399 Mass. 324, 37 Ed. Law Rep. 934
CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHARLES et al.
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk
Argued Nov. 6, 1986. Decided March 2, 1987.
Town filed petition for care and protection of children taught in
home school. The District Court Department, Norfolk County, Robert B.
Scheiber, J., determined that children were in need of care and protection
with respect to education and ordered that children commence public
or approved school attendance. Parents appealed. The Supreme Judicial
Court transferred case from Appeals Court on its own initiative. The
Supreme Judicial Court, Hennessey, C.J., held that: (1) school committee
was proper party to case alleging that children were without proper
educational care and discipline; (2) statute, which states requirements
for approval of private school and prohibits denial of approval on account
of religious teaching, was not unconstitutionally vague and was not
unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority; and (3) process
for approval of home school, which required parents to submit home schooling
proposal that outlined curriculum, materials to be used, and qualifications
of instructors, was required to promote state's substantial interest
in insuring education of citizens and, therefore, did not violate parents'
constitutional right to direct education of their children.
Vacated and remanded.
Paul O. Dillon, for the parents.
Robert G. Woernle, Jr., Newton Center, for the minors.
Edward F. Lenox, Jr., Braintree, for the School Committee of Canton.
Austin Broadhurst, Wendell Robert Carr, and, Laura M. Teopaco, Boston,
for Massachusetts Ass'n of School Committees, Inc., amicus curiae, submitted
a brief.
Before HENNESSEY, C.J., and WILKINS, NOLAN, LYNCH and O'CONNOR,
JJ.
HENNESSEY, Chief Justice.
This case concerns the education of children at home by their parents.
We are especially concerned here with the applicable constitutional
law, as well as certain provisions of G.L. c. 119 (care and protection
of children); G.L. c. 71 (public schools); and G.L. c. 76 (attendance
at school). Due to religious convictions, the parents desired to educate
their three children, ages eleven, eight, and six, at home during the
1985-1986 school year. Although the parents instructed their children
in their "home school," the school committee of Canton, on
October 15, 1985, initiated truancy proceedings in Stoughton District
Court, asserting a violation of G.L. c. 76, Sec. 2. On October 16, 1985,
a petition for care and protection of the children under G.L. c. 119,
Sec. 24, was filed by an attorney for the town, alleging that the three
children were "without necessary and proper educational care and
discipline" and that their parents were "unwilling and unable
or unavailable to provide such care." At a hearing on October 25,
the criminal complaints under G.L. c. 76, Sec. 2, were dismissed, and
a hearing on the care and protection issue was subsequently scheduled
for and held on December 6, 1985. On May 13, 1986, the judge issued
his "findings and order," which determined that the children
were in need of care and protection within the meaning of G.L. c. 119
with respect to their educational care only and ordered that the children
"commence public or approved school attendance forthwith,"
although the children were allowed to remain in the physical and legal
custody of their parents. The parents appealed this order to the Appeals
Court. The judge stayed his order pending appeal. We transferred the
case to this court on our own motion.
This case presents us with the question of accommodating the parents'
rights under the Constitution of the United States and the Massachusetts
Constitution with the governmental interest in the education of its
citizens. For reasons which appear in the conclusion to this opinion,
we direct that the judge's order be vacated and that the case be remanded
to the lower court for further proceedings.
We summarize the relevant facts from the judge's "findings
and order," and the judge's "settled report" prepared
in accordance with Rule 3(c) of the Supplemental Rules of Appellate
Procedure in Care and Protection Cases. On August 21, 1985, the children's
mother telephoned Dr. James C. Lynch, assistant superintendent of the
Canton public schools, informing him that she and her husband intended
to educate their three children at home during the 1985-1986 school
year. This telephone call was followed by a letter dated September 1,
1985, which stated that: " s christian parents, we are committed
to introducing our children to and nurturing them in the truths of the
Bible.... Our decision to home-school is based on the conviction that
what [our children] need most is exposure to us, their parents, and
a family whose foundation is the Word of God."
