Mike Farris Addresses Social Workers at National Conference
On April 1, 2003, Home School Legal Defense Association Co-founder and Chairman Michael Farris addressed a national gathering of social workers in St. Louis, Missouri.

Gateways to Prevention, the 14th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, hosted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration of Children and Families, was designed for "child protection workers and administrators, social workers … and others committed to ensuring the protection of children" according to the conference website.

Farris was invited by Bush administration officials to discuss Home School Legal Defense Association's legal work protecting innocent families during social worker investigations.

"Many of these social workers came to the conference looking for the latest 'federal mandates' concerning child abuse prevention," said Farris. "I wanted to encourage them to consider the U.S. Constitution their ultimate federal mandate."

About 200 conference attendees listened to Farris' talk on HSLDA's work. Most of them were key liaison officers between the state child abuse prevention agencies and the federal HHS. These select state employees are typically the people who see that federal monies from the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) are implemented properly.

Although conference organizers welcomed Farris, the response his talk received from conference attendees was decidedly mixed.

"Most [attendees] were astonished to learn that the 4th Amendment applies to them," Farris said. "They seem to believe that introducing constitutional analysis to their work 'upset the system.'"

Farris confirmed in his talk that the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals (in Calabretta v. Floyd 198 F.3d 808 (1999)) ruled that social workers, as agents of the government, are bound by the same search and seizure rules as police officers. These rules are derived from the principles of protection found in the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

After years of representing innocent families who had their rights violated by unlawful social worker investigations, an invitation to speak at such a conference is a significant and positive step forward for Farris and HSLDA.

Fortunately not all of the response was negative. According to Farris, a few conference attendees acknowledged that social workers in general needed to do a better job respecting families' rights. One conference goer even tracked Farris down after his speech and told him that she, too, had been working with families falsely accused of child abuse.

HSLDA Hosts National Homeschool Leadership Summit
Home School Legal Defense Association hosted the National Homeschool Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, on March 26-28. The summit, attended by the leaders of state-wide homeschool organizations from 48 states and the District of Columbia, focused on federal issues affecting parental and educational freedoms, as well as the sharing of information on threats to homeschool freedom arising around the country.

The event was kicked off on Wednesday in an informal discussion session and preview of the conference hosted by HSLDA's president, Mike Smith, and HSLDA's National Center for Home Education's (NCHE) director, Tom Washburne. The discussion, focussing on trends in the states, federal legislation, and personal concerns, went well into the evening at the Hyatt on Capitol Hill.

Formal briefings began on Thursday at the Dirksen Senate office building with presentations on federal issues by Tom Washburne and HSLDA's senior counsel, Chris Klicka. Congressman Mark Kennedy of Minnesota, who was awarded one of two Home School Freedom Awards for his work in the prior Congress, spoke to federal efforts to extend privacy protections to homeschool records held by government schools. Congressman Marylin Musgrave of Colorado, a former homeschooling mom, gave a first hand account of how effective homeschoolers can be in policy. Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona provided an encouraging word and unequivocally voiced his view that no form of education surpasses homeschooling. Neil Bradley, executive director of the House of Representatives Study Committee, and Bill Wichterman, policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, gave overviews of the issues which conservatives in the U.S. House and Senate are watching and working on. Dr. Cassie Bevan, senior policy advisor to Majority Leader Tom Delay, spoke to issues surrounding child abuse, and in particular to new legislation requiring social workers to inform parents at the door of the allegations against them and to be trained in 4th Amendment constitutional law. This is a huge advancement, and is largely due to the work of Chris Klicka at HSLDA who testified before Congress and helped draft the provisions. After lunch, state leaders headed off to meet with their congressmen, senators, and staff, with the goal of building relationships and informing on the issues.

