 From
the Education Coordinator:
WV District UPCI Forum
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What Would You Do? |
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Uploaded Sep 08 2008, 2:34:08 PM | Viewed 2186 time(s).
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Education Mandate?
The education laws of our fine State indicate that the government believes it has a duty to educate all our WV children the way it sees fit. That may sound well and good to some. But who gave the State such a mandate? God or man?
When we turn to the word of God, we see that God charges parents, not government, with the duty to educate their children in a godly way. This is a mandate given by God. Can the State take it away? According to the current laws on the books, yes, the State supposedly can grant and then can take away your revocable right to educate your own children.
So, is the duty to educate your children a God-given mandate? Or is it a State-revocable permission? Read our story and make yourself aware of the difference between your God-given mandate and this supposedly State-given right (which can then be taken away).
This is not just an empty threat on the part of the State code. We personally know a family who had their so-called right to homeschool their child revoked by a public education system employee (and they suffered it). The employee was simply enforcing an unlawful statute. What would you have done? We personally know another family that was told by a public education system employee that they could not send their child to the Christian school they had chosen. They resisted and thus later were simply ignored by the system. We ourselves were told by public education system employees that we had to bring our church's Christian school under the authority of either the county or the State in accordance with existing State code. We refused. Read more below.
Our Story
My name is Doug Joseph. I serve as the Christian education coordinator for the WV District of the United Pentecostal Church International. Previously, a precious brother by the name of Philip Neil (a pastor at Summersville, WV) served our district as Christian education coordinator. We owe him a debt of thanks for his deeply appreciated service.
I also serve as pastor of Christian Apostolic Church (UPCI) in Clarksburg, WV. As of Thanksgiving of 2008, we will have been here for six years. Prior to that we worked at the UPCI headquarters (in the Home Missions Division) for about 7 years, and prior to that we served under Pastor Billy Cole in Charleston, WV, for almost 9 years.
My wife and I, through study of the Bible and communication with the Lord, have been led by God to the realization that the responsibility to educate our children in a godly atmosphere, safe from undue pressures and false doctrines, is a charge laid upon as us parents, by the Lord God himself. Therefore, we have the religious conviction that it would be a serious mistake to permit any civic government the authority to take away from us our right to educate our children as we see fit.
When we came to Clarksburg six years ago, the church here had never had a Christian school (other than Sunday school). We led the church to establish Apostolic Christian Academy, a K-12 Christian school, as a ministry of the church, facilitating the parental duty to educate our children.
The education laws of the State of WV are very much against our sincerely held convictions. The State code insists that all children in WV (from first grade through a student's sixteenth birthday) must be enrolled in the government school system, and the only exemptions that are permitted for religious convictions are contrived in such a way that it requires us as parents to utilize only schools that are under the authority of the government, and which can be (indeed, are to be) disallowed by the government (as available options for us) if any such schools should fail to cooperate with the government and/or fail to operate in a manner acceptable to the government. The same strength of legal force is used to coerce home-schooling parents as well.
As mentioned above, we know one Apostolic family here in WV that was forced to stop home schooling one of their children. They were commanded to enroll their child in a State-approved school because of a lack of compliance with the laws on this matter.
When we started our school here, it was done without seeking or gaining permission or license from the government education system. Our school's existence is based on the authority of the church to operate such a ministry, as an extension of the God-given parental authority to educate our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We later found out that the code is structured such that our school would not prosecuted; our parents are supposed to be prosecuted!
When we started, we sent out letters of transfer (requesting records) for our first batch of students as they departed from the public education system. The local public schools were thus informed of our existence. At that time, all interaction was with schools located within our county (Harrison). The public schools replied by sending us the requested records. No problems thus far.
Interaction with Neighboring County Brought Education Officials On Us
A family attending church in a neighboring county has a child that suffers from a learning disability (dyslexia). They had been educating the child in a private, Christian school located there, but that school suddenly closed down. They didn't immediately tackle the logistical (distance and financial) questions of sending the child to our school. At first they tried something they quickly regretted. They enrolled the child in a public school there. After the first day, the child pleaded to not be sent back. They then made arrangements to enroll in our school.
