couldn't do that.

This really upsets me to no end!!

it is crazy!! I hope that more people feel this way!!

Oh, I'm outraged. What happened to separation of church and state? Does it only work one way?

I guess it doesn't apply anymore...they are changing everything else, why not this too!!

Eventually Christians will no longer be able to practice their religion...as far fetching as that sounds, if we only pay attention we will see that this is where everything is heading....it's just too bad...but the bible does say we will indeed be persectued for our beliefs....

It only works if you agree with the gov't, Carol.... And we know our gov't is very liberal right now so any conservatives (which obviously includes Christians) are going to be under fire...

Carol asked what I was going to ask! Great minds think alike!

That's insane. =(

Don't BOTH parents have a right to decide how their kid is raised? If this was order as the result of a proceeding between the father and mother that is different then the court just going in independently and saying "hey do this". Obviously one of her parents wants her to be exposed to other view points and a broader range of teaching and experience than just her mom can provide. I have friends who are brilliant and home school their kids and the kids do great and are super smart. I know people who want to homeschool but aren't smart enough. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS WOMAN? Not enough to judge the case as to whether the child should be sent to public school or allowed to keep homeschooling. THIS IS NOT ALL ABOUT RELIGION!!! WTF? It is about a FATHER having rights too - being able to have a say in how his kid is raised. THEY AGREED on JOINT CUSTODY and DECISION MAKING. The mom keeping the child home with her and homeschooling it is HER DECISION not BOTH Their decisions. SINCE it was "joint" and the mom has had her turn NOW IT IS the DAD'S TURN and the kid should go to public school for a while. AGAIN this is NOT about religion! IT is about FATHER'S rights and KUDOS to the court for enforcing his!

What about the fact that here's this 10 year old girl who has been homeschooled probably all her life....now her parents get divorced....huge change....huge weight for a 10 year old....and now everyone wants to rip away not only her schooling but her religious beliefs....

Where's was the father when they started homeschooling?? Why didn't he voice his opinion then?? Couldn't it be that he is doing this to hurt the mother, and not caring what it does to his child??

Children need stability and losing a parent is hard enough without being forced to go to a public school when you are used to being homeschooled.

Right now, the link to the rest of the story isn't working because the server is down.
There are a bunch of sites which reference the story, most of which show the exact same segment shown here, but nothing after it.

From the little bit that I can get, it looks like the court made the decision, not based on the father's rights, but on the state's right to determine the child's educational choices. That is a wrong decision.

If there is more to the story, and the state's decision was based on the father's choice to enroll his child in public school, then that is a different story. The religion of the mother does not determine the religion of the child, and it is wrong for her to exclude the father from decisions regarding the girl's upbringing and schooling. My husband's ex-wife tried to do that, and in the end, it had a negative impact on the faith of their two daughters. She even moved across the state to enforce the decision by attempting to deprive him of his time with them. (It didn't work.) The kids see her as a hateful hypocrite (and they live with her) and one has drawn the conclusion, based on her mother's and stepfather's behavior, that the religion isn't real.

A parent with strong faith can help a child maintain hers even while going to public school, but a parent who allows herself to look like the cause of all of the animosity between herself and her ex will only end up alienating the child.

Jenysie - I didn't see anywhere where it said the state was trying to take away her beliefs. IT SAID IN THE ARTICLE one of the main reasons the husband and wife had problems was because he wanted the child to be public schooled and she wanted homeschooled. HOW DOES PUBLIC SCHOOL take away your religion??? There are a lot of really good public schools - they focus on LEARNING they do not bash Christians or take away your Christianity that would make them libel for discrimination lawsuits. There is absolutely nothing wrong with public school and I still feel the court made the correct decision. I do not think the dad was trying to spite the mom as it was an issue before the divorce. As for the poor little girl - her faith will help get her through this hard time and making a few new friends at school will be good for her too. I think it will be better for her then sitting at home with just her mom all day making it more apparent what they have "lost".

Now I really wish the article site's server wasn't down. (Probably the reason it is down is because of all of the blog sites and news sites referencing and linking to it... maybe the server can't handle the traffic.)

If the schooling was a point of contention before the divorce, maybe there is more to the story regarding the mom. It's starting to look like the conflict may be more about the parents' differing child-rearing philosophies than about religion, even if the mother wants to make it about religion.

What happens in the child's life and her faith now will depend on the attitudes of the parents. If they can't come to an agreement without the court having to force one on them, whichever of them (even if it's both) is being unreasonable is likely to see that the biggest change in the girl's beliefs will be in her faith in her parent(s). Whether that extends to her religious faith will depend on the behavior and attitude of the parents, as well... in the case of my younger stepdaughter, her mother's claim to be pious did not match the behavior she showed in front of her daughter, and that, more than anything, shook the girl's faith very hard. It's been an uphill battle to try to calm her anger at her mother and help her understand that her own faith should not depend on what she sees them do, but on her own personal relationship with deity. That battle has been compounded by the fact that my own beliefs are non-traditional (to say the least) and she was raised Baptist... but we've gotten back to the point where she's willing to give the faith a chance, at least.

