Homeschoolers, hat do you think of this?

Question

Goulart and Travers v. Calvert County

Community centers discriminate against home schoolers

Filed: January 31, 2000, Calvert County.

Nature of Case:

Calvert County, Maryland refused to permit two homeschooling moms the use of their community centers for a fiber arts class and a geography club. The classes would have been open to the public. These centers are generally available to all citizens of the community for similar activities, including knitting and Russian language classes. The County's policy is explicit: "[H]ome schoolers may not use community centers." The County maintains that because under Maryland law homeschoolers can count the classes toward fulfilling part of their educational requirements it is justified in banning homeschoolers use of the centers.

HSLDA filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court asking the Court to declare the policy a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech and of the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. When Calvert County opened its facility to the general use of the public for conducting similar classes, it could not constitutionally deny access to homeschoolers on the grounds that some of the children would get educational credit for them.

Ruling:

8-20-02: The United States District Court for Maryland held that the Community Center had not violated the homeschoolers' rights reasoning that teaching the young is not speech protected by the First Amendment. It also held that the Community Center could legally exclude homeschoolers without violating the Fourteenth Amendment.

9-26-03: HSLDA appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia. Oral arguments were held on May 9, 2003. The Fourth Circuit overturned the District Court, saying that teaching the young is speech protected by the First Amendment. However, it held that the Community Center had not violated the homeschoolers' rights by excluding them.

Answer 1

Home School or not I think it's wrong. Who says that home schoolers aren't using the Russian and knitting classes as part of their education? I think art and geography are important and if they are willing to host classes for kids in public school then they need to open it for home schoolers as well. The classes were to be offered to everyone not just home schoolers. Why is a problem if home school teachers offer a class they're not preaching their religion (unless it's a religion class)? They want a place to teach art (which our kids need these days with the public schools cutting out the art programs) and most kids can't find any particular country on a map even if they take geography. Both are important aspects of education to ALL STUDENTS!

Answer 2

I think it's terrible, of course. Community centers should be open TO THE COMMUNITY, and homeschoolers have opted out of the school system, not the community. Especially since the classes would have been open to the public, it is completely outrageous.

That being said, I tend to feel that people are generally better off trying to fix things without going to court. And in this case, while I think it was morally wrong to deny them access, there are precedents for legally denying a whole host of things that I think are outrageous.

In this case, rather than court, I would have suggested bringing the matter to the community. They should speak up in town meetings (and try to stack the deck in their favor by bringing as many people who agree with you as possible); give flyers to everyone going in and out of the community center highlighting the fact that, by denying them space, the community center denied the community access to these classes; write letters to the editor; go door-to-door with flyers; get a petition going; try and get national media involved by pointing out that parents of students attending public, private or religious schools could have had these classes (which the homeschoolers could have gotten credit for anyway), but the county was against the poor defenseless homeschoolers, etc.

Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems likely that the HSLDA took the course of action that was most likely to have legal consequences for other people elsewhere, rather than the action that would have best encouraged a change in policy.

Answer 3

Is it a community center or a public school center? (That was rhetorical, by the way.) If they're going to make it open to the public, they need to make it open to homeschoolers. That's my opinion.

Answer 4

I think it's ridiculous.  Should the City Library system and the Parks Department also ban homeschooling students from usage of their facilities because it can be classified as academic work?

Last I checked, homeschoolers pay the same taxes as public and private school families (and the same as families without children).  Therefore, quite frankly, we have the same rights to use community property and facility as anyone else.  If they just plain banned children's classes because of disrespectful behavior, insurance, or whatever, that would be one thing; however, banning only classes run by homeschoolers (and for participation of everyone in the community, for crying out loud) is discrimination.

Gee, maybe they should just set up "homeschooler only" restrooms and water fountains...maybe "homeschooler only" vending machines.  I mean, golly, homeschool kids might use the same facilities as public school kids, and that just wouldn't be right.

Sheesh...

Answer 5

I don't know how they got away with that. If you take their thinking even further, no homeschooling child can participate in ANYTHING at that community centre because they could count the activity towards their educational requirements. And what, a homeschool group can't host a party there? It's ridiculous. It should go back to court.

Answer 6

No tax funded institution has a right to exclude any member of the community for any reason. Period