Either their is more to this story than meets the eye, or the government of New Hampshire has determined that it shall be the arbiter of religious education for minors.
The state knows better than the parent.
Parental rights be damned.
Thank god the mothers and fathers of New Hampshire have the government to protect their children from bad parenting.
This case arose because the parents are divorcing/divorced and it’s a battle between them, and the child is caught in the cross-fire. However, as long as courts are brought in to these messes, they will almost always side with sending the kid to public school. This is really just another issue of destroying individual rights by the state.
I live in NH and also a divorced parent. I know first hand, what a battle in NH divorce court, can be like.
I do not agree with the judge’s decision. I also, do not agree with the contentions, that this is the court’s interfering on parental rights. It is a case, of the judge, siding with one parent over the other.
In NH, both parents have equal 50/50 parental rights. Works great, when both sides agree or compromise on areas of parenting. If not, then the courts get involved. The state (judge) decides which parent, makes the strongest argument. This time, the judge dropped the ball.
I can’t agree with the ruling in this case because, the judge did not follow the guidelines in place for education matters. They are, as long as, the child is not suffering academically, no changes will be ordered. Since the child is doing well academically, no valid reason exists.
Lack of exposure to different religious viewpoints is not a valid reason. I see no difference, if she was attending a Catholic, Jewish or Muslim or other religious school. Either way, the child is exposed to one religious viewpoint.
Best case would be, as long as the state criteria for home schooling is met,
let the child to continue to be home schooled.
When she reaches the age of 13, she can decide to attend public school, or continue to be home schooled.
No doubt, this case could be reversed in a higher court. Unfortunately, it will only go as far as the mother’s pockets are deep. But, that is a different story.