Attorney Deborah G. Stevenson, Executive Director of NHELD, has published a bulletin on Homeschooling And Divorce. Recently there have been a number of cases where a judge ruled that a homeschooling child had to go to public school. Deborah explains what is happening:
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Did you know that there is a not so new threat to homeschooling? It’s called a decision by divorce court.
Recently, there have been increasing numbers of reports about courts ordering homeschooled children to attend public school. In virtually all of these publicized cases, the order has been the result of a divorce dispute.
Upon hearing that a court has ordered a homeschooled child to attend public school, the first thought that might cross your mind is that the Constitutional right of the parent to the upbringing and education of the child is being violated. While that may be true in some cases, before you reach that conclusion, it would be wise to understand all of the facts.
While it is true that the United States Supreme Court, in several well-known cases such as Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35 (1925); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232 (1972), and the like, has found that parents do have a Constitutional right to the upbringing and education of their children, the Court also said, within those decisions, that the state has the right to regulate homeschooling.
In addition, the state, through the courts, also has the right to resolve disputes between parents during a divorce. In fact, during a divorce, when parents cannot come to an agreement between themselves, the parents actually voluntarily grant authority to the state court the right to decide all aspects of the upbringing and education of the child. Essentially, to a certain extent, they waive their Constitutional right and cede authority to the state court.
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Read the whole bulletin for more details.
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