VERMONT
Limited Exemption Granted
Vermont law permits religious exemptions from the otherwise applicable portions of the home school statue, but exemptions are rarely granted by the Vermont Department of Education. This year, however, Ken and Sheree Hadley of Granitville have been granted a religious exemption.
The Vermont home school law requires parents to submit "independent professional evidence on whether the child is handicapped." Vermont is very unusual in demanding that home schoolers prove this information—no other state in the county has this kind of requirement. Ken and Sheree Hadley have sincere religious objections to submitting proof that their youngest child had no special needs.
The Hadleys, through their Home School Legal Defense Association lawyers, submitted a request that Vermont recognize their since religious objections to this requirement. The department's initial response was, "We deny that the Vermont compulsory attendance statute is unconstitutional." It took a second letter from HSLDA to point out that the Hadleys were not challenging the constitutionality of the law, but were simply claiming the religious exemption which is available under the law. After several more letters and telephone calls (and a personal visit between Mr. Hadley and Natalie Casco, Vermont's Home Study Consultant), the Commissioner of Education finally notified the Hadleys that their home study program had been recognized.
The religious exemption provision of Vermont law is not easily obtained but is very important. Without it, Vermont's law would almost certainly be unconstitutional. With it, the state's regulatory power is clearly limited to preserve constitutional freedoms.
