The Romeikes may well be the first family in the history of the
world to seek political asylum for their right to homeschool. Uwe and Hannelore
Romeike have recently moved from Germany to Tennessee with their five children—who
range in age from three to eleven—after authorities tried to force their
children to attend public school, in accordance with German law. Uwe and
Hannelore are seeking political asylum here, claiming that they were prosecuted
in Germany
for their religious beliefs.
The Romeikes are evangelical Christians, and they objected
to textbooks that include such information as slang words for sex and stories
about witches. After they decided to keep their children home from school, the
principal contacted them and urged them to return their children to the
classroom. When they refused, police sent a letter informing the Romeikes that
they were incurring fines for each day their children were not in school. When
the Romeike kids still did not show up at the local school, police came to
their home and took the crying children to school themselves.
Germany
is unique for its institutionalized commitment to educating all children in the
same manner. But despite the German law that all children must attend public
school, about 500 children are homeschooled in Germany (albeit a fraction of the
1.5 million American children who are educated at home), and authorities say it
is rare that the state intervenes in a parent’s decision to homeschool. It’s
unknown why the Romeikes, who lost a court case over their right to homeschool,
were deemed unfit to teach their children at home.
Uwe Romeike fears that he would imprisoned and his children
would be taken from him if the family returned to Germany, where it is legal, in
extreme cases, to remove children who are kept home from school from their parents’
care.
Do you think that the right to homeschool is a sufficient
grounds for political asylum?
Photo: hslda.org
