Posted on 3/10/2007, 5:22:22 AM by LiteKeeper
TRENTON, March 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Honorable Thomas Zampino of the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has ordered penal charges against a home-schooling mother of seven. According to a report by Matt Bowman on the website constitutionallycorrect.com, the mother's supposed infraction is home-schooling her children without supervision from the local school board - a right explicitly upheld in New Jersey law.
According to the court's opinion, Tara Hamilton is the defendant in a suit brought against her by her recently estranged husband, Stephen Hamilton. Stephen brought the suit in an attempt to force Tara to enroll their school-age children, aged 12 to 4 years, in parochial school because he believes that they are not receiving an adequate education while being home-schooled. All seven children currently reside with Tara.
According to the court document, Stephen claims that "continued home schooling is not in the children's best interest, they lack socialization skills and that it is too difficult for the mother to teach the children at five different grade levels. The father argues that the children are not receiving an education equivalent to a public or parochial school."
Prior to the marital discord that led to this suit, the Hamiltons had similarly home-schooled all of their school-age children.
In an effort to implement "certain basic requirements and safeguards", the judge ordered Tara to submit her home-schooling children to standardized tests supplied by the local school district despite NJ law which says, "A child educated elsewhere than at school is not required to sit for a state or district standardized test."
The judge also ordered the local school board to file a suit against Tara in order to be able to "evaluate the instruction in the home," a requirement only permissible if the local school board determines that there is credible evidence that the home education is below the standards of the public school.
Because of NJ's explicit laws protecting the parental right to educate their children at home, the judge had only limited options when it came to personally implementing his philosophies of "monitoring" and "registering" home-schoolers." The judge cautioned that, should the school board refuse to comply with his 'suggestions', the court would "consider, by formal opinion, a request to join those parties to action."
The New Jersey Department of Education website states, "The provision, "to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school," in N.J.S.A. 18A:38-25 permits parent(s)/guardian(s) to educate the child at home." According to New Jersey law, parents desiring to home-school their children are not required to submit any type of communication of intent to a local school board. Parents are also not required to have their home-school curricula approved by a school board.
A NJ school board may only act against a home-schooling parent "If there is credible evidence that the parent, guardian or other person having custody and control of a school-age child is not causing the child either to attend school (public or nonpublic) or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school…" Under those circumstances, the school board is permitted to request the parents/guardians of a school age child provide proof, such as a letter of intent, that the child is receiving "equivalent instruction."
The judge criticized the NJ law and lamented the fact that it upholds the rights of parents to home-school their children without interference from the government. Implying that children being educated by their parents are unsupervised, the judge stated, "This is shocking to the court. In this day and age where we seek to protect children from harm and sexual predators, so many children are left unsupervised."
The judge continued, "In today's threatening world, where we seek to protect children from abuse, not just physical, but also educational abuse, how can we not monitor the educational welfare of all our children?" He then gave the case of a recently found starving child locked "in a putrid bedroom" as an example of what happens when home-schooled children are not "registered and supervised."
In what Bowman refers to as a "judicial temper tantrum" the judge opines, "This is not an attack against home schooling, but rather a statement that it is necessary to register those children for whom this alternative is chosen and to monitor that their educational needs are being adequately nurtured. Judicial interpretation of the statute requires such steps to measure 'equivalent instruction' when the alternative 'elsewhere than at school' is chosen by parents."
Bowman commented on the judge's circumvention of the law by requiring the school board to take the action that he could not, saying, "Well, state law does allow school districts to haul parents into court under state penal law if credible evidence exists that their children's education is improper. Presto! Order the local school district to charge the mom with violation of penal law! Never mind that the school district is not a party to this divorce proceeding. Never mind that "[t]he mere fact that a child has been withdrawn to be home-schooled is not, in itself, credible evidence of a legal violation.""
Bowman summed up the opinion saying, "The court's opinion seethes with contempt for parental primacy in education, for large religious families, and for the democratic process itself. Instead of legal reasoning, the court disgustingly showcases the prospect of children "found unfed and locked in a putrid bedroom."
Bowman concluded by drawing a scary comparison between the actions of this activist NJ judge and the recent human rights violations against a home-schooling family in Germany. "It can seem distant when we hear news of police raiding homes in Germany and abducting home-schooled children, but in our small world of judicial oligarchy and broken families, Germany is not so far away after all."
