New truancy enforcement laws have sparked criminal charges against several homeschool families in Nebraska. A Dawson County Sheriff’s deputy actually threatened to remove one family’s children unless they enrolled them in public school.
The family had recently moved from another state to Nebraska. Believing that Nebraska regulations permitted them to select their own school year without regard to the public school calendar, they had not filed their exemption paperwork.
Forcing God's people through coercive and/or manipulative actions, directly or indirectly, to obey so-called laws of man, whether or not said laws can be known and understood, and, whether or not said laws be few in number, such as 13, or great in number, such as millions, is legalism, and those who teach, preach and support such legalism are legalists.
Hi Neil, Thanks for the clarification... I didn't understand where you were coming from earlier. Yes, $$$$$$$$ certainly are important to the Gov't school administrators; superintendants are similar to CEOs.
Angela, no argument; did you read the latter part of my post?
Every homeschooled student means less money for a school (though we still pay property tax), since their funding rule is based upon Average Daily Attendance. So avarice (from a management perspective) & featherbedding (from a teacher's union perspective), not just ideology, are possible motivations for their hostility. This also may explain why sincere & talented teachers, like the late Jaime Escalante, face harassment too. Read John Taylor Gatto for more info. As with many churches, the prosperity of the system matters more than the individual.
Illinois is one of the better states for home schooling... My comment was in reference to the attitude the educational elite had when I served on the local school board. I also attended social services meetings undercover, so to speak, and their attitude was even more antagonistic toward parents and their God-given rights. Behind closed doors and during executive sessions is where the truth will come out on just how arrogant these people really are. Christians, please remember to "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" while in this world. Stay loyal to King Jesus.
I must add, however, that school districts vary wildly in their attitude towards homeschoolers, so state law may be more permissive than school districts admit or practice. Often, HSLDA lawyers have to point this out to district authorities.
"Of course, this all presupposes that children are wards of the state, rather than children of the parents." Mike from New York is right. I served on a government school board and can testify that the educational elite/professional/government workers attitude was one of the children were their property and parents who questioned their authority were ridiculed and demonized. Home schooling and Christian parents need to support and rally around this family. Stop blaming them for having a mind of their own. Thanks. BTW - Start attending your local school board meetings and you'll receive an education on just how far our nation has backslidden and how much ground the God-haters have taken.
Of course not Neil! This why the model of Nebraska is, "The Good Life" I'm trying to get the state to pay for extended winter stay in your state, though and then it will be near perfect!
Many of our lawmakers would like to do like Alabama and send some people to Arizona permanently, with encouragement like this, Immigration: Alabama law leaves undocumented residents in Limbo Be ready to Bienvenido (Pardon my Espanol, we will all probably have to brush up on it.)
Mike, I never said the legal system followed the real world, but the principle, "Ignorance of the Law is no excuse not to obey it," is what people are held to.
Children who may not be wards of the state, they are protected by the state, we have come past the time when children had to be protected, by cruelty to animal laws in the 19th century. It wasn't a perfect world in Victorian America and it isn't a perfect world, now, and it when it is, when Christ returns, there will be people who will even reject that at the end of the Millennium The Prophesied Kingdom, part 2.
Nebraska Homeschool Laws aren't kept a secret, I would think the the Nebraska Dept. of Education would have been more than happy to inform people of what they are.
JPW, Nebr. only holds people that can pay taxes, the rest are welcomed to leave!
It is not difficult to find out homeschool “rules” in each state. HSLDA publishes these as well – check out their website. It's not as if one has to absorb Leviticus here.
And even Leviticus is nothing compared to the Federal Register, which businesses ignore to their peril. Big corporations have an advantage – they can pay lawyers to stay up to date.
I'd rather have no rules, of course, but notification by affidavit (such as in AZ) is tolerable.
Jim Lincoln wrote: Mike from NY, we have quite a few families at Indian Hills Community Church that home school their children. There is quite an active home school organization in the state, Encouraging and supporting Christian families who educate their children at home. We seem to have a debate on what is "legal truth" on another thread, and one of those truisms is that, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse to disobey it." If these parents are so ignorant of the society they live in perhaps they aren't capable of home schooling their children? But Nebraska isn't hostile to home schooling, as a leader in our Unicameral pointed out, So, perhaps the law does need to be changed. The Home Schooling movement is strong enough in this state to make itself heard.
Hope you're right, Jim. I would take to task the phrase about ignorance of the law, however. If judges and lawyers wrangle about it, and it consists of thousands upon thousands of pages, I would argue that ignorance of the law is quite acceptable. If the law doesn't know what it is, neither can the people. Many laws are designed by lawyers to befuddle, in order that lawyers have something to do.
Many years ago now, HSLD used to encourage the families to know the laws in their respective states and to comply with them. I doubt there are many Home School families who didn't investigate the law before they change states. If families had conscience issues, regarding whose God given responsibility it was to educate their children and believed it a compliance that violated their God-given authority, HSLD warned them of possible consequence but would support them if it came to litigation.
It seems to me; what is lacking today related to a general lawlessness in society, is trust. It is implied most parents don't have their child's best interest at heart. It is not justice to assume guilt so it is required one prove innocence. If one reasons that through it implies we don't know what innocence is, and need to be given a humanistic stamp of approval, then toleration will be extended to the Christian parent. How has it come to this? Hab. 1:3-4 "Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
We seem to have a debate on what is "legal truth" on another thread, and one of those truisms is that, "Ignorance of the law is no excuse to disobey it." If these parents are so ignorant of the society they live in perhaps they aren't capable of home schooling their children? But Nebraska isn't hostile to home schooling, as a leader in our Unicameral pointed out,
from the article wrote: State Senator Tony Fulton reportedly said that the law should be amended because, “We are criminalizing good parents to get after bad parents.”
So, perhaps the law does need to be changed. The Home Schooling movement is strong enough in this state to make itself heard.
With the atheist propoganda coming from public schools and the fact that homeschoolers get better grades than their counterparts and the perverse things that people are put through with public.schools
Believers and their children are already exempt from attending the services of false religions. Don't need permission from the devil on how raise your children.
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in the 19th century. It wasn't a perfect world in Victorian America and it isn't a perfect world, now, and it when it is, when Christ returns, there will be people who will even reject that at the end of the Millennium 
But Nebraska isn't hostile to home schooling, as a leader in our Unicameral pointed out,
