The extent of religious liberty is back before the court, this time wrapped up in a case involving home schooling. The courts have dealt with home schooling issues before, so there's nothing new there. The case is McIntyres v. El Paso School District.
- Click here for the case.
The State's 8th District court of appeals had ruled on a previous issue involving accusations of truancy.
- Click here for that result.
Here's a bit from coverage by the Dallas Morning News:
- Click here for the story.
- Click here for the case.
The State's 8th District court of appeals had ruled on a previous issue involving accusations of truancy.
- Click here for that result.
Here's a bit from coverage by the Dallas Morning News:
- Click here for the story.
Laura McIntyre began educating her nine children more than a decade ago inside a vacant office at an El Paso motorcycle dealership she ran with her husband and other relatives.
Now the family is embroiled in a legal battle the Texas Supreme Court hears Monday that could have broad implications on the nation’s booming home-school ranks. The McIntyres are accused of failing to teach their children educational basics because they were waiting to be transported to heaven with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
At issue: Where do religious liberty and parental rights to educate one’s children stop and obligations to ensure home-schooled students ever actually learn something begin?
“Parents should be allowed to decide how to educate their children, not whether to educate their children,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Massachusetts-based Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
Like other Texas home-school parents, Laura and Michael McIntyre weren’t required to register with state or local education officials. They also didn’t have to teach state-approved curriculums or give standardized tests.
But problems began when the dealership’s co-owner and Michael’s twin brother, Tracy, reported never seeing the children reading, working on math, using computers or doing much of anything educational except singing and playing instruments. He said he heard one of them say learning was unnecessary since “they were going to be raptured.”
Then, the family’s eldest daughter, 17-year-old Tori, ran away from home saying she wanted to return to school. She was placed in ninth grade, because officials weren’t sure she could handle higher-level work.
The El Paso school district eventually asked the McIntyres to provide proof that their children were being properly educated and even filed truancy charges that were later dropped. The family sued, and an appeals court ruled against them, but now the case goes to the all-Republican state Supreme Court.
For more coverage:
- Texas Supreme Court takes up home-schooling case.
- Texas court considers homeschool autonomy.
- Conservative Texas court to decide if homeschoolers can wait for the Rapture instead of teaching their kids.
The Texas Home School Coalition has links to previous court decisions regarding the right of parents to home school students.
- Click here for the Leeper Case Decisions.