A meeting was held on September 4 with the parents and Drs. Lynch
and Peter S. Capernaros, the superintendent of the Canton schools. At
this meeting, the parents explained that they would be using a curriculum,
which had yet to arrive, that was customary in "Christian Schools."
In addition, they stated that the children would be involved in community
activities such as gymnastics and soccer. Doctors Lynch and Capernaros
determined that, although neither parent was certified to teach or had
a college degree, each parent had a high school education (FN2) and
the children's father had taken courses at the college level.
The parents attended the evening meeting of the Canton school committee
on September 19 and were permitted to present their proposal in an executive
session. The parents emphasized the superiority of their proposed "tutorial
system" compared to the education received in public school classrooms.
They stated that, although the curriculum materials still had not arrived,
the curriculum would be individualized to meet each child's needs. Furthermore,
they stated that they would be their children's only instructors and
that the children's mother would be the primary instructor. School committee
members expressed their concern about certain aspects of the parents'
proposal, including the parents' objection to school department's testing
and evaluation of their children's progress. The committee chairman
informed the parents that the committee hoped to make a decision at
the regularly scheduled October 3 meeting and that in the meantime the
parents should prepare a more complete and detailed proposal.
On October 2, the children's father met with Drs. Lynch and Capernaros.
At this meeting, he refused, for fear of prejudice, to document his
educational background and that of his wife. He also stated his unwillingness
to provide the administration with the number of hours and days that
would be devoted to instruction of his children and his opposition to
visits by school department personnel to his home for observation of
the program. He did indicate his willingness to provide the administration
with copies of the table of contents of the curriculum materials when
they arrived and his preference for using a particular standardized
test, which he asserted had been accepted by the Massachusetts Department
of Education, for the evaluation of the children's progress.
Although invited, the parents declined to attend the October 3 meeting
of the school committee, stating that they had no additional information
for the committee. The committee instructed the school superintendent
to send the parents a letter informing them that their consent to the
stipulations of a proposed memorandum of agreement would facilitate
the committee's consideration of their proposal. On October 16, the
parents returned an edited version of the agreement, unsigned, indicating
the stipulations that they found unacceptable.
At the November 14 meeting of the school committee, to which the
parents were invited but again declined to attend, (FN3) the members
voted to accept the recommendation of the school superintendent to deny
the parents permission to educate their children at home. The parents
were informed of this vote by letter dated November 19. The letter included
a memorandum which outlined the following three major objections to
the parents' proposal. First, the superintendent had not been given
reason to believe that the parents were competent to teach their children.
Second, the parents had indicated that the children would spend less
time on formal instruction than would children in public schools. Third,
the parents objected to the school's efforts to monitor or observe the
instructional methods used in the home school and periodically to test
the children to determine whether they were making reasonable progress
in their education. The superintendent indicated that, in his judgment,
allowing the parents to educate their children "would be denying
those children a proper education, by any reasonable standards."
1. School Committee is Proper Party.
The parents first contend that the school committee of Canton is
not a proper party in this appeal and, thus, the case should be summarily
dismissed for "lack of prosecution." We disagree. General
Laws c. 119, Sec. 24, provides that "any person alleging on behalf
of a child under the age of eighteen years ... that said child is without:
(a) necessary and proper physical or educational care and discipline
... may issue a precept to bring such child before ... court ..."
(emphasis added.) See Custody of a Minor (No. 1), 385 Mass. 697, 705-706,
434 N.E.2d 601 (1982). Consequently, the petition for care and protection
was properly filed by an attorney action for the town. Nevertheless,
the parents argue that the school committee had no authority to proceed
as a party in the case. (FN4) They can point to no statutory provision,
however, which would preclude the school committee from the role that
it has taken in this case. Although they cite G.L. c. 119, Sec. 27,
which limits those parties who may appeal the adjudication of a prior
care and protection order, it has no specific application in this instance.
