3rd Circuit rejects constitutional challenge to Pennsylvania homeschool oversight rules
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has issued a per curiam opinion in the case of Combs v. Homer Center School Dist., No. 06-3090 (3rd Cir. Aug. 21, 2008). A few excerpts:
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At issue is whether certain parents who home-school their children must comply with the reporting and review requirements of Pennsylvania’s compulsory education law. Compliance, the parents contend, would violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania demurs, contending its compulsory education law neither substantially burdens the free exercise of religion nor transgresses neutral application to all citizens, and serves an important state interest in ensuring a minimal level of education for all children.
Plaintiffs appeal from the grant of summary judgment for defendants in an action seeking declaratory relief and an injunction prohibiting enforcement of 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 13-1327.1 (“Act 169”) and prosecution under Pennsylvania’s compulsory education laws. Defendants are school districts in Pennsylvania and superintendents named in their official capacity. Plaintiffs are six families who home-school their children.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s education system, as enacted by the General Assembly, allows parents to satisfy the compulsory attendance requirement through “home education programs.” Parents supervising the home education programs must provide instruction for a minimum number of days and hours in certain subjects and submit a portfolio of teaching logs and the children’s work product for review. The local school district reviews the home education programs for compliance with the minimum hours of instruction and course requirements and determines whether each student demonstrates progress in the overall program. The school district does not review the educational content, textbooks, curriculum, instructional materials, or methodology of the program.
Parents, who home-school their children based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, have sued their respective school districts and school superintendents. Parents contend the Act 169 record keeping requirements and the subsequent portfolio review place a substantial burden on their free exercise of religion. They seek an exemption from the Act 169 requirements and request declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that the provisions of Act 169 violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States and the Pennsylvania Religious Freedom Protection Act (“RFPA”), 71 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 2401–2407.
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Although Parents assert the fundamental nature of their general right, it is a limited one. We have noted “[t]he Supreme Court has never been called upon to define the precise boundaries of a parent’s right to control a child’s upbringing and education. It is clear, however, that the right is neither absolute
nor unqualified.” C.N. v. Ridgewood Bd. of Educ., 430 F.3d 159, 182 (3d Cir. 2005). “The case law in this area establishes that parents simply do not have a constitutional right to control each and every aspect of their children’s education and oust the state’s authority over that subject.” Swanson, 135 F.3d at 699.24
Furthermore, [t]he Court has repeatedly stressed that while parents have a constitutional right to send their children to private schools and a constitutional right to select private schools that offer specialized instruction, they have no constitutional right to provide their children with private school education unfettered by reasonable government regulation. Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160, 178 (1976).25
In addition to Yoder, discussed infra, Parents rely on Meyer and Pierce for foundational support. Read together, the cases evince the principle that the state cannot prevent parents from choosing a specific educational program – whether it be religious instruction at a private school or instruction in a foreign language. That is, the state does not have the power to “standardize its children” or “foster a homogenous people” by completely foreclosing the opportunity of individuals and groups to choose a different path of education. Brown, 68 F.3d at 533; see also Runyon, 427 U.S. at 177 (stressing the “limited scope” of Meyer and Pierce). In the present case, Parents are given the freedom to choose a “different path of education” – home-schooling – subject only to the Act 169 requirements. The school districts do not have any role in selecting the program Parents wish to follow. Parents are unable to point to a single instance in which the school districts have limited or interfered with their religious teachings and/or materials.
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Parents’ only remaining claim involves the interpretation of a state statute on which there is no Pennsylvania precedent. Because all federal issues have been decided on summary judgment and since Parents’ RFPA claim raises a novel and potentially complex issue of State law, we will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Parents’ pendent state law claim. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c).33
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the school districts on Parents’ federal constitutional claims, vacate the District Court’s holding regarding the pendent RFPA claim, and remand the case to the District Court with instructions to remand the RFPA claim to state court.
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One Comment
I Think parents do have the right to educate their children in the homeschool setting and or as they see fit.The Lord has entrusted the responsibility to raise children to his and her parents as it is written in God’S Word.