They informed the public school of the transfer, and the letter was sent requesting records. Nevertheless, that county's truancy officer (now called an attendance officer) contacted the family about their child's absence from the public school. They informed him of the transfer. His reply was foreboding and ominous. He didn't see our school listed as an approved school. He said that if the school is not an approved school, he has the authority to come and take the student out. The family called me. They were distraught. (Wouldn't you be?) I tried to calm them by confidently assuring them he had no such authority. They refused to capitulate to his demands, and so he contacted his counterpart in our county. We were no longer flying under the radar in Harrison County.
The Harrison County attendance officer called me to inquire if we had filled out the necessary exemption forms (essentially, the question was, had we asked the government for their permission to have a school, so they could track whether or not our school then fully complied with the arbitrary demands of the code, which could lead to the revoking of our permission to send our children to our own school, if the school did not maintain compliance with the arbitrary demands of the code). The code does not bar a school from existing outside of government authority; rather it sets forth that parents will be prosecuted if they send their compulsory-age child(ren) to such a school. Compulsory age is roughly from first grade through a student’s sixteenth birthday.
We spoke by phone with, and later met in person with, both the attendance officer and the administrative assistant to the Harrison County superintendent of schools. I explained our convictions, and I was asked to put into writing our defense, to be sent to the county superintendent of schools, Dr. Carl Friebel.
We sent a letter, as requested. It was sent by certified mail on March 29, 2007. We called the administrative assistant at that time and told him the letter had been mailed. (Please email me at education@wvupci.org if you would like to see a copy of the letter.)
According to the State code, we should have been quickly arrested and prosecuted. Instead, the education system employees have never again contacted us. (They have not called, mailed, emailed, or visited us.) It's been a year and a half.
Maybe they are Christian-minded people who don’t want to prosecute innocent parents that are doing no wrong. Or perhaps they have been instructed by superiors to avoid people like us (perhaps for concern that if they prosecute, it will look bad in the public’s eyes, or maybe for concern that the current, unlawful code will be struck down in a court of law, winning freedom for like-minded parents statewide). We really don’t know.
Every day when we take our children to our school, we must disregard the unlawful code. To put it simply, the codified wording creates a situation where lawful activity is supposedly illegal. If the employees really believed that the code was lawful and would stand up in court, then they ought to prosecute us as parents. But they are not doing so.
Dr. Carl Friebel has since resigned as county superintendent of schools, and now the county has a new officer in that position. We are considering sending a review of this whole matter to the WV State superintendent of schools, to see if we can move forward. So far, the education system employees seem content to let us (once again) fly under the radar, leaving the current code unchallenged. That code has been used as a battering ram to intimidate good people, sometimes forcing them to abandon their convictions.
We would like to see the current code challenged and a victory won for the rights of godly parents to home school and/or Christian school their own children as they see fit. We would deeply appreciate your prayers regarding this matter. God is able to bring about a victory.
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Sincerely,
Bro. Doug Joseph |
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Follow-up posted Apr 22 2009, 01:54:20 AM
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Update
In October, 2008, we submitted the details of the situation to the Alliance Defense Fund. At that time, we perceived the matter as both a parental rights issue and a church authority issue (church ministry being hindered by government). We had not really sorted out how much of the issue was parental or how much was church related.
At first the ADF seemed to perceive it only as a church authority issue. Their initial response was that there is no defense for refusing to simply register the school with the government. Even though that response was seemingly focused only on church authority instead of parental rights, it helped us because it caused us to question exactly how much of the matter is a parental rights issue (100%), and how much of it is a church school issue (none, at least with regard to any direct sense).
Around the same time, we learned that certain parents utilizing our school (who are in agreement with us on the basic tenants of this situation) were concerned that, if the matter were ever escalated, they might possibly suffer a backlash on their job or perhaps even lose their job. Even though they did not truly desire it, they felt forced to avail themselves of one of the two exemptions the state law sets forth. That would only be available to them if our school registered.
The question then became: Can we find a way to accommodate both kinds of parents, without leaving the church or any parents in an untenable position? (By “both kinds of parents” we mean (a) those who have a conscientious need to eschew both the public system and the supposed exemptions, and (b) those that desired to eschew the public system but wanted to be able to claim one of the supposed exemptions if the need ever arose.)
