Public schools have no right to intrude on home-schooled

This is in response to the Herald's Nov. 11 article about discussions to monitor home-schooled children in Manatee County by certified teacher visits on a regular basis. By what authority do public schools have to intrude into private family homes? Yes, family service agency personnel who were supposed to oversee Janiya Thomas's home situation failed to do their jobs, but this, in no way means that public schools should take up the cause.

Do schools need to add another level of governmental bureaucracy when schools are having enough trouble educating children who are enrolled in school? Most parents who home-school their children do a credible job as indicated by the later successes of their children. (For example, many of the winners of the National Spelling Bee the last few years have been home-schooled.)

Janiya's abuse and death were a terrible tragedy, but it is a falsely sentimental reaction for public school officials to use their time and dollars to set up a system with (a) paid visiting teachers, who must of course have (b) a highly paid supervisor and eventually, (c) a remunerated governing board. Instead, do the job you are entrusted to do and put your time and effort into educating the many at-risk students who are in your care.

Parents of most home-schooled children are not a threat to the existence of public schools; therefore, it is not the prerogative of the public school system to hassle them.

Janet Courtney

Palmetto

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Public schools have no right to intrude on home-schooled ."