New Hampshire Supreme Court agrees to hear homeschool case of 10 year old ordered to public school

November 25, 4:31 PMLittleton Homeschooling ExaminerLynda Ackert

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NH Judicial Branch

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The New Hampshire State Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a 10 year old girl who was ordered to attend public school because of her strong, “vigorous” Christian beliefs.

Alliance Defense Fund attorney, John Anthony Simmons, representing the homeschooling mother has stated that “Courts can settle disputes, but they cannot legitimately order a child into a government-run school on the basis that her religious views need to be mixed with other views. That’s precisely what the lower court admitted it is doing in this case, and that’s where our concern lies.”

Earlier this year, a lower court ruled that the girl, being referred to as Amanda could no longer be homeschooled by her mother and must attend public school. The court had ruled that Amanda is “at an age when it can be expected that she would benefit from the social interaction and problem solving she will find in public school, and granting a stay would result in a lost opportunity for her.” The court made this decision even after it acknowledged the Amanda’s mother has “more than kept up” with the public schools in the education of her daughter. The court also described Amanda as "well liked, social and interactive with her peers, academically promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level." Even so, the lower court ordered her to attend public school. Now, the New Hampshire State Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Why is this case one that all parents should follow? The rulings in the case thus far are setting a very dangerous standard. As ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson stated," We are concerned anytime a court oversteps its bounds to tread on the right of a parent to make sound educational choices.” All of this, simply because a daughter has embraced her mother’s Christian beliefs, what will be next?