Does DSS Target Homeschoolers?

Johnston County Tragedy Brings Homeschooling Laws Into Question

By: Angie Vineyard

Charlotte--- When the state released its report on three homeschooled teenagers who died last July in a double murder-suicide, it recommended that a task force look at home schooling to determine if there is a link between children who are abused and those who are taught at home.

Brandon, Kyle and Marnie Warren were found shot to death in their family’s Johnston County mobile home. Social workers said they tried to contact the family eleven times before the shootings but Kent and Nissa Warren refused their offers for assistance.

The couple had pleaded guilty to one count of felony child abuse in Arizona in 1991. But because the N.C. Department of Social Services does not have the capability of accessing that information, authorities were unaware that the parents had a criminal background.

The Child Fatality Review Team did not find fault with Johnston County Social Services, but they did note that home-school laws “allow persons who maltreat children to maintain social isolation in order for the abuse and neglect to remain undetected.”

The report called for a task force to look into the issue to make recommendations to the NC General Assembly.

Even though these children’s lives ended under tragic and possibly preventable circumstances, the question must be asked. Should any family’s decision to homeschool automatically alarm social workers? Or is the state using an isolated incident to delve deeper into the private lives of families that have opted out of private and public schools?

In order to homeschool, families must notify the state of their intent to operate a school. According to the N.C. Department of Non-Public Education, Kent and Nissa Warren officially opened their homeschool on November 20, 1996 but the school became legally inactive on September 22, 2000. Apparently the Warrens had moved and failed to contact the state with their new address.

“That is grounds for them to lose (their) notice of intent,” said Director Rod Helder. “They were homeschooling illegally for a brief period of time.”

Despite the recent happenings in Johnston County, Jeff Townsend, of the North Carolinians for Home Education, or NCHE, doesn’t think social workers target homeschoolers.

“I do think they did six to eight years ago,” he said, but not in the two years he’s served as president of NCHE.

Pointing to the growing number of homeschooling families across the state, Townsend said, “DSS can look up studies posted showing how homeschoolers are doing. A lot of the stigma that went with homeschooling – isolation, no certification – those stigmas are gone now because people can see how it works.

Of the 24,000 homeschooling families in North Carolina, 8,000 are members of NCHE. The group provides support to “every single homeschooler” in the state and, occasionally, calls will come in concerning DSS.

“Usually they’re asking us for information – what kind of rights do they have (and) how are the laws covering them as far as their children go,” said Townsend. “They want us to contact DSS and basically explain how homeschooling works.”

Townsend said a typical scenario is when a neighbor makes a call to DSS after seeing children playing out in the street. DSS will call the family, asking to pay a visit and interview the family. The families then turn to NCHE, asking for advice.

“We encourage families to talk with DSS,” said Townsend, instructing them to call social workers and set up an appointment at their facility. “I do not encourage them to invite strangers into their house.”

He said that most cases are closed after NCHE provides information, but in the worst case scenario, Townsend recommends calling the Home School Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA, for legal representation.

A Christian, non profit organization that seeks to protect the freedom of all homeschoolers, HSLDA represents families all over the country. While most calls do not end up in litigation, some families have found that legal representation is essential when dealing with DSS.

Last June a Jackson County DSS report alleged inappropriate discipline of a homeschooled child. Though the report covered one child, the social worker insisted on interviewing all of the children in the home. HSLDA stepped in, explaining that while the family would respond to the report, they would strenuously oppose subjecting their children to the trauma of any interrogation. Soon after, the family received a letter stating that the investigation was terminated as “unfounded.”

Townsend said that he rarely refers families to HSLDA because North Carolina laws are typically favorable for homeschoolers. But after the events in Johnston County, only time will tell if that remains the same.
(5/2/2002)

[Back]