E-Actions for Freedom: Help the Homeschooling Bryant family

June 24, 2003

Help the Homeschooling Bryant family

The Bryant family of Waltham, Mass. have been involved in conflict with the state and the school borad for 6 years, and things have recently gotten more worrisome for them. The Bryants homeschool their two children, and refused to submit to the state's demands in terms of testing and evaluation of their children's educational progress. No allegations of harm or negligence have been made; the issue is simply that the Bryants are asserting their right to control their children's education, and the state asserts that it has the final say, and that they must pass the official tests and requirements.

The state Department of Social Services won official custody over their children almost two years ago. 11 days ago, police and DSS workers showed up at the Bryants' home to collect the two children (George, age 15, and Nyssa, 13) so that they could be made to take a standardized test to determine their educational level. The parents refused to comply, and were temporarily left alone.

You can read more about the Bryants here, and read an editorial here. I wrote about my recent phone conversation with George Bryant, Sr. here.

George Bryant feels that the best action for others to take if they want to help is to contact the Mayor of Waltham, and put pressure on him to put pressure on the School Board, to leave the Bryants alone.

Here is contact information for Waltham's Mayor:

Mayor David Gately
610 Main St.
Waltham, MA 02453

Phone: 781-893-4040

That number is to city hall's main office. I will try to get a better number, as well as a fax number, tomorrow.

I also feel it would be helpful to write letters to the editor of the local paper, which has written sympathetically about the Bryants in the past.

There is a web form where you can submit an opinion to the paper in just a matter of minutes, right here. That's a page for Herald Interactive, the parent company of the Daily News Tribune.

Here is the Daily News Tribune's direct contact information:

Daily News Tribune:
738A Main St., Waltham, MA 02451

Newsroom: 781-647-7898
newstribune@cnc.com

Letter to the Editor: E-Mail
Phone: 781-398-8002
Fax: 781-398-8010

If you write in, I suggest sending your comments in through both the web form and through e-mail, fax or letter to the places above (because the form offers a chance that your letters could be picked up by one of the larger papers in that company's network, while the other options seem to be the best chance of getting it published or counted at the local paper.)

Points to make:

There have been no allegations of abuse or neglect, nor that the Bryant children are not being educated adequately. The children have stood behind their parents, and said they do not want to take the test.

Without any signs of harm or abuse, the Bryant parents should be allowed to raise and educate their children as they see fit.

Homeschoolers as a group have consistently performed better than their in-school counterparts.

The School Board should withdraw their complaint against the Bryants and leave them alone, and DSS should release their legal custody of the children. The family has been under pressure and threat from public officials for 6 years, and it can only be having a harmful effect on the situation.

If the School Board won't take action, the Mayor should use his authority over them to bring an end to this standoff.

I've asked George Bryant to let me know if anything new comes up that deserves action. Check back for updates.

Posted by Lance Brown at June 24, 2003 12:07 AM

Comments

My son is homeschooled, so I just wanted to add a note about academic assessments and evaluations required by school districts. It's usually not a big deal, but the requirements vary from state to state and some are set up to be quite onerous in their requirements (not just testing). I simply have my son take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills each year. He scores close to the 99th percentile, so you'd think the district (especially given its poor performance in regards to educating children) would be satisfied enough to leave us alone. However, that's not necessarily the case. Many school districts outright dislike or despise homeschoolers because maybe they see homeschoolers as a threat to their authority. Such school districts can be outright relentless and unimaginably ruthless in their harassment of homeschoolers. In some cases, it's necessary for parents to take a principled stand, rather than just submitting, so I applaud the Bryants. If no one takes the personal risks and takes a stand against out-of-control school districts, the school districts will get worse and worse.

I just wanted to add that it's a shame the judge ignored the Constitution and won't allow a jury trial. Jury trials are an extremely important check put in the Constitution, specifically so the people maintain the right to nullify ridiculous laws (or use common sense to ignore them in certain circumstances) and otherwise curb out-of-control government action or prosecutions.

Also, just wanted to mention that the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is an excellent organization for homeschoolers, by the way.

Posted by: Jon at June 24, 2003 08:57 AM

I personal think this is horrible. My children have just started homeschooling this year however, I do not plan to test them through the state. I will be writing to the mayor of Waltham in reguards to the Bryant family. I am from Ma. myself but my voice will be heard. Good luck to the Bryant family do not give up.I stand behind you and i am sure all homeschooler do.
Yours truely, Cassandra Eddy

Posted by: Cassandra Eddy at November 1, 2003 07:17 PM