Almost a century ago, the Supreme Court decided Pierce v. Society of Sisters. In that 1925 case, Oregon had passed a law mandating that parents send their children to government schools under financial penalty and even jail time for noncompliance. The Supreme Court declared that to be unconstitutional. In this AIER article, Jeff Ziegler writes about the background of the case and the Court’s resolution.
Ziegler quotes from the Court’s opinion by Justice McReynolds:
The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.
I can’t help but wonder how a similar case would turn out today.