On the contrary, G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, states that " he school committee
of each town shall provide for and enforce the school attendance of
all children actually residing therein in accordance herewith."
Since an appropriate avenue of enforcement of G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is
a petition to find the children in need of care and protection with
respect to their educational care under G.L. c. 119, Sec. 24, we conclude
that the school committee of Canton was a proper party in this case.
2. General Laws c. 76, Sec. 1: Its Relationship to Care and Protection
(G.L. c. 119) and Its Constitutionality.
We next address the contentions of the parents with respect to G.L.
c. 76, Sec. 1, the violation of which formed the basis for the judge's
determination that the children were in need of care and protection
"with respect to their educational care only." (FN5)
The parents first argue thatG.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is inapplicable
to proceedings under G.L. c. 119, Secs. 1-39. Again, we disagree. General
Laws c. 76, Sec. 1, provides the standards by which the judge is to
determine whether a child is "without ... necessary and proper
... educational care and discipline" and whether the "parents
... are unwilling ... or unavailable to provide any such care, discipline
or attention...." G.L. c. 119, Sec. 24. Without such an implied
reference under G.L. c. 119, Sec. 24, to G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, the judge
would be without guidance in determining what constitutes "necessary
and proper ... educational care and discipline."
The parents next argue that G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is constitutionally
deficient due to vagueness because it fails to provide any standards
for the approval of a home school proposal or to provide a procedure
through which this determination is to be made. (FN6) The parents couple
this argument with a claim that G.L. c. 76, Sec. I, is an unlawful delegation
of legislative power to the superintendent and school committee. We
have stated that the "constitutional claims of 'void for vagueness'
and unlawful delegation of legislative authority are closely related.
The principal question posed by both claims is whether the statute is
so vague 'that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at
its meaning and differ as to its application.' Commonwealth v. Carpenter,
325 Mass. 519, 521, 91 N.E.2d 666 [1950]. O'Connell v. Brockton Bd.
of Appeals, 344 Mass. 208, 212, 181 N.E.2d 800 [1962]." Board of
Appeals of Hanover v. Housing Appeals Comm. in the Dep't of Community
Affairs, 363 Mass. 339, 363, 294 N.E.2d 393 (1973). Warren v. Hazardous
Waste Facility Site Safety Council, 392 Mass. 107, 123-124, 466 N.E.2d
102 (1984). See Zwickler v. Koota, 389 U.S. 241, 249, 88 S.Ct. 391,
396, 19 L.Ed.2d 444 (1967); Connally v. General Constr. Co., 269 U.S.
385, 391, 46 S.Ct. 126, 127, 70 L.Ed. 322 (1926). Under this standard,
we conclude that G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is neither void for vagueness nor
an unlawful delegation of legislative authority.
In Warren v. Hazardous Waste Facility Site Safety Council, supra,
we determined that " detailed specification of standards is not
required" in order that a statute withstand our scrutiny against
such a claim. Id. 392 Mass. at 124, 466 N.E.2d 102. Indeed, we concluded
that standards not expressly provided for may be found in the statute's
necessary implications. "The purpose, to a substantial degree,
sets the standards." Id. The purpose of G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is
to ensure that "all the children shall be educated...." Commonwealth
v. Roberts, 159 Mass. 372, 374, 34 N.E. 402 (1893) (interpreting a predecessor
statute). In order to effectuate this purpose, the Legislature has provided
a comprehensive statutory scheme setting the standards for the education
of the State's youth. This statutory scheme includes standards under
G.L. c. 71, Secs. 1, 2, and 3, concerning the subjects that must be
taught in public schools and the requirements for teacher qualification.
