Swine Flu-Addition to the Reasons to Homeschool List

A Montgomery family sued the Elmore County Board of Education and the Alabama State Board of Education in order to keep their 2 children out of the school and have school assignments done at home.  Despite the misleading headline below, they wanted their children to remain enrolled in the public school.

Family Sues to Home School Because of Swine Flu ABC 33/40 News 05/02/09

Blevins said his sons, who are only named by initials in the lawsuit, are susceptible to colds and flu. He said he does not want to take a chance on them being exposed to swine flu.

“If there’s a cold or flu bug out there to catch, they will seek it out and find it and catch it,” Blevins said.

The lawsuit says school officials have told the Blevins their sons would have to repeat the grades they are currently in if they miss the remainder of the year and exceed the number of allowed absences. The lawsuit also says the parents have been told they could be prosecuted under truancy laws if they do not send their sons to school.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Charles Price heard the case yesterday and determined he didn’t have authority to rule against the school. He advised homeschooling (the real thing), if the parents are concerned.

Judge Dismisses Elmore County Parents’ Lawsuit About Swine Flu WSFA 12 May 4, 2009

Spud Seal is the Elmore County School system’s attorney. He tells WSFA 12 News, “Our issue was whether he had the right to withdraw the children from school and then us provide services for the children, which we had no obligation to do.

Jerry Blevins responded to the suit by saying, “Hopefully this issue’s over, but if the circumstances change, we’ll be back to square one, removing them again. We’ll be back in court again, maybe next time federal court.”

Jerry Blevins is a determined dude.

Dana at Principled Discovery had a few thoughts about the subject: Homeschooling and the Great Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009

The Home Education Magazine Editorial blog posted more from around the blog world, along with a welcome sign:
H1N1 Homeschooling

If you’re one of those looking for information about homeschooling in these troubled times, welcome. We have a lot to offer, and plenty of it is free. Start with our Getting Started with Homeschooling section and progress to our HEM Back Issue Archives; after that you should be grounded enough to just poke around and see what might work for your family. Homeschooling isn’t difficult, doesn’t need to be expensive, and can open a whole new way of thinking about your children, your relationships, and your world. I think, in the coming weeks and months, we’re all going to be looking for different ways of looking at the world.

Tags: Alabama State Board of Education, Charles Price, Elmore County Board of Education, Jerry Blevins, swine flu