There are many different reasons parents decide to homeschool, but most center around parents' rights to choose to teach their child(ren) according to the parents' belief system. Most often these belief systems center around political, religious and/or social beliefs and parents want to be the primary influence in their child(ren)'s lives.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of certain education related cases, that may interest you if you are a homeschooling parent.
* A case that was to test of the constitutionality of requiring a student to get a parent’s permission before the student may refuse, as a matter of principle, to salute the American flag during school ceremonies (Frazier v. Smith, 08-1351). This case challenged a Florida law that requires students to have parental permission to refuse to participate in daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance. Cameron Frazier, who as a high school student in 2005 was rebuked at his school for refusing to stand or recite the pledge without parental permission to do so. This is seen as a positive vote from the Supreme Court for parental rights.
* A plea for the Court to further clarify when public school officials, fearing disruption of school life, may impose a ban on displays of the Confederate flag or other symbols that they fear will arouse students (Barr v. Lafon, 08-1325). The original case was brought on behalf of three Tennessee students who challenged their school district's prohibition of displays of the Confederate flag. This decision from the Supreme Court can be viewed as either positive or negative, based on one's beliefs about the meaning behind Confederate flag as it is used today.
The above decisions were released today via the U.S. Supreme Court Blog
Photo Credit: Kjetil Ree/Wiki Commons
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