We then realized it is parents who bear the entire burden (of the state’s unlawful code regarding this). It is not really a church school issue. It is a parental rights issue, from top to bottom and left to right. The state law does not grant any exemption to a church school to operate. It proposes to grant exemptions to parents. The current law does not seek to impose any fines, punishment, or any other action, directly against a school for any lack of compliance. Rather, it demands of parents that they utilize the public school system for their children, and it proposes to grant to parents certain exemptions from that, based on certain criteria. And finally, it is parents that would suffer for any lack of compliance.
We decided that the church school, as an entity distinct from the parents, could register, without forcing any exemptions on any parents. This allows parents the choice of whether they wish to claim an exemption or not. We explained to the Alliance Defense Fund what we were thinking, and they agreed. We sought, and found, a way to accommodate both kinds of parents. Below are the texts of the letters published by the school. The legal wording in the registration letter (sent by the school to the county) should be noted carefully. Also note that the registration letter is by and from the school, not from us as parents.
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Sincerely,
Bro. Doug Joseph |
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Follow-up posted Apr 22 2009, 02:09:15 AM
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ACA Registration Letter to Harrison County
[The following letter was published hardcopy December 2, 2008.]
Harrison County Board of Education
PO Box 1370
Clarksburg, WV 26302
Attention:
Mrs. Susan Lee Collins, Superintendent of Schools
Mr. James Kirby, Attendance Director
Regarding: School Registration
Dear Mrs. Collins and Mr. Kirby:
We greet you warmly in the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus the Christ.
This letter is to serve as written verification that Apostolic Christian Academy (situated at the address listed above) is officially registered with the Harrison County Board of Education, affirming prior communications between our Senior Administrator (Mr. Douglas Joseph) and Harrison County’s Attendance Director (Mr. James Kirby). Our school is cooperating with the Harrison County Board of Education in reference to WV State Code, Section 18-8-1(b), also known as Exemption B. In order to help you expedite your record-keeping efforts for the current school year, please find enclosed a list of our current students’ names and addresses. Our understanding is that unless and until we hear differently from the Harrison County Board of Education, we may state that “ACA is Harrison County Approved” (as shown above on this letter) with regard to Exemption B of the WV State Code.
It is noted that this letter is sent on behalf of the school, and not on behalf of parents. This letter should not be interpreted as any legal concession on behalf of any parent, nor does this letter constitute any loss of religious freedoms declared or argued by any parent. Some parents have strongly-held, religious convictions that cause them to declare and argue that they have a basic right to avoid sending their child to public schools—with that right based solely on free exercise of religion, i.e. with no exemption needed. It is noted that such a parent can (and in some cases does) reserve the right to send their child to a non-registered school, even while using, for the time being, a registered, approved school. Such parents do not surrender their right simply by choosing to utilize, for now, a school that has registered. Any efforts to dialogue with parents on this matter should be taken up directly with them, as the WV State Code itself addresses parents directly (not the private school, per se) in its compulsory attendance burden placed upon parents, in its supposed need for an exemption granted to parents, and finally in its proposed penalty upon parents for disagreement or failure to comply. To be clear, the structure of the current WV State Code is such that it is parents that supposedly need an exemption (not the private school), and it is parents who stand to be prosecuted if an exemption is eschewed by them.
As mentioned, on the next page is a list of our students for this school year.
Sincerely,
LaDonna Joseph, Principal
Douglas Joseph, Senior Administrator
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Follow-up posted Apr 22 2009, 02:14:14 AM
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ACA Announcement of Registering with Harrison County
[The following letter was published hardcopy December 2, 2008.]
Dear Folks,
It is official: Apostolic Christian Academy is Harrison County Approved!
Here is the short version:
We have established (in writing) a formal arrangement of cooperation with the county according to WV State Code, Section 18-8-1(b). Parents have official assurance that Exemption B (of the WV State Code) is in place for you (if you need it or want it) for sending your child(ren) to ACA. (Exemption B legally allows you to avoid sending your children to the public schools if you don’t want to, and to instead send them to ACA if you desire.)
