Wow! This is bizarre and, actually, not common in Missouri. A single mother of five was sentenced to two days in jail for her 13 year old son’s truancy from public school. According to the news report, he missed nearly half of the 2007-2008 school year. After he was expelled for truancy, the mom was then ‘homeschooling’ him; but, apparently that is also in question, according to the Prosecutors.
In a shocking decision, the Judge ordered the boy back into school – and specifically ordered that he not be homeschooled, but placed back into public school. Even Jim Morris, from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, found the ruling against homeschooling to be unusual. Morris said, “That is a rare step,” noting that neither his office nor many school districts regulate home schooling. “The state has always had a hands-off policy.”
This is definitely a case to watch; because Missouri has always been very homeschool friendly. Even though this isn’t primarily a case about homeschooling, it did come into play and is worth watching to see how it all unfolds in the appeal process.
