Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
Mike, last time you ended by mentioning the Parental Rights Amendment. Would you tell us about some of the developments in homeschooling around the world that make that amendment so necessary?

Mike Farris:
Well Mike, as you know, the situation in Europe gets worse by the day for the rights of homeschoolers, particularly in Germany and in Sweden. In Sweden in 2009, a seven year old boy named Dominic Johansson was seized while sitting on an airplane ready to fly to India (his mom’s an Indian citizen and he’s a dual citizen). And the Swedish authorities have kept custody of this boy—over a year in custody because his family wants to homeschool.

Many families are being prosecuted in Germany. One of these families, the Romeikes, fled to the United States and were granted political asylum by the first immigration judge that heard their case. The Obama administration has appealed that, showing that they don’t believe that homeschooling freedom is a real human right. All this points to the need for the Parental Rights Amendment.

Only a constitutional amendment trumps international law on a consistent and reliable basis. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first international treaty that fails to say that parents have the prior right to choose the education of their children. It is a remarkable shift in the direction of human rights law, shows why we need the Parental Rights Amendment today in America.

Mike Smith:
Mike, thanks for that sobering update on international homeschooling!

And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.