Court Orders Child into Public School

Do you think a judge should decide what school a child must attend? That decision has always been made by parents, not the government. When parents disagree, the just have to work it out and come to some decision or compromise. In our land of liberty, this decision should be made by the parents, not by a judge.

Ten-year-old Amanda Kurowski had been homeschooled by her mother since first grade. Her parents divorced when she was a newborn, and her mother has primary custody. Amanda’s father wants her to go to public school, so he took his complaint to court. In a shocking decision, the court ordered Amanda to go to public school. Amanda is a perfectly well-adjusted, normal young girl. She attends supplemental public school classes and participates in a variety of sports. Even the judge acknowledged that Amanda is well liked, social and interactive with her peers, and intellectually above her grade level.

The judge ordered this homeschooled child into public school after the family court bureaucrats said that Amanda reflected "her mother’s rigidity on questions of faith.” The judge ruled that Amanda “would be best served by exposure to multiple points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior and cooperation in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best suit her own needs.”

Now remember, Amanda is only ten years old. The family court has no business making a ruling about school based on the notion that she has not had the opportunity to seriously consider any religious points of view other than what her mother taught her. So, Amanda started 5th grade at her local public school in New Hampshire this fall. The Alliance Defense Fund is helping Amanda’s mother to challenge the court order, and we don't know what the courts will finally decide.

Listen to the Audio version of this commentary.