I hope that the kid referred to in the article does not go through what my stepdaughter has suffered, but if she does, I really hope there's another adult in her life who can help her to keep a balanced outlook on the her own faith.

Kimber,
our constitutional rights say we have freedom of religion so in that respect you are right that going to public school doesn't take away her right to her faith. However, she was homeschooled, meeting academic requirements for the state, was deemed "socially and academically" fine. They didn't give the father's right as their reason for putting her in public school. If they had, I'd say "ok - the parents can't agree so someone has to decide." Instead they used her "rigid" faith as their reason. That's unconstitutional. Since the girl was already enrolled in some public school classes, I'd think they could have come up with a better compromise - let her be homeschooled in some subjects and public school in others. Find a reasonable compromise for which courses would be taken where. That way each parent is having a portion of the say in her education. I just don't get why religion played into this decision at all. It doesn't belong there.

I am going to go reread the article - I didn't get that out of it. IT was just used as the headline. From what I read the mom was making it about religion - the court was making it about shared parenting. I will go reread.

Since the parenting is supposed to be shared a compromise would have been a good thing - part home part school. Especially since this is a parenting issue not a religious one.

What i got from it second time through was pretty much the same. With the exception - the court is saying what the guardian told them troubled them in that she "lacked certain youthful characteristics" which being exposed to other viewpoints could provide her. SHE IS TEN - and the court felt her MOTHER'S viewpoint was stunting her development in that it wasn't allowing any of the father's viewpoint to get in / get through. She is "RIGID" in a sense that she truly believes her father "doesn't love her" because he won't adopt her faith. THAT IS CRAP - no child should believe that - it sounds to me like the mother is using religion as a way to turn the child against the father. This child needs exposed to other viewpoints to see that her dad does love her he has just made other choices and that her mom's way of doing things may not be the only way. I still feel it is not about religion and is a divorce issue and it is in the best interest of the child. SHE LACKS certain "YOUTHFUL" characteristics - she is a kid - let her BE a kid !!!!!!!!

I just can't comprehend why the government feels so threatened by Christians!! I mean think about it for a minute, do Christians go around killing people? NO (Yes actually they have it was called the crusades, the infiltration of the white man into the land of the Native American.... the list goes on....)



Do Christians go around hurting others? NO (Yes actually they do with with their words and the their judgements....)



What is it that the government fears? I heard recently that the government said "Christians are to be feared." WOW, WHY!! (Probably because some of these so called Christians are the most belitting, fear mongering sort you will ever meet...)

Now does that mean what I think happened here was right no not really. I think if this girl's parents want to home school her they can. That is their choice.

I would hope that attending public schools would not "rip away her religious beliefs." That statment downplays the role of parental and church influence. 10 year olds are usually much smarter than we give them credit for. Even though public schools cover alittle about world religions, they do not teach theology.

I think this article gives homeschooling parents a bad name. It makes them seem too closed minded. Divorce is ugly but both parents have a right to decied how their child is raised. Religion isn't the reason for the argument, bu Mom is making it the bread and butter.

I agree! I know some homeschooling parents who do a GREAT JOB with their kids (Kris) and I know others who don't. You can't generalize all of them because people like this woman who get in the media.

I think it is okay that public schools don't teach theology because of the diversity of our country. The kids can learn their theology at church. That is just my personal opinion. GREAT COMMENT - you took what I was trying to say and made it way more eloquent!!!

It is an interesting debate isn't it?

It's an outrage any determination was made based on the girl's Christian faith. Church and state are supposed to be separate. How dare they gauge decisions based on a person's faith?! Our freedoms are slowly being taken away, one by one...our forefathers fought for religious freedom.

This is not a matter of faith but divorce.
If the mother is not able to raise her child in her faith with out completely sequestering her from others there is something wrong.
I have seen grown adults do this time and again. Using the child as a bargaining chip. In my case my ex tried to use my religion against me in court. The fact that I was pagan before we were married and he even allowed for me to take our son for a week to a pagan retreat in the divorce decree kind of screwed him in this.
My husbands ex did the "I'm christian and he's an evil pagan." It did not work, and now she is running around telling people shes a pagan and we are persecuting her!!!

I agree - it is more about the divorce than about the religion. AND you are right if the mother has to completely sequester the child from others to raise her in faith then something is very wrong!!

She wasn't sequestered away...she was attending some public school classes already... It sounds like a really nice mix to me. I'm a homeschooler and I love that my kids can advance at their pace because of the one-on-one attention I can give them. BUT, they also have outside classes they take that help them with their ability to learn from other teaching styles, meet friends, and acclimate to other environments. Seems like it was already a reasonable compromise for the parents - some of both methods. But, either way, the basis of the court's decision should have been on her academic abilities and nothing to do with faith.

I think its just the perilious times that was foretold in the scriptures. Also, I think its no more time we complain but comply with the scriptures.