Global Threats to Homeschooling

By Antony Kolenc
Few people in the U.S. remember a time when some parents literally risked criminal
prosecution and jail time for the right to educate their children at home. With
homeschooling now legal in every state, and with a strong lobby to advocate for parental
rights, Americans regularly embark on the journey of home education without fear of legal
persecution. But not so in some European nations, where parental rights continue to lose
ground to government bureaucracy and where indoctrinating children in the mindset of the
State is seen as a virtue. Homeschoolers in the United States should educate themselves on
the plight of their international brothers and sisters andas I explain belowtake action to
assist them in their struggle to regain fundamental parental freedoms.
German Persecution
Since the end of World War II, Western Europe has been a leader in the struggle for human
rights throughout the world. This laudable track record is shockingly contradicted by a
disdain among some of these same nations for the basic human rights of parents.
Unfortunately, the trend line seems to be heading in the wrong direction on this issue. In
particular, Germanythe leader of the European Unioncontinues to use oppressive tactics
against parents, under the auspices of a compulsory education law initiated in 1938 under
Hitlers Nazi government.1
Not only is home education illegal in Germany in almost every case, but the government
also has taken drastic steps to enforce the law against parents who dare to exercise their
rights. With perhaps up to a thousand children being homeschooled underground, other
families desiring freedom have fled to more hospitable countries rather than suffer the
consequences of breaking the law, consequences ranging from steep fines to prison time to
loss of custody of their children.2 For example, one such family came to the United States
and applied for political asylum due to political oppression. In granting them asylum in
2010, U.S. immigration judge Lawrence O. Burman concluded: [T]he rights being violated
here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate. . . . Homeschoolers are a
particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress. This family has a
well-founded fear of persecution . . . [that is] repellent to everything we believe as
Americans.3
However, not every homeschooling family has fled. For instance, Juergen and Rosemary
Dudek have become international heroes and martyrs for the German homeschooling cause.
They have stood their ground and faced serial criminal prosecutions and sentences
(including jail time) by the authorities due to the continued homeschooling of their eight
children. After losing yet another criminal trial in September 2012, Mr. Dudek shared the
depth of his despair: I can only feel the system is utterly inhuman, cold, brutalrun by
bureaucrats who think theyre only doing their job but uphold the system at all costs. . . .
Our begging was of no avail. I can only turn to God for strength.4
Sweden: No Utopia for Homeschoolers
Sweden, touted by some progressives as a near-Utopian society, has followed Germanys
restrictive lead in the past few years. Prior to 2010, Swedens education laws vaguely
assented to alternative education methods; however, even then homeschoolers were at the
whim of the local official.5 But in June 2010, as part of sweeping education reform,
Sweden essentially made home education illegal by allowing it only in rare exceptional

circumstances. A subsequent crackdown on homeschooling forced many families to flee to

neighboring countries or risk having their children taken by social services.
One such refugee was Jonas Himmelstrand, President of Rohus, Swedens primary
homeschooling association. His family was subjected to more than $26,000 in fines, and
they eventually fled to nearby Finland. Mr. Himmelstrand has translated a 2009 Swedish
government proposal that explains why the nation refuses to allow homeschooling for
religious reasons: [T]he education in school shall be comprehensive and objective, and
thereby be created so that all pupils can participate, no matter what religious or
philosophical view the pupil or its legal guardian/s may have. 6 Michael Donnelly, an
attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), interprets the Swedish
policy this way: The idea that only public schools can adequately provide students with a
comprehensive and objective view on all subjects and issues is a twisted view of reality. . .
. Experience shows that government schools seek to impart their own state-approved
worldview to children.7
Violations of International Law?
Homeschool advocates have argued that the draconian position taken by countries such as
Germany and Sweden are contrary to international legal principles. For instance, Article 2 of
the 1953 Convention on Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, states, In
the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the
State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity
with their own religious and philosophical convictions. Other international laws use similar
language.8
Despite these clear statements that give parents the right to choose an education for their
children, European courts have sided with the State in trumping these parental rights in the
interest of the governments own education goals.9 But in a 2006 United Nations mission,
investigators reminded German leaders that homeschooling represents a valid option which
could be developed in certain circumstances, bearing in mind that parents have the right to
choose the appropriate type of education for their Children. . . . The promotion and
development of a system of public, government-funded education should not entail the
suppression of forms of education that do not require attendance at a school. 10
Unfortunately, it does not appear the German government has taken that advice to heart.
How Homeschoolers Can Help
Fervent prayer and encouraging words of support will help support families throughout the
world who are caught in this bitter struggle to exercise their basic parental rights, and those
who wish to help can also do more. They can educate themselves and others about the
plight of these families. As with so many issues, raising public awareness is often the key to
change. Additionally, those who wish to help can sign petitions being circulated on the
Internet in support of these families, and they can link their websites to social media sites
organized to publicize these injustices. Finally, there is a great need for financial donations
to the legal defense organizations on the front lines litigating these cases on behalf of
German and Swedish homeschoolers.
Most of us homeschool in an environment free of legal persecution, and we are able to teach
our children the values we believe are essential to their healthy upbringing. We must stand
in solidarity with those less fortunate parents around the world who are risking it all to gain
these same freedoms. The insightful words of German pastor Martin Niemllera survivor
of the Nazi concentration campsremind us that inaction is not an option. He wrote:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak outBecause I was not
a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did
not speak outBecause I was not a Jew. Then they came for meand there
was no one left to speak for me.11