(FN7) Furthermore, G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, specifically provides that: "For
the purposes of this section, school committees shall approve a private
school when satisfied that the instruction in all the studies required
by law equals in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made
therein, that in the public schools in the same town; but shall not
withhold such approval on account of religious teaching...." Our
reading of this statute indicates that the Legislature intended that
the approval of a home school proposal fall within the above enunciated
standard for the approval of a private school. Consequently, the body
of substantive law referred to above provides the superintendents and
school committees of the Commonwealth with sufficient standards such
that G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, can withstand a challenge of vagueness and
unlawful delegation of legislative authority. See Braintree Baptist
Temple v. Holbrook Pub. Schools, 616 F.Supp. 81, 91 (D.Mass.1984).
General Laws c. 76, Sec. 1, also does not fail under the Federal
standard of vagueness articulated in Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman
Estates, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 498-499, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 1193, 71 L.Ed.2d
362 (1982). As stated in that case, " vague law impermissibly delegates
basic policy matters to policemen, judges, and juries for resolution
on an ad hoc and subjective basis, with the attendant dangers of arbitrary
and discriminatory applications." Id. at 498, 102 S.Ct. at 1193,
quoting Grayned v. Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108-109, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 2298-99,
33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972). Such is not the situation here since the school
committee must implement the standards set out in the statutes described
above. Furthermore, the Supreme Court indicated that the most important
factor in this determination is whether the law "threatens to inhibit
the exercise of constitutionally protected rights." Id. at 499,
102 S.Ct. at 1193. General Laws c. 76, Sec. 1, specifically forbids
the school committee from withholding approval of private schools "on
account of religious teaching." Because we conclude that this legislative
policy extends to home school proposals, no constitutionally protected
right is implicated.
With regard to the claim that G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, constitutes an
unlawful delegation of legislative authority, we also note that "
he Legislature may delegate to a board or officer the working out of
the details of a policy adopted by the Legislature." Warren v.
Hazardous Waste Facility Site Safety Council, supra 392 Mass. at 124,
466 N.E.2d 102, quoting Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth. v. Boston Safe
Deposit & Trust Co., 348 Mass. 538, 544, 205 N.E.2d 346 (1965).
Since Colonial times, education in Massachusetts has been "under
the control of the people in each municipality." Jenkins v. Andover,
103 Mass. 94, 97 (1869). Indeed the power of the school committees,
although broad, has been upheld in numerous cases. "The school
committee may make all reasonable rules and regulations for the government,
discipline and management of the schools under their charge. This includes
a determination within the bounds set by the statutes of the subjects
to be taught and the nature of the schools to be maintained and the
exercise of discrimination, insight and wisdom in the election of teachers
and in the general supervision of the school system, with all the incidental
powers essential to the discharge of their main functions." Leonard
v. School Comm. of Springfield, 241 Mass. 325, 330, 135 N.E. 459 (1922).
Although school committees do exercise broad discretion in the performance
of their duties, it is not unbridled. Again, the substantial body of
statutory law described above sets bounds under which the committees
must act. Consequently, G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, does not fail as an unlawful
delegation of legislative authority.
We have no doubt that the statute is constitutional. If there were
any lingering doubt on this issue, it would be resolved by recognition
of the guidelines which we have set out in part 4 of this opinion for
the assistance of parents and school authorities. These guidelines,
like the specific provisions of the statutory scheme, provide particulars
through which the reasonableness of parents and public authorities may
be measured.
3. Right to Home Education; Limitations of the Right.
We now examine the parents' contention that the approval process
of G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, infringes on their right to educate their own
children, a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution. General Laws c. 76, Sec. 1, requires that "
very child between the minimum and maximum ages established for school
attendance by the board of education ... attend a public day school
in [the] town [where the child resides] or some other day school approved
by the school committee ... but such attendance shall not be required
... of a child who is being otherwise instructed in a manner approved
in advance by the superintendent or the school committee...." The
Canton school committee does not dispute the parents' right to educate
their children at home. Commonwealth v. Roberts, supra 159 Mass. at
374, 34 N.E. 402 (allowing instruction by the parents provided "it
is given in good faith and is sufficient in extent"). However,
the school committee does require that the parents submit to them a
home schooling proposal, outlining, among other things, the curriculum,
materials to be used, and qualifications of the instructors, for its
approval as required under G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1. The parents argue that
such approval infringes on their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment
to control the upbringing and education of their children. (FN8)
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that the liberty
interests protected by the Fourteenth Amendment extend to activities
involving child rearing and education. Pierce v. Society of Sisters,
268 U.S. 510, 535, 45 S.Ct. 571, 573, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925). Meyer v.
Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399, 43 S.Ct. 625, 626, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923).
