(RNS) The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling on Wednesday (March 16) that orders an 11-year-old girl to enroll in public school instead of being home-schooled by her mother.
Although the girl’s mother, Brenda Kurowski, argued that the original ruling violated her religious rights, the high court based its decision on the dispute between the girl’s divorced parents who could not agree on their daughter’s schooling.
“While this case has religious overtones, it is not about religion. While it involves home-schooling, it is not about the merits of home versus public schooling. This case is only about resolving a dispute between two parents … who have been unable to agree how to best educate (their) daughter,” the court said.
Kurowski’s lawyer, John Anthony Simmons, was concerned that the Supreme Court’s decision to not consider his client’s religious arguments was dangerous for religious liberty.
“The lower court held the Christian faith of this mother and daughter against them,” said Simmons, who is affiliated with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court bypassed this issue and wrote this off as a `parent versus parent’ issue without recognizing the very real underlying threat to religious liberty.”
– RICHARD YEAKLEY, Religion News Service