susan wilson

>
> http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_fosterj_news/20000712_xnfoj_home_ed
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> Home educators win in Berkeley
> Alameda DA drops truancy case against Bay Area families
>
> By Julie Foster
> © 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
>
> The Alameda County District Attorney's
> office has decided not to pursue criminal
> truancy charges against four
> home-schooling families, thanks in part to
> a series of reports by WorldNetDaily, says
> the families' lawyer.
>
> The families, who have become known in
> home-school circles as the "Berkeley
> Four," were preparing for a possible trial
> instigated by the Berkeley Unified School
> District's student attendance review
> board.
>
> The review board interrogated the families
> in a May hearing after a confidential
> complaint was filed against the home
> schoolers. During the hearing, the board
> asked the home-educating parents to
> submit evidence of their children's school
> attendance. The board later modified the
> request to require information on the
> families' curricula as well, refusing to
> extend a May 31 deadline.
>
> Believing the review board's actions to be
> a violation of their rights, the families
> declined to submit the material. One week
> after the deadline, the board informed the
> families that their case had been sent to
> the district attorney's office for criminal
> investigation.
>
> The investigation is now completed, and
> no charges will be filed against the
> families.
>
> Three of the "Berkeley Four" are
> represented by attorney Will Rogers, who
> credits WorldNetDaily's reports as a
> contributing factor to the families' success.
>
> "The DA was very reasonable," Rogers
> said. "He could've taken a very hard-line
> approach, but he was very reasonable,
> straightforward and candid. He was not
> going to be told what to do by the school
> board. He wasn't just going to follow their
> line. He looked at it independently."
>
> Rogers said he discussed the case with
> Assistant District Attorney John Adams on
> Monday. If the DA were to press charges,
> Rogers said he would have filed a demur,
> objecting to the statute under which his
> clients were being scrutinized.
>
> "We discussed what a trial would look like
> and the legal maneuvers that I would
> make," Rogers told WND. "If they were to
> file charges, I would file a demur, which
> says that the statute that the defendants
> are being charged under does not give
> sufficient notice to a person regarding
> what they've done to commit some kind of
> offense. The statute here is vague, and he
> (Adams) agreed."
>
> Even if the demur, or objection, were to
> fail, Rogers said the district attorney's
> office was facing the legal standard of
> "beyond a reasonable doubt" when
> proving truancy -- a standard that would
> be very difficult to meet.
>
> Adams told WND the case was very
> simple.
>
> "There is documentation that I now have
> that says these kids are in school," he
> remarked. "That pretty much settles it."
>
> Two of the families are enrolled in an
> independent study program through a
> private school. Rogers was prepared to
> get testimony from the principal of that
> school, showing the children had no
> attendance problems.
>
> "The only alternative was to put all of
> home-schooling on trial, and Mr. Adams
> was not willing to do that," Rogers
> continued. "He analogized it to abortion
> where both sides have very strong
> opinions. The inference is that this is a
> political, rather than a legal matter and
> needs to be resolved through political
> channels, rather than through the criminal
> courts."
>
> Rogers said the case is a victory for his
> clients and other home-schooling families.
>
> "This is a victory, not only for the four
> Berkeley families, but for home schoolers
> throughout Alameda County and
> throughout California," he said.
> "[Home-schooling families] can go to sleep
> a little bit easier at night without the
> worry that they will be facing imminent
> prosecution for something they believe in
> their hearts is the best for their children."
>
> The attorney has not heard from the
> review board since it referred the families'
> cases to law enforcement in early June. He
> added that he doesn't expect to hear back
> from the board, because the DA's actions
> "took the wind out of their sails."
>
> According to California Education Code
> Section 48291, "the official making the
> determination not to prosecute shall
> provide the school attendance review
> board with a written explanation for the
> decision not to prosecute."
>
> "We are eagerly awaiting [Adams's] report
> to Berkeley Unified School District officials
> and hope that it will be useful in helping
> other home schoolers," said Cathy
> Cuthbert of the California Homeschool
> Network. "There are several families
> around California currently in the same
> predicament that these Berkeley families
> were. I hope this news gives them the
> courage to continue to stand up for their
> educational liberties."
>
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