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German Homeschooling Family Granted Political Asylum: A Win for Both Civil and Human Rights
By Laura | February 7, 2010
February 6, 10:21 PM
Davenport Early Childhood Parenting ExaminerValerie Powers
The Romeike Family wins political asylum to homeschool their kids in America Photo: HSLDA
After fleeing to America to avoid political persecution, “Educational Asylum Seekers,” German couple Uwe and Hannelore Romeike have been granted political asylum by a federal judge. The judge agreed that there was a “well-founded fear of persecution,” due to their educational philosophies. The family of seven moved from Germany in late 1998, so that they could openly homeschool their children, without facing repercussion.
The Romeike family emigrated from Germany after they were facing losing custody of their children, due to keeping them out of what they described as a school system that lacks Christian values (the family is described as Evangelical Christian). Germany requires children to attend school; homeschooling is not an option that families can exercise, regardless of their religious beliefs. So the Romeikes withdrew their kids from school, but encountered a myriad of legal problems, including a $10,000 fine. What’s more, is that officials actually took their children to school – something unheard of to most Americans, who are blessed to exercise their religious rights to keep kids out of public and private school situations.
After running out of options, the Romeike family packed up and headed to rural Tennessee - a world away – to seek out refuge from the possible jail time and fines they were facing, which was all in effort to educate their children – in the manner they wanted. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) worked with the family to situate them here in U.S., where they could freely home school, and rear their family without the encumbrances and stigma that Germany imposed on them.
In a statement provided by the family’s attorney, Uwe Romeike shared that “over the past 10 to 20 years, the curriculum in public schools in Germany has been more and more against Christian values, and my eldest children were having problems with violence, bullying and peer pressure. It’s important for parents to have the freedom to choose the way their children can be taught.”
The couple has not only been embraced in their new town, but actively participates in homeschool networking opportunities with other families and spends time socializing their children with other homeschoolers. The victory for the Romeike represents a significant and monumental win for homeschooling families.
Families in Davenport can learn more about homeschooling, here:
Florida Virtual School; offers subsidized homeschool curriculum for grades K-12
Homeschooling your child: Non-Traditional education series, part 1
Homeschool Legal Defense Association; Florida Chapter with news, legislation and resources
Source: HSLDA
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February 8th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
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