January 22, 2019

Germany’s opposition to homeschooling continues. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in France struck down an appeal by a German family who had their children removed from their care in 2013 for homeschooling. The same court has previously supported Germany’s right to deny families the freedom to teach their children at home.

Germany says families do not have the right to homeschool and they fear that families might undermine the country by creating a parallel culture.

In 2013, 33 police officers and seven youth officials stormed the family’s home, removed the children and placed them in a children’s home for three weeks.

The court ruled that “enforcement of compulsory school attendance, to prevent social isolation of the applicants’ children and ensure their integration into society, was a relevant reason for justifying the partial withdrawal of parental authority.”

Yes, the court said that Germany was justified in taking children from parents to prevent them from homeschooling—to make sure they weren’t isolated and they were properly integrated into society. How often do homeschoolers hear the socialization question?

Germany believes the state rather than families should make decisions for children, and there are those in Europe who believe that at large. After all, the ECHR is located in France.

This is just another example of why families are more and more concerned about the growing mentality that the state should control the children rather than families.

THSC believes that families have a God-given right to raise their children as they see fit … not the state. Sign up for our legislative updates to stay informed about issues related to homeschooling and the right of families to raise their children during the 2019 legislative session.

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