Antony B. Kolenc (J.D., University of Florida College of Law) is an author, speaker, and law
professor at Florida Coastal School of Law. He is also a retired U.S. Air Force officer. He and
his wife have homeschooled their five children for over a decade. Tony is author of The
Chronicles of Xan historical fiction trilogy, as well as many legal articles. Learn more about
him at www.antonykolenc.com. If you have a law-related homeschooling question that you
would like to see Tony address in a future column, please email
TL@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com.
Endnotes:
1. Aaron T. Martin, Homeschooling in Germany and the United States, ARIZONA JOURNAL OF
INTERNATIONAL & COMPARATIVE LAW, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2010): 229 (available at
www.ajicl.org/AJICL2010/7.27.1Martin.pdf) (discussing German education history both
before and after Hitler came to power).
2. Milton Gaither, Spiegler on the Failure of Homeschool Regulation in Germany,
HOMESCHOOLING RESEARCH NOTES, January 1, 2010 (a review of Thomas Spiegler, Why State
Sanctions Fail to Deter Home Education: An Analysis of Home Education in Germany and its
Implications for Home Education Policies in Theory and Research in Education 7, no. 3
(November 2009): 297-309) (available at gaither.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/spiegler-onthe-failure-of-homeschool-regulation-in-germany).
3. Rebecca Terrell, U.S. Judge Grants Asylum for Homeschooling Family, THE NEW AMERICAN,
January 28, 2010 (available at www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/167-usjudge-grants-asylum-for-homeschooling-family).
4. Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), Victims of Brutal System Look to
Global Support, September 10, 2012 (available at
www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/201209070.asp) (quoting Mr. Dudeks e-mail to
HSLDA).
5. Milton Gaither, Villalba on Homeschooling in Sweden, HOMESCHOOLING RESEARCH NOTES,
December 14, 2009 (reviewing Cynthia M. Villalba, Home-Based Education in Sweden:
Local Variations in Forms of Regulation in Theory and Research in Education 7, no. 3
(November 2009): 277296) (available at gaither.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/villalba-onhomeschooling-in-sweden).
6. Jonas Himmelstrand, New Education Law Makes Homeschooling Illegal in Sweden, March
24, 2012 (available at www.whyileftsweden.com/?p=61).
7. Bob Unruh, Nation Doubles Down on Homeschooling, WND, March 20, 2012 (available at
www.wnd.com/2012/03/nation-doubles-down-on-homeschooling/) (quoting Mr. Donnelly).
8. For instance, Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 of the Protocol to the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms assures that the right of parents to
ensure the education and teaching of their children in conformity with their religious,
philosophical and pedagogical convictions shall be respected, in accordance with the
national laws governing the exercise of such freedom and right. And Article 14, Section 3 of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union holds that in the exercise of any
functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect
the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own
religious and philosophical convictions.

9. For instance, see Konrad v. Germany, App. No. 35504/03, 610 (Eur. Ct. H.R. Sep. 11,
2006) (finding that the State was in a better position than parents to vindicate the States
interest in pluralistic education and the childs overall right to an education).
10. United Nations, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor
Muoz, March 9, 2007, at 62 (available at
www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/Munoz_Mission_on_Germany.pdf).
11. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia (available at
www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392).
Copyright 2013, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in
the January 2013 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the family education magazine.
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