See Farrington v. Tokushige, 273 U.S. 284, 298-299, 47 S.Ct. 406, 408-409,
71 L.Ed. 646 (1927) (recognizing a similar right under the Fifth Amendment).
"The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in
this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize
its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers
only. The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture
him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty,
to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." Pierce
v. Society of Sisters, supra. See School Dist. of Abington v. Schempp,
374 U.S. 203, 242, 83 S.Ct. 1560, 1582, 10 L.Ed.2d 844 (1963) (Brennan,
J., concurring); Richards v. Forrest, 278 Mass. 547, 553, 180 N.E. 508
(1932). The "additional obligations" referred to by the Court
have been defined to include "the inculcation of moral standards,
religious beliefs, and elements of good citizenship." Wisconsin
v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 233, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 1542, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972).
Furthermore, the "primary role of the parents in the upbringing
of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American
tradition." Id. at 232, 92 S.Ct. at 1541.
While the parents contend, and we agree, that they possess a basic
right in directing the education of their children, such a right is
not absolute but must be reconciled with the substantial State interest
in the education of its citizenry. The United States Supreme Court has
recognized the State's "high responsibility for education of its
citizens." Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra at 213, 92 S.Ct. at 1532.
(FN9) "Today, education is perhaps the most important function
of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and
the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition
of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required
in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service
in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship.
Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural
values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping
him to adjust normally to his environment." Brown v. Board of Educ.,
347 U.S. 483, 493, 74 S.Ct. 686, 691, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954). Attorney
Gen. v. Bailey, 386 Mass. 367, 377, 436 N.E.2d 139, cert. denied, 459
U.S. 970, 103 S.Ct. 301, 74 L.Ed.2d 282 (1982). The Massachusetts Constitution
itself proclaims the State's interest in ensuring that its citizens
are educated. "Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused
generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation
of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the
opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the
country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the
duty of Legislatures and Magistrates, in all future periods of this
Commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences,
and all seminaries of them; especially ... public schools and grammar
schools in the towns; ...." Mass. Const.Pt. 2, c. 5, Sec. 2. We
have made clear that, from the beginning of its history, the Commonwealth
has emphasized the crucial importance in the education of children.
Jenkins v. Andover, 103 Mass. 94, 96-97 (1869). However, like the parents'
basic right in directing the education of their children, "the
State's interest in universal compulsory education ... is by no means
absolute to the exclusion or subordination of all other interests."
Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra at 215, 92 S.Ct. at 1533.
The parents contend that, if the State has a substantial interest
in this regard, the interest must be carefully defined as to its true
nature. They argue that the extent of the State's interest is not in
educating the children but only in knowing that the children are being
educated. In the past we have had occasion to consider the State's interest
under its compulsory education laws. In Commonwealth v. Roberts, supra
159 Mass. at 374, 34 N.E. 402, we examined the predecessor statute to
G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, and stated that " he great object of these
provisions of the statutes has been that all children
shall be educated, not that they shall be educated in any particular
way." Consequently, we agree with the parents that the State interest
in this regard lies in ensuring that the children residing within the
State receive an education, not that the educational process be dictated
in its minutest detail. See Appeal of Peirce, 122 N.H. 762, 768, 451
A.2d 363 (1982) (Douglas and Brock, JJ., concurring specially) ("
hile the State may adopt a policy requiring that children be educated,
it does not have the unlimited power to require that they be educated
in a certain way at a certain place"). However, in order to ensure
that "all the children shall be educated," we conclude that
the approval process required under G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, is necessary
to promote effectively the State's substantial interest. State v. McDonough,
468 A.2d 977, 980 (Me.1983). Without such an approval process, the State
would be powerless to assert its interest in the case of a child "who
is being otherwise instructed." "There is no doubt as to the
power of a State, having a high responsibility for education of its
citizens, to impose reasonable regulations for the control and duration
of basic education." Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra at 213, 92 S.Ct.
