Home schooler vindicated
Logan County controversy ends with affirming Circuit Court decision
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, July/August, 2001.

    Kentucky’s 7th circuit court overruled a lower court decision to force a Russellville home schooler to attend public school until she is 18.  After eight months of legal proceedings, Tyler L. Gill, 7th Circuit Judge, ruled on June 5, that home schooling is a fundamental parental right.
    “We are grateful that the appeal court recognized the juvenile judge’s abuse of parental rights and restored the authority of Mr. and Mrs. Dukes over their own daughter,” said David Gordon, Home School Legal Defense Association attorney representing the home schoolers.
    The case began in October of last year, when George and Deborah Dukes submitted a notice of intent to home school their daughter Sarah, because of persistent headaches that led to a number of absences.  Within a week, Sarah was charged with truancy and ordered back to public school by Logan District Judge Sue Carol Browning.  When the family rejected the order and continued to home school, Judge Browning issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Deborah and a pick-up order to remove the daughter from the home. A last minute-appeal halted the arrest.
    Ironically, Sarah spent as many days missing school while in court as the school district originally accused her of missing in their truancy charge.  As time went on, the school district’s case began to crumble.  At first, they charged Sarah with eight unexcused absences.  State law requires nine to trigger court proceedings.  Then the county attorney amended the petition — twice — to change the number of alleged absences. It was later found in the court proceedings that the school had 3 different versions of Sarah’s attendance record, thus putting in question the veracity of the school’s charges.
    Judge Gill elaborated on what he regarded as the pressing issue.  “Regardless of the problems mentioned above, this case turns upon a more glaring issue. That is whether the conduct of a child in being truant from school, without any showing of misconduct on the part of the parents, triggers a forfeiture of the parents’ fundamental right to make decisions concerning their child’s education to the State,” wrote Gill.
    “Parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children. This right includes the right of parents to choose an alternate education in lieu of public schools,” he continued.
    While the specific ruling was good news for Kentucky home schoolers, it should not be interpreted in any way to neglect state standards.
 
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander, Executive Director Martin Cothran, Senior Associate Policy Analyst