In September, I commented on an editorial from the Evansville Courier & Press which wanted to make homeschooling an election issue for a local school board race in response to several high profile child abuse cases which involved children who were being homeschooled. Now a candidate for Michigan’s state legislature has stated that he intends to restrict homeschooling in his state for precisely that reason according to Maureen Wittman, a Michigan homeschooler.

The first bill former East Lansing Mayor Mark MEADOWS would introduce if he wins the 69th District House seat would be to revamp and put restrictions on the way home schools operate. MIRS Capitol Capsule (subscription)

His concern was generated by a high profile murder case involving parents who, at the time of the child’s death, were homeschooling their adopted son.

Although he doesn’t believe the Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM administration could have done anything else to save Ricky HOLLAND’s life, he does think tightening up home schools would prevent further deaths.

Ricky Holland was given up by his biological parents at the age of two. After their parental rights were severed, the Hollands adopted this “hard-to-place” boy and received financial incentives from the state. Initially, he attended public school, but was pulled near the end of his life to hide the increasing abuse he was suffering. Testimony by his adoptive father reveal a gripping tale of extreme abuse resulting in the boys death.

Upon his return from an out-of-town trip just seven days before Ricky died, Tim Holland said he found the boy wearing only a diaper in their Williamston home, a large cut on the top of his head.

Ricky’s hair was matted down with blood; he was dirty and smelled of cat urine.

“He didn’t even acknowledge me coming into the house,” Tim Holland said.

A week later, Tim Holland came home after buying his wife, Lisa, a treat and found Ricky dead; Lisa Holland was in the hallway screaming, “I didn’t mean to do it.” Lansing State Journal

How might increased regulations on homeschooling have saved this young boy’s life?

By law, teachers are required to file a report when they suspect that a child is being abused. Tightening up home schooling laws would keep kids in the public eye, which might result in more cases of child abuse being reported before it’s too late, Meadows said. Meadows said he doesn’t know if other states have similar laws, but he wants to give it a try. This might help state workers, who never seem to have enough personnel or money, to stay on top of every case, Meadows argued. “I think a Democratic Legislature would place a higher priority on this,” Meadows said about increasing human service funding and passing his home schooling legislation.

Candidate Meadows suffers from the delusion that children who are removed from school are removed from the public eye. But let’s back up to when Ricky was still in school. His teachers reported abuse to the state and the state did nothing. Ricky reported to his social worker that he was being tied to the bed and handcuffed. Neighbors reported abuse. Ricky’s doctor testified in the murder trial that he was a normally developing boy until he entered the care of the Hollands. He began to fail to thrive because they were starving him. Even after being pulled from school, he has social workers assigned to him.

The state had numerous opportunities to intervene on the behalf of Ricky Holland, and failed at every step. Because of their incompetence, should regulations increase on all homeschooling families, bringing them all under suspicion of abuse?

Election Day is only a few days away and Mark Meadows is expected to win. The first bill he plans to introduce is a plan to restrict the rights of Michigan’s citizens based on a misinformed view of homeschooling and its relevance to this case. Perhaps he should take a closer look at these public schools that do such a wonderful job of protecting our children.

In an unprecedented drill in Wyoming, Michigan, police in full protective gear and carrying rifles entered the school, evacuated the children and patted them down.

Principal David Britten said students weren’t told ahead of time to make the drill as realistic as possible. Teachers were informed moments before it took place, he said.

“I think this is the best way to do it,” Britten said. “We’re not looking to scare anyone, but we want a sense of urgency.” Associated Press

Even the police were upset at how it was handled. They assumed that the students had been warned and prepared for the drill.

“The purpose was to show how we will evacuate the classroom, not to assault the classroom,” Wyoming Police Chief James Carmody said.