On Thursday evening, the state leaders were joined for dinner at the Hyatt by the entire HSLDA Board, staff, guests, and VIPs to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of HSLDA. After a reception with stringed music provided by the homeschooled Young Musicians of Virginia, the formal dinner began with a letter of greeting from the President of the United States read by the President's Deputy Director of the Office of the Liason, Tim Goeglein. Mike Smith served as Master of Ceremonies. Congressman Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who received the Home School Freedom Award for his work in the past Congress, provided an inspiring keynote address. Deputy Secretary of Education William Hansen delivered a personal greeting to the gathering. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, James Dobson, and Tim and Beverly LaHaye, while not in attendance, also sent congratulatory messages. HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris rounded out the celebration with remarks on the future of homeschooling.

On Friday, attention shifted to the executive branch at a briefing across from the White House. After presentations by Tom Washburne and Chris Klicka, HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris addressed the group on a number of issues. Doug Domenech, White House Liaison, U.S. Department of the Interior, followed with an overview of the Interior Dept. Doug is a former Director of NCHE who went to work for the Bush administration. Lori Yaklin, Senior Advisor on Family Education Rights, U.S. Department of Education, spoke of new changes at the Department, including the new Office of Innovation and Improvement. According to Yaklin, look for the Department to soon be "trumpeting" homeschooling. Joe Tafoya, Director of the Department of Defense Education Agency, told how he worked closely with Chris Klicka and HSLDA to help resolve the military issues with homeschooling in bases overseas.

The Summitt concluded with Tim Goeglein, Deputy Director, Office of the Liaison at the White House again bringing greetings from the President and answering questions ranging from domestic policy to the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the DC Court of Appeals. Tim also shared his conviction that the timing of these events are not by accident. The President is a man of faith and very appreciative of the prayers offered on his behalf from the homeschooling community.

(HOME's Executive Director Ed Green and wife Kathy attended the Summit.)

UN Rebukes Britain For Failing To Implement Children's Treaty
Last fall the United Nations published its observations on how the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has implemented the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (C/ROC). The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) gave consideration to the reports submitted by the United Kingdom in September 2002 and published a response under article 44 of the Convention. This report is of grave concern to homeschool families and is an example of how the Committee would seek to have control over US policy if this treaty were ratified by America.

The UN seeks to push nations that sign on to C/ROC to adopt radical measures on children's rights that would subvert the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children. Following is a list of excerpts from the committee's report.

On Consideration of Children's Feelings in Decision Making
The Committee on the Rights of the Child is "concerned that in education, schoolchildren are not systematically consulted in matters that affect them. The Committee notes that groups of children in the State party expressed their feelings that their views are duly taken into consideration." (Section 29)

On Corporal Punishment in Schools
"The Committee welcomes the abolition of corporal punishment in all schools in England, Wales and Scotland following its 1995 recommendations (ibid., para. 32), but is concerned that this abolition has not yet been extended to cover all private schools in Northern Ireland." (Section 35)

On Corporal Punishment in the Home
"[T]he Committee deeply regrets that the State party persists in retaining the defense of 'reasonable chastisement' and has taken no significant action towards prohibiting all corporal punishment of children in the family. The Committee is of the opinion that the Government's proposals to limit rather than to remove the 'reasonable chastisement' defense do not comply with the principles and provisions of the Convention and the aforementioned recommendations, particularly since they constitute a serious violation of the dignity of the child... Moreover, they suggest that some forms of corporal punishment are acceptable, thereby undermining educational measures to promote positive and non violent discipline. (Sections 36 & 37)

"The Committee recommends that the State party:

1. With urgency adopt legislation throughout the State party to remove the "reasonable chastisement" defense and prohibit all corporal punishment in the family and in any other contexts not covered by existing legislation;
2. Promote positive, participatory and non violent forms of discipline and respect for children's equal right to human dignity and physical integrity, involving children and parents and all those who work with and for them, and carry out public education programs on the negative consequences of corporal punishment." (Section 38)

On Sex Education
"The Committee is concerned that homosexual and transsexual young people do not have access to the appropriate information, support and necessary protection to enable them to live to their sexual orientation."

The United Kingdom must "take further necessary measures to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies through, inter alia, making health education, including sex education, part of the school curricula, making contraception available to all children . . . provide adequate information and support to homosexual and transsexual young people." (Section 43)

On Private Education
The Committee advises the United Kingdom to "evaluate the impact of privatization of schools on the right of children to education."