Germany
HSLDA Files Political Asylum Case-"A homeschooling family who recently fled Germany has filed for political asylum in the United States. "The persecution of homeschoolers in Germany has dramatically intensified," said HSLDA staff attorney Michael P. Donnelly. "They are regularly fined thousands of dollars, sent to prison, or have the custody of their children taken away simply because they choose to home educate."
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike formerly of Bissingen, Germany along with their five children made it to the United States in August of this year. The family has settled in Eastern Tennessee where they have been warmly welcomed by local homeschool supporters and are being assisted by HSLDA....By supporting a political asylum application we will be able to shine the light of truth on this real and ongoing problem. A successful application will provide a path to safety for German homeschool families escaping persecution," said Donnelly.
HSLDA, with support from the Alliance Defense Fund, has hired immigration attorney Will Humble of Houston, Texas to handle this groundbreaking case.
For more information about Germany's persecution of homeschoolers, visit www.hslda.org/germany."
Judge Returns Custody of Children, But Orders Them into Public School-"Despite protests from the Youth Welfare Authority (the “Jugendamt”), a Germany Family Court judge on November 12 verbally restored to Johannes and Cornelia Gorber full custody of their children, who had been removed from the family home in January.
The Gorbers homeschooled all of their children over the past 15 years. But now, according to the judge’s order, the older children must be enrolled in school and the 3-year-old in a playgroup. Homeschooling parents in Germany face these types of repercussions on a regular basis.
When the Jugendamt asked the judge to order ongoing jurisdiction so their caseworkers could “stay involved to check up on the family,” Mrs. Gorber had this to say to the judge:
“Look at the children. If the so-called isolation and relationships ‘only in the family’ is so bad, can you please explain to me, how, after 10 years of homeschooling, they have turned out so well? They are academically on par at their [new] schools. Their teachers are all satisfied with them, and some are even pleased with their work, wishing they had more students like them. Our children have no problems with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or other addictions which we see with so many children these days. So what do you want to control our kids for?”
After listening to testimony, the judge expressed his own surprise that the children were doing far better academically and socially than he expected. The judge then ruled that continued involvement by the Jugendamt would be of no benefit. However, the judge did order that, in addition to keeping the children enrolled in the public school, the 3-year-old son would have to be enrolled in a playgroup for “socialization outside the family.”
The family was relieved at the judge’s decision, which effectively ended a 10-month-long nightmare that began in January when youth welfare officers showed up in cars and vans to take all the minor children without any notice or hearing. The children were traumatized by the raid and were put in orphanages where they remained until August. Then a family court ordered them home for the holidays and never ordered them back to the children’s homes."
Florida
Home-school family harassed by social worker-"A home school legal advocate is disturbed by the recent actions of a social worker in Florida.
According to Kris Klicka of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), a social worker in Miami, Florida, overstepped the boundary of law when she demanded to interview a home schooler's children. He says the social worker showed up at the family's home when the father was at work -- and out of fear and intimidation, the mother let the social worker into the home to interview her children, even though the worker neither had a warrant nor would disclose why she was there. The social worker -- according to HSLDA -- then partially stripped the children and searched them, but found nothing. During the ordeal, the mother called Klicka for legal advice. Klicka was able to talk with the social worker and inform her that she was violating federal law. "[E]very family needs to realize that the Constitution of the United States has a Fourth Amendment that states that no one from the government can enter a home unless they have a warrant [that has been] signed by a judge," Klicka explains. "And the judge cannot sign it unless there is probable cause -- and most of the time these social workers do not have probable cause or credible evidence." According to HSLDA, the allegations the social worker was supposedly following up on were based on an anonymous tip concerning a situation from eight months earlier. After the social worker could not find any evidence to support those allegations, she suggested that the entire family get psychological evaluations -- which the family declined. Klicka says the family is considering a civil rights lawsuit alleging the social worker broke the law by (1) entering the home and interviewing the children through intimidation; (2) not letting the family know the allegations at the initial visit; and (3) interviewing children whom the allegations did not concern."
