Are your rights safe - local woman tells of her fight for right to home school at CWA this weekend

   Lisa Naeger and her children

So, do you think your home school rights are safe? Is Missouri a home school friendly state? How home school friendly is our state?

If you home school in the state of Missouri, you have probably heard on more than one occasion that Missouri is a home school friendly state. If this is true, it is in a large part thanks to politicians in law-making influential roles such as Cynthia Davis and Todd Akin for starters. But, how home school friendly is our state? And, can we afford to relax and trust it will stay this way?

Last month, over 2,000 home schoolers rallied at the last minute to show up on the steps of Jefferson City when we were informed of a bill that was being re-written which could adversely affect our home schooling rights. When the lawmakers saw the vast amount of people at the courthouse steps on such short notice to support home school rights, they were impressed. They ended up re-writing the Bill. In the end, the Bill does not benefit home schooler’s as much as the rally had hoped and was reported as it leaves lots of room for intrusion by government because we now have to address the number of hours that actually qualify for credit hour, and compulsory school age is now 17. Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is working on amendments for the next session.  Still, we got the ball rolling in the right direction.

But, the outcome isn’t always in a home schoolers’ favor. Recently, State Representative, Cynthia Davis’ Bill to propose an amendment to our state constitution guaranteeing parents and legal guardians the right to care, educate and raise their children without governmental hindrance did not pass. On a larger scale, the UN-CRC could adversely affect every nurturing parent in our nation. Michael Farris from HSLDA will continue to move forward at the national level with a National Initiative regarding a Parental Rights Amendment. You can join the fight for your parental rights by signing an online petition:

   Sign Parental Rights Online Petition - Click on "Join The Fight" to sign

HSLDA has been very successful in helping to set precedent in national and state-inflicted laws regarding home schooling across our nation. But, what happens if you are caught in the middle of a battle which the state did not inflict – such as a divorce? You may not know that the HSLDA and Families for Home Education (FHE) will not represent you.

Such laws have affected local home schooling mom, Lisa Naeger. No stranger to the public school system; after serving a term on the Francis Howell School Board, she decided to home school her children 8 years ago. Since that time, she has been careful to uphold all the laws of our state. She has kept logs and records of her children’s academic studies and hours of instruction along with samples of their school work. Her children have thrived in the home schooling environment showing steady improvement each year and always testing at or above grade level on standardized tests she chose to have administered to her children. She even went a step further and chose to enrich her children’s learning with outside courses offered through co-ops & lessons. This not only added to their academic learning but their well-rounded social skills – you know, those cherished socialization skills that so many who oppose home schooling are concerned home schooled children will never achieve!

In January 2008, after 21 years of marriage; Lisa found herself in the middle of a divorce. Her husband, an attorney and CPA with substantial income, had filed for divorce and didn’t stop there. With the concern that he could not support two households after the marriage ended if Lisa remained home to teach the children, he proceeded to make home schooling an issue to contest as part of the divorce hearings. Prior to this, he had never expressed any concerns about his children being home schooled.

In St. Charles County, a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is usually appointed in custody cases when there is alleged abuse. It is their job to act as a representative of the children to ensure the best interests of the children in court. In this case, the GAL has turned this divorce into Lisa and her children’s worst nightmare. She immediately questioned the children, leaving them in tears. She then ordered them to write a report comparing and contrasting home school to “regular school.” After that, she submitted them to psychological testing, more academic achievement testing & testing for Lisa to determine her competency as a teacher. The result of this? The judge granted an order, requested by the GAL, that her children register for school in the fall. And, Lisa was told that she was not to discuss any details of the case with her children, leaving them wondering why they are being put through all this trauma.

In an effort to get her story heard and to instruct and warn other home schoolers as to how fragile our home schooling rights can be, Lisa Naeger will be speaking at a Concerned Woman for America meeting this Saturday, June 13, 2009 at Pillar in The Valley located at 229 Chesterfield Business Parkway (long Road and Chesterfield Business Parkway) from 9:00-11:00 a.m. She will talk about what has happened in her case since she last spoke to CWA and what she has learned. Her trial is scheduled for July 28th and 30th in St. Charles County, Division 4, Judge Richard K Zerr.

She wants home schoolers to know what she has learned about our home schooling rights and how home schooling laws and associations may not protect you once you are already caught up “in” the legal system whether it be divorce or another type of situation that would challenge your competency as a home schooler or even as a parent. Divorce is not the only issue that can call into question homeschooling issues. These issues can be raised by relatives, neighbors, babysitters or the little old lady who peeks out her door during school hours, observes your children in their own back yard, and sees it her civic duty to report it as truancy. So, even if you are certain divorce is not a threat in your situation, there can be other unexpected threats to your rights. In Lisa’s case, she has discovered that the courts are questioning her competency simply because she has a lesser education than her husband and chose to enrich and supplement her children’s home education with outside classes such as Latin, gymnastics, scouting, The Pillar, co-ops, etc. – Something many home schoolers choose to do in an effort to offer a well-rounded, socialized education in the best interest of our children.

If all this sounds complicated and unpleasant, that’s probably because when you are trying to be a light shining in the darkness, it can look pretty bleak to your right & to your left. Even though a recent USA Today article reported home schooling is on the rise, we are still in the minority at 2.9%. But, when home schoolers join together, we get things moving in the right direction and stop hindrances of our rights to educate our children the way we are entitled to educate them in a free society which our founding leaders sought and established.

Here’s how you can keep on top of what is happening in your local courts and general assembly:

Stay informed

CWA Event:
  Pillar in the Valley
  229 Chesterfield Business Parkway
  Call CWA of Missouri at 636-536-6506 for more information or email Bev Ehlen at bevehlen@yahoo.com.

Sign parental rights petition to push back encroachment on the family

HSLDA

Homeschool Injustice blog

Other Cases to read about

Missouri and other State home school laws
 

Missouri Family Policy Council

What to do if a Social Worker/DFS Knocks On Your Door