at 1532. Thus, the school committee
may enforce, through the approval process under G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1,
certain reasonable educational requirements similar to those required
for public and private schools. (FN10)
4. Guidelines for Approval of Home Education Plan.
Having concluded that the approval process under G.L. c. 76, Sec.
1, is constitutionally permissible, we caution the superintendent or
school committee that the approval of a home school proposal must not
be conditioned on requirements that are not essential to the State interest
in ensuring that "all the children shall be educated." We
recognize "that courts are not school boards or legislatures, and
are ill-equipped to determine the 'necessity' of discrete aspects of
a State's program of compulsory education." Wisconsin v. Yoder,
supra at 235, 92 S.Ct. at 1543. However, because we remand this case
to the lower court, we offer some guidance on
the extent to which approval of a home school proposal may be conditioned
on certain requirements without infringing on the liberty interests
of the parents under the Fourteenth Amendment.
We begin by reiterating our holding in Commonwealth v. Renfrew,
332 Mass. 492, 494, 126 N.E.2d 109 (1955), that " ome education
of their child by the defendants without the prior approval of the superintendent
or the [school] committee [does] not show a compliance with the statute
and bar the prosecution of the complaints." Thus, as the statute
indicates, approval must be obtained in advance, i.e., prior to the
removal of the children from the public school and to the commencement
of the home schooling program. See State v. Riddle, 168 W.Va. 429, 285
S.E.2d 359, 364 (1981). Procedurally, the superintendent or school committee
must provide the parents with an opportunity to explain their proposed
plan and present witnesses on their behalf. A hearing during a school
committee meeting would be sufficient to meet this requirement. In obtaining
the superintendent's or the school committee's approval, the parents
bear the responsibility of demonstrating that the home school proposal
meets the requirements of G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, in that the instruction
will equal "in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress
made therein, that in the public schools in the same town...."
See Matter of Kilroy, 121 Misc.2d 98, 101, 467 N.Y.S.2d 318 (N.Y.Fam.Ct.1983).
If the home school proposal is rejected, the superintendent or the school
committee must detail the reasons for the decision. The parents must
then be given an opportunity to revise their proposal to remedy its
inadequacies. However, if the parents commence the education of their
children at home in the face of the school committee's refusal to approve
the parents' home school proposal, the burden of
proof under G.L. c. 119 or G.L. c. 76, Sec. 2, shifts to the school
committee to show that the instruction outlined in the home school proposal
fails to equal "in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress
made therein, that in the public schools in the same town...."
G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1. See In re Monnig, 638 S.W.2d 782, 788 (Mo.Ct.App.1982).
The school committee of Canton presented the parents with a memorandum
of agreement outlining certain requirements necessary for the parents
to obtain approval for their proposal. Although we decline to address
the specifics of each requirement, we recognize that certain factors
may be considered by the superintendent or school committee in determining
whether or not to approve a proposed home school proposal. Primary among
these is the proposed curriculum and the number of hours of instruction
in each of the proposed subjects. The Supreme Court has acknowledged
that Pierce v. Society of Sisters, supra, upon which the parents rely,
lends "no support to the contention that parents may replace state
educational requirements with their own idiosyncratic views of what
knowledge a child needs to be a productive and happy member of society."
Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160, 177, 96 S.Ct. 2586, 2597, 49 L.Ed.2d
415 (1976), quoting Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra at 239, 92 S.Ct. at 1545
(White, J., concurring). General Laws c. 71,
Secs. 1, 2, and 3, list the subjects that must be taught in schools
maintained by the towns throughout the Commonwealth. Specifically, Sec.
