Not Yours to Give
The American Form of Government
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| In recent years, the sacred right of the parent to direct the education and upbringing of their children has been trampled upon by laws, court decisions and regulations written by unaccountable government bureaucrats. For home educators in particular, that right is at risk now more then ever. In New York, our elected representatives have the opportunity to restore parental authority or to continue to trammel the rights of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. New Yorkers must decide if they will work toward a more permanent solution or settle for a quick fix, |
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| exchanging our constitutional birthright for a mess of compromise pottage that will codify dangerous portions of the regulations. We have the challenge before us to call for the restoration of our liberties. | ||
Any legislative proposal should be reviewed to determine if it remains within the constitutionally granted authority of the Legislature. An examination of the official records of the Constitutional Convention of 1894 clearly shows the implied intent of the Delegates as they framed the portion dealing with education. Their statements reveal that there never was any intention to grant the local school oversight of children whose parents were otherwise providing education for them. The authors of the New York State Constitution would have been as appalled at the attempt to force parents into the public school system as they would be by a law or regulation that forced the parent to get approval from the Child Protective Services for their children’s meal plans, clothing purchases and housing arrangements.
It is important to read the historical record and the official documents for yourself and let these speak in place of conjecture. It is now up to each of us to determine what course of action we will urge the legislature to take in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to protect the rights and liberties of the citizens of New York State.
Frederick Holls, Chairman of the Committee on Education of the NY Constitutional Convention of 1894, which wrote (the section on education) Section I, Article XI (then IX) regarding the common [public] schools, said this:
“The section, as it stands here, in no way interferes, directly or by implication, with the sacred right of the parent and the family first to educate their children if they wish to do so. It simply says that the State of New York, as a fundamental part of its policy toward all of its inhabitants, shall provide for a system of schools wherein if required — for those words, in my opinion, are fairly implied — all the children of the State may be educated; and that, of course, means if required by the parent.”