* Forwarded (from: PIML) by Roy J. Tellason using timEd 1.01.
* Originally from Ed Wolfe (1:270/615.77) to All.
* Original dated: Jan 02 '97, 01:53
From: ewolfe@wnstar.com (Ed Wolfe)
Organization: Liberty Chimney Repair
Subject: piml] Homeschooler Wins against School Officials
[Excerpt from Education Reporter, Dec. Issue - Eagle Forum]
Homeschooling Mom Acquitted in Criminal Case
ANNAPOLIS, MD - A District Court judge has acquitted a mother charged with 
failing to educate her child. The case was the first of its kind in Maryland.
On October 23, Judge James Dryden found Cheryl Anne Battles of Anne Arundel 
County not guilty of failing to comply with Maryland's compulsory-education 
law. Prosecutors had charged that her seven-year-old daughter, Emily McCann, 
was being short-changed because Mrs. Battles refused to allow school 
officials to monitor her home education.
Maryland's state board of education bylaws require homeschoolers to present a 
portfolio of school work to public educators semi-annually or otherwise 
register with a private or religious school authorized by the state to 
supervise the child's instruction.
While Mrs. Battles may have violated certain regulations, Judge Dryden ruled 
that she nonetheless complies with Maryland's compulsory-education law by 
providing "a regular and thorough" education for her daughter. A violation of 
regulations, continued the judge, does not deserve criminal penalties, which 
would have resulted in a 10-day jail term and a fine of up to $1,000. "That
just seems to me to be too much," he said.
Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, 
testified on behalf of Mrs. Battles, pointing to Emily's above-average test 
results in reading, language, and math.
Conflict with the 72,000-student county school system arose in 1994 when 
school officials attempted several visits and calls to the Battles home. Mrs. 
Battles sued the system on the ground that such intrusions violated her 
constitutional rights as a parent. She said that officials insisted that she 
teach evolution and other topics which she opposes for religious reasons.
Mrs. Battles felt that complying with the state bylaws "would be going into a 
partnership with the school district in the education of her child that was 
offensive to her religious beliefs," said David Gordon, a staff lawyer at the 
Home School Legal Defense Association, a Purcelville, VA, group that 
represented Mrs. Battles.
Prosecutor Andrew V. Jezic argued that, although Mrs. Battles may be properly 
educating her child, acquitting her would diminish the state's power to 
ensure that all children are being well educated. The decision disappointed 
prosecutors and county school officials because it sets a precedent for the 
11,000 other homeschooling families in Maryland to resist supervision.
"Other parents could follow Mrs. Battles' path," lamented Darren Burns, 
attorney for the Anne Arundel County public school system.
Jezic predicted that a flood of parents, as a result of the decision, will 
refuse to cooperate with school districts or provide proof that they are 
adequately educating their children. He said that the only way to enforce 
state regulations would be to file individual cases and coerce parents into 
court.
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