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Religion & Law

: Religion Clause

New Hampshire High Court Upholds Public Schooling Over Home Schooling In Parental Dispute

By Howard M. Friedman

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In a widely followed case, the New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld a trial judge's order that an 11-year old girl be enrolled in public school rather than continue to be primarily home schooled by her mother. The issue arose when the girl's divorced parents who shared parental responsibilities could not agree on schooling plans. While the mother argued that the trial court's order violated parental rights to control the education of their children in conjunction with the free exercise of religion, the court said:

While this case has religious overtones, it is not about religion. While it involves home schooling, it is not about the merits of home versus public schooling. This case is only about resolving a dispute between two parents, with equal constitutional parenting rights and joint decision-making responsibility, who have been unable to agree how to best educate daughter.

In In re Kurowski, (NH Sup. Ct., March 16, 2011), the court concluded:

Because the parents in this case reached an impasse on the exercise of their respective parenting rights, the trial court properly utilized the best interests standard to resolve the dispute. The trial court?s decision is not subject to strict scrutiny review merely because the case involves the fundamental parental right to make decisions for daughter?s education and the parents' divergent religious convictions.

Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release on the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on March 17, 2011 (boomark / email).