Judge Orders Homeschool Student to Return to Public School
September 20, 2023 | Tennessee
A Coffee County Judge with a reputation for being biased against homeschooling trampled on parental rights on Tuesday by ordering a homeschooled student back to public school.
General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Gerald Ewell, Jr. told the student that he could send her away and that “homeschool is no school.”
In a recording from the Patriot Punk Network, the judge can be heard saying, “When there’s a truancy charge pending, state law says that I have to approve homeschool.”
Ewell Jr. then says, “And I don’t do it. You’ve got to go to a public school. Homeschool is no school.”
Ewell, Jr. then directed the student to be present at her former school the next day. “If you’re not there tomorrow, I’m going to send you… send you off is exactly what we’re going to do.”
He then told the parents that they could be found guilty of violating the Compulsory School Attendance Law. (Excerpt from The Tennessee Conservative.)
