Do Foster Parents Have a Right to Homeschool? An Analysis of the Educational Rights of Children in State Care

• In Event: Ethics and Justice in Education Policy

Abstract

Foster parents are a unique class of parents whose educational rights and responsibilities might reasonably be thought to differ from those of other parents. Foster parents acquire their parental status neither by procreation nor adoption, the parental relationships they enter are characteristically shorter term, are supported financially by the state, and involve highly vulnerable children who are more likely to have experienced trauma in family life. We argue that the unique features of the foster-parent relationship count strongly in favor of rejecting the parental right to homeschool in foster care contexts. State accredited public and private schools, we argue, provide a more reliable and morally appropriate means to secure civic autonomy and equal opportunity for this population.

Authors

• Nicolas Jordan Tanchuk, Independent Scholar

• Pamela Bell, University of Manitoba