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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/30/2010 5:00:59 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Virginia--Why the Suspended Policy Is Out Of Bounds |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Virginia--Why the Suspended Policy Is Out Of Bounds Dear HSLDA Members and Friends in Warren County: We appreciate the school board's decision promptly to suspend the erroneous March 11 religious exemption policy. There are a number of problematic issues in the March 11 policy. But here is some additional background for those interested in understanding why three policy features, in particular, are legally out of bounds. The March 11 policy required a family to prove that religious exemption was the only way to protect their religious convictions -- that neither operating under the home instruction statute, enrolling their children a private school, nor hiring a tutor would protect their convictions. But this flies in the face of a 1991 Virginia Supreme Court decision. In Johnson v. Prince Willliam County School Board, a case handled by HSLDA's beloved Chris Klicka, the Prince William County School Board argued that the Johnsons were not entitled to the religious exemption if some other lawful form of education would accommodate their beliefs. But the Virginia Supreme Court rejected that argument. The Court said, "We will agree with the Johnsons that the sole test is the bona fides [good faith] of their religious beliefs." The Court repudiated parts of several Virginia Attorney General opinions that said the opposite. Because of this court case, it is not lawful for a school board to force a family to prove that no other form of education would protect their beliefs. The March 11 policy said the school board could allow its decision to be influenced by how the parents' beliefs "compared to those generally held by members of the religious organization to which they belong." But the idea that religious freedom should only be protected if a person's beliefs line up with the teachings of a religious entity has at least twice been rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1981, the Court said, "The guarantee of free exercise is not limited to beliefs which are shared by all of the members of a religious sect." The Court said that it was not up to judges to determine whether this person or that person " ... more correctly perceived the commands of their common faith." Thomas v. Review Board, 450 U.S. 707, 715-716. And in 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court said, "We reject the notion that to claim the protection of the Free Exercise clause, one must be responding to the commands of a particular religious organization." Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security, 489 U.S. 829, 834. The March 11 policy said the school board could allow its decision to be influenced by whether a parent's belief is "merely a social response to changing times." But the religious exemption statute does not allow a school board to favor or disfavor religious beliefs based on where they came from. The concurring justices in the Johnson case disapproved of a school board creating a test more stringent than the religious exemption statute itself. Furthermore, In 1987 the U.S. Supreme Court said " ... so long as one's faith is religiously-based at the time it is asserted, it should not matter, for constitutional purposes, whether that faith is derived from revelation, study, upbringing, gradual evolution, or some source that appears entirely incomprehensible." Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 480 U.S. 136, 144 n.9. The March 11 policy said the school board could allow its decision to be influenced by whether "the belief, if contested, would change." But according to the Virginia Supreme Court in the Johnson case, the only test is the bona fides (good faith, or sincerity) of a person's beliefs. The religious exemption statute does not require a person to prove that his beliefs would never change in the future. Adding this requirement would create a more stringent test than the religious exemption statute itself. And according the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobbie decision, if one's faith is religiously-based "at the time it is asserted," that should be sufficient. The religious exemption statute is concerned only with one's present beliefs. Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely Yours, Scott A. Woodruff, Senior Counsel ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