Please note that this arrangement does not force Exemption B on any parent that does not want it. (Some parents, including some CAC members, hold that their right to avoid public schooling for their children is a basic religious freedom and that no exemption is needed, nor should any be used, since such use might later be interpreted in a court of law as a confession, of sorts, that the state’s law of compulsory public school attendance is valid and binding on them.)
You don’t need to fill out any forms or do anything.
Regardless of which kind of parent you are—one who wants to claim Exemption B, or one who does not—you don’t need to do anything. There are no forms to fill out, and no printed papers are needed. Any parent concerned about his or her “basic right” ever being in question can opt to establish in writing a position of avoiding use of any exemption, but you don’t absolutely need to. If you wish to do so, you can contact Bro. Doug Joseph at Christian Apostolic Church, for tips on how to go about it. My email is: pastor@cac.us.com
Why register now?
Until now, ACA had an amicable, yet verbal-only, arrangement with the Harrison County Board of Education. That arrangement left some questions unanswered, but it was sufficient at the time, and it was acceptable to both our church and the county. There was no serious problem between us. However, we desired to structure and formalize an arrangement that is acceptable to all involved. We believe we have reached that conclusion. Fairly speaking, the state code on this matter is complicated, and it took a while to arrive at our current position on how to interpret & apply it. Previously, we had some important concerns about the wording of the law regarding a couple of key issues. So the school refrained from registering officially (in writing) with the county, until now. But we have addressed those concerns, and the school has finally registered.
If you have any questions, please ask!
After over two years of study on this matter, seeking legal counsel, getting advice from various sources, consulting pertinent parties, and carefully scrutinizing the WV State Code pertaining to parents and schooling, we have firmly concluded that the state law seeks to apply its authority upon parents, not upon the church or the school. Our school’s act of registering was done on behalf of the school, not on behalf of parents, and no action of the school can, in reality, add to or take away from any parent’s true rights, whatever they may be. If you have any questions, please let us know.
The bottom line is that ACA is finally registered with the county, and we can state that “ACA is Harrison County Approved.” Thank you so much for all your prayers and support during this journey of discovery and understanding.
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Sincerely,
Bro. Doug Joseph |
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Seminary:
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Urshan
Graduate School of Theology
P. O. Box 40
Hazelwood, Missouri 63042
Ph; 314-921-9290
Fax:314-921-9203
http://www.ugst.org
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Colleges and Institutes:
Apostolic Bible Institute
6944
Hudson Blvd. N.
St Paul, Minnesota 55128
Ph. 651-739-7686
Fax 651-730-8669
www.apostolic.org |
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Indiana Bible College
3350 Carson Ave.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46227
Ph. 317-554-8069
Fax 317-783-9464
www.apostolic.edu
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Christian Life College
9023 N. West Lane
Stockton, California 95210
Ph. 209-957-4027
Fax 209-476-7868
www.clc.edu |
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Jackson College of Ministries
1555 Beaslev Rd.
Jackson, Mississippi 39206
Ph.601-981-1611
Fax 601-982-5121
www.jcm.edu
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Gateway College of Evangelism
P.O. Box C
Florissant, Missouri 63031
Ph. 314-838-8858
Fax 314-831-4609
www.gatewaycollege.net
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UPCI Christian
Schools / Home Schools in West Virginia:
Please Note:
If you know
of a UPCI primary or secondary school, or a UPCI family home school,
that we have missed
please
click here
and let the webmaster know...
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North
Pleasants Christian School
87 Ironhorse Drive
St. Marys, WV 26170
Ph. 304-684-7675
Web:
Map it!
Email:
(Email to be
posted soon)
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Upper Kanawha Valley
Christian School
12721 MacCorkle
Ave
Chesapeake, WV 25315
Ph. 304-949-1410
Web:
Map it!
Email: PattyKayP@aol.com
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Orphanages & Homes for
Trouble Youth:
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Lighthouse Ranch For Boys
Mail:
P.O. Box 1578
Hammond, Louisiana 70404
Physical Location: 5143 Hwy. 443
Loranger, Louisiana 70446
Ph. 504-878-6560
www.lighthouseranch.com
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Tupelo Children's Mansion
Box 167
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
Ph: 662-842-6982
Fax: 662-791-7715
Website under construction:
www.tcmm.org |
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