Banning Homeschools Teaches Tolerance of Diverse Views, Justice Dept. Argues
Advancing the goal of tolerance in society may require denying parents the right to determine their children's education, the U.S. Justice Department argued in a legal brief for the case of a German homeschooling family seeking asylum.
The Romeikes fled to the United States from Germany when they were faced with heavy fines and the possibility of having their children taken away from them for choosing to homeschool rather than send their children to the German public schools. They chose to homeschool because they believed the public schools were teaching their children lessons antithetical to their evangelical Christian beliefs.
Though they were initially granted asylum by a district judge, an immigration court and the Justice Department has sought to send them back to Germany. In May, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the Justice Department. The Justice Department's June 26 brief...