1 requires "instruction and training in orthography, reading, writing,
the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music,
the history and constitution of the United States, the duties of citizenship,
health education, physical education and good behavior." Under
Sec. 1, the school committee may also require other subjects considered
"expedient." Furthermore, G.L. c. 71, Secs. 1 and 4 and 603
Code Mass.Regs. Sec. 27.01 (1980), require cities and towns to operate
the public schools for a minimum of 180 days. The superintendent or
school committee may properly consider the length of the proposed home
school year and the hours of instruction in each subject. As we have
stated before, " he quality of education can be rendered meaningless
if the quantity is subject to manipulation." Board of Educ. v.
Boston, 386 Mass. 103, 108, 434 N.E.2d 1224 (1982), quoting School Comm.
of Burlington v. Burlington Educators Ass'n, 7 Mass.App.Ct. 41, 46,
385 N.E.2d 1014 (1979).
The superintendent or school committee may also examine the competency
of the parents to teach the children. General Laws c. 71, Sec. 1, provides
that teachers shall be "of competent ability and good morals."
While we recognize that teachers in public schools must be certified,
certification would not appropriately be required for parents under
a home school proposal. See State v. Riddle, supra 285 S.E.2d at 366
(under a statutory requirement of "persons qualified to give instruction").
But see Hanson v. Cushman, 490 F.Supp. 109, 112 (W.D.Mich.1980); Jernigan
v. State, 412 So.2d 1242, 1245 (Ala.Crim.App.1982); Grigg v. Commonwealth,
224 Va. 356, 363-364, 297 S.E.2d 799 (1982). Nor must the parents have
college or advanced academic degrees. However, the superintendent or
school committee may properly inquire as to the academic credentials
or other qualifications of the parent or parents who will be instructing
the children.
The superintendent or school committee must also have access to
the textbooks, workbooks, and other instructional aids to be used by
the children and to the lesson plans and teaching manuals to be used
by the parents. This access is necessary only to determine the type
of subjects to be taught and the grade level of the instruction for
comparison purposes with the curriculum of the public schools. The
superintendent or school committee may not use this access to dictate
the manner in which the subjects will be taught. This would involve
the school authorities in an activity beyond the legitimate scope of
the State interest involved.
Finally, the superintendent or school committee may properly require
periodic standardized testing of the children to ensure
educational progress and the attainment of minimum standards. See Johnson
v. Charles City Community Schools Bd. of Educ., 368 N.W.2d 74, 79 (Iowa),
cert. denied sub nom. Pruessner v. Benton, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct.
594, 88 L.Ed.2d 574 (1985) (requiring testing in addition to other minimum
standards in a private school setting). State v. Rivinius, 328 N.W.2d
220, 229 (N.D.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1070, 103 S.Ct. 1525, 75
L.Ed.2d 948 (1983) (same). In consultation with the parents, the school
authorities may decide where the testing is to occur and the type of
testing instrument to be used. Where practical, a neutral party should
administer the test. Other means of evaluating the progress of the children
may be substituted for the formal testing process, such as periodic
progress reports or dated work samples, subject to the approval of the
parents. With appropriate testing procedures or progress reports, there
may be no need for periodic on-site visits or observations of the learning
environment by school authority personnel. But see Matter of Kilroy,
supra 121 Misc.2d at 102, 467 N.Y.S.2d 318 (upholding requirement of
on-site visits).
5. Conclusion.
The judge properly relied on G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, in determining
that the children were, under G.L. c. 119, in need of care and protection
with respect to their educational care. We think, also, that the judge's
order finding the children in need of care and protection was warranted
on the evidence. (For example, the judge found on the evidence that
the parents had failed to provide documentation as to their educational
qualifications and had refused to permit testing of the children.) Nevertheless,
it is apparent that the parties have never confronted the issues before
them in light of the legal principles and guidelines set out in this
opinion. We conclude that the interests of all will be best served by
the following order: the judge's order (presently stayed pending appeal)
is vacated; the parties are to proceed expeditiously in a serious effort
to resolve the matter by agreement; the case is remanded to the lower
court where the trial judge is to have continuing jurisdiction over
the case for such further proceedings as he deems necessary.