To respectfully contact Jon Corzine, governor of New Jersey:
Office of the Governor PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625 609-292-6000
See Constitutionally Correct web-page: constitutionallycorrect.com
Read Justice Zampino's full ruling: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/decisions/hamilton070223.pd...
ping
I know several families who prefer to home school their own children, and very successfully, I might add, in order to keep them out of the socialist California schools.
Without commenting on the particulars of this case, I would suggest that society at large has a legitimate interest in determining whether young people are being educated in a way that does not disadvantage either them or the society in which they reside. Not every home-schooling or alternative-schooling agent has the best interests of their student(s) and society in view, for example, radical muslim madrassah-type indoctrinators. Some societal oversight of home-schooling and alternative-schooling is only prudent.
Proud father of two homeschooled kids (one, freeper Ultra Sonic 007 is straight-A's in college -- full scholarship, no less, and the other will soon be hot at his heels.)
I get tired of the attacks on homeschoolers. If you don't have the right to educate your own child, you don't have any rights at all. It's that simple.
I would be proud too!
My sons are all adults now and have been for some time, but in America today if I had young children, I would definitely home school them.
["Not every home-schooling or alternative-schooling agent has the best interests of their student(s) and society in view..."]
I know that when I home-schooled my son, I did NOT have the best interests of society in view. I did have the best interests of the student (my son) in view.
You lump the two together as if they were mutually linked. Screw what society wants, especially when society is as screwed up as it is now.
["Some societal oversight of home-schooling and alternative-schooling is only prudent."]
No, it isn't. Placing the power over your children into the hands of uncaring strangers, is not going to be beneficial to anyone. And let me assure you, the school district and your local politicians and judges will have a different idea than you will about what's best for your child's education. When disagreements occur, who should be allowed to be the final arbiter?
The only oversight that the government should be allowed to provide is on whether or not the child is actually receiving an education. Not what kind of material is being taught.
Madrassa's are a completely separate issue, since they are more akin to a death cult than a school, and should be dealt with by the DHS and FBI, not your local school board.
Hope you are feeling better pandora!
These children do not have to be evaluated in any way? Their father's claims have no merit?
Your son is one sharp knife. I enjoy reading his commentary.
I am told that we have over 14,000 home schoolers here in Colorado Springs, and that there are at least 50 home school support groups spread around Colorado.
"they lack socialization skills"
Exactly when are children being socialized in Public schools.....when they are walking quietly down the halls, in their silent lunch periods, in their classrooms where they are not allowed to speak???? My homeschool children have chances several times a week to actually interact with children of all ages. I am appalled by the judges infringements on this mom's rights.
Congratulations on your children's success in college. You were very lucky to have the opportunity to school your children at home and instill a love of learning in them. My children have blossomed and now have a enjoyment of history and learning that I didn't see until I pulled them out of public school last year.
The father was perfectly happy with the arrangement until the marriage went bad. Now he is using the homeschooling issue as a means of attacking his wife and kids. It's hard to have much respect for a twit like that.
I know that when I home-schooled my son, I did NOT have the best interests of society in view. I did have the best interests of the student (my son) in view.[snip]
When disagreements occur, who should be allowed to be the final arbiter?
There are always competing interests; it's always a question of balancing society's expectations with the expectations of individuals. Do you hold that the best interests of your son were in no way connected with the best interests of society at large? Did you expect him to grow up to be a hermit? Probably not, so the question is in play: How do we find a balance?
We don't live in a small hamlet where folks share the same lives and opinions and modes of behavior. Frankly, I would want to know about it if somebody were teaching their kids to hate the society in which they reside and also (for example) how to make bombs to target government officials, or mall shoppers, or 'infidels' with whom they disagreed. And no doubt you would want to know about it if your neighbors were teaching their kids to do such stuff.
I don't know of any rule book that lays out just what ought to be examined and what ought to be ignored with regard to home-schooling and alternative-schooling. But any society that seeks to maintain order and continue to exist will have to have some rules about such things, and the people who wish to continue living in that society should be in favor of there being some rules of that sort.
This is a terrible story but there is good news in it for NJ parents who want to home school. This judge needs to be put in a stock and caned.
Thanks for weighing in with the socialist view.
Thanks for weighing in with the socialist view.
Maybe you don't want to know whether your neighbors are teaching their kids to hate you and your family, but I want to know whether that's what my neighbors are doing. That's not socialism, it's survivalism.
Well said, and well done!
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