So ordered. FN1. Two of the children attended Canton's Kennedy Elementary
School during the 1984-1985 school year; however, none of the three
children named in this petition attended public school during the 1985-1986
school year. The name assigned to this case is ficticious.
FN2. At a subsequent school committee meeting held on September
19, the children's mother admitted that she had not graduated from high
school but had only completed the eleventh grade. She subsequently obtained
her high school equivalency certificate while this case was pending.
FN3. The parents were represented at the meeting by counsel who
addressed the committee.
FN4. The Department of Social Services was never made a party to
the proceedings.
FN5. We acknowledge the helpful analysis provided by the Massachusetts
Association of School Committees, Inc., as amicus curiae.
FN6. We note the parents' additional contention that they need not
obtain the school committee's approval of their home school proposal.
Thus, their arguments concerning standards to be used in the approval
process anticipate a ruling that school committee approval is required.
FN7. General Laws c. 71, Sec. 1 (1984 ed.), provides in relevant
part: "Such schools shall be taught by teachers of competent ability
and good morals, and shall give instruction and training in orthography,
reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic,
drawing, music, the history and constitution of the United States, the
duties of citizenship, health education, physical education and good
behavior."
General Laws c. 71, Sec. 2 (1984 ed.), provides that: "In all
public elementary and high schools American history and civics, including
the constitution of the United States, the declaration of independence
and the bill of rights, and in all public schools the constitution of
the Commonwealth and local history and government, shall be taught as
required subjects for the purpose of promoting civic service and a greater
knowledge thereof, and of fitting the pupils, morally and intellectually,
for the duties of citizenship."
General Laws c. 71, Sec. 3 (1984 ed.), provides, in relevant part,
that: "Physical education shall be taught as a required subject
in all grades for all students in the public schools for the purpose
of promoting the physical well-being of such students."
FN8. We recognize that the parents also present arguments based
on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. 2
and amended art. 18 of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts
Constitution. Because we conclude that the parents have a basic right
under the Fourteenth Amendment in directing the educational upbringing
of their children subject to reasonable government regulation, we need
not address these arguments. We note, however, that under the facts
of this case, the free exercise of religion claims under neither the
United States nor the Massachusetts Constitution would entitle the parents
to any greater protection than we grant them in this opinion. See Runyon
v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160, 178 n. 15, 96 S.Ct. 2586, 2598 n. 15, 49 L.Ed.2d
415 (1976); Duro v. District Attorney, Second Judicial Dist. of N.C.,
712 F.2d 96, 98 (4th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1006, 104 S.Ct.
998, 79 L.Ed.2d 230 (1984).
FN9. The Supreme Court has recognized two State interests in a system
of compulsory education. " some degree of education is necessary
to prepare citizens to participate effectively and intelligently in
our open political system if we are to preserve freedom and independence.
Further, education prepares individuals to be self-reliant and self-sufficient
participants in society." Wisconsin v. Yoder, supra at 221, 92
S.Ct. at 1536.
FN10. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters, supra at 534, 45 S.Ct. at
573, the Supreme Court stated: "No question is raised concerning
the power of the State reasonably to regulate all schools, to inspect,
supervise and examine them, their teachers and pupils; to require that
all children of proper age attend some school, that teachers shall be
of good moral character and patriotic disposition, that certain studies
plainly essential to good citizenship must be taught, and that nothing
be taught which is manifestly inimical to the public welfare."
See Meyer v. Nebraska, supra at 402, 43 S.Ct. at 627; Runyon v. McCrary,
427 U.S. 160, 178, 96 S.Ct. 2586, 2598, 49 L.Ed.2d 415 (1976).