How did the neighbors not know? Or say anything. The houses are practically touching.
27
This is because we have allowed people on the left and the right to "home school." Sorry people this needs to end in its present day form. All Americans are entitled to a true education regardless od their circumstances of birth. End it now or provide proof that it can meet educational and social standards. Maybe, "home schooled" children need to be engaged in community activities of other sort. these people do not get to hole up and create their own sick anti-spocial universes. Oh, and I am a product of public schools. I thought it was sad that some poor children came to school smelling bad. Attendance was mandetory and their were no oalternatives. God only knows what these poor childrens lives would have been like otherwise.
48
I'm not going to address - yet - the criminality of children being tortured and their lives and bodies destroyed. I don't think that part of this situation has even begun to be investigated. When it is, I believe that there is going to be a snake-pit of malice and religious insanity that will be revealed.
But there is one part that can be addressed right now, and that is the culpability of the State of California in this.
The State legally allows anyone to set up a "school". This "school" does not have to be inspected, does not have to follow any lesson plans, does not have to prove that any student attends, the State never inspects for bathrooms or playgrounds, and the teachers are NOT required to have a teaching credential.
The kitchen it uses to provide food never has to be inspected. No background checks must be made on "staff".
Moreover, if there are 6 or more enrolled, then the State will pay $3,000 for each child.
Oooooh, what could possibly go wrong?!?
NEW YORK Times: How about an in-depth examination of what is going on in my State?
I swear, I'll read every word!
And, I will also read every word you publish on this calamity that has befallen these children, no matter what their age.
68
Home schooling is a dangerous option. How are children to learn how to socialize and understand a broader picture of the world. I guess that is the real reason why home schooling exists -- complete control of the physical, emotional, and psychological being of children. It's no surprise that this could happen, especially if the parents are mentally ill, sociopaths, religious extremists, control freaks, etc. No home schooling unless this is regulated for those with medical conditions or some other extreme situation.
53
It is definitely an issue if the California Department of Education fails to “approve, monitor, inspect, or oversee” private and home schools. That is a colossal failure and betrayal of children who are at risk. My sister is a speech pathologist in rural Kansas and when they encounter instances of abuse, the parents often pull their kids out of school, move further out into the country, and claim they are “home schooling,” effectively putting them and their children out of reach of any help or intervention
35
Doesn't anybody visit these private "schools?" Perhaps Devos could. Good grief, how horrible. Is there no oversight?
37
I realize this situation is not representative of home schools. But it still begs the question, why is home schooling a legal alternative to sending your kids to school? I’ve yet to hear a good argument in its favor.
I'm glad my parents sent me to school. It forced me to meet kids I'd otherwise not meet and enabled me to take courses from people who were experts in education and well versed in their subject areas. The people I've known who home schooled all seemed to be putting off the inevitable, that their kids get exposed to the outside world.
Public, universal education is a wonderful accomplishment. But it has become one of things, like clean tap water and vaccinations, that are essential yet we've grown so used to we forget what it was like before we had it.
Do we have to really have to re-prove the utility of everything we’ve accomplished?
94
Home schooling should be banned. The only way childres can be protected is for them to interact with adults outside the home. That happens only in two circumstances: doctor visits and schools. Children need to be seen by adults outsid their home to protet them.
41
A heartbreaking, tragic story. I hope that these children (esp the adult children) are safe now and on their way to joyful, normal lives with love and comfort for the rest of their days.
Homeschooling is getting the bad rap here because it was the mechanism by which the parents were able to abuse their children without accountability. Frankly, children need to be away from their homes to experience the world and to start their inevitable break from their parents. This allows them to be their own people. It’s necessary. For that reason alone, I’d never want to homeschool my own kids.
33
I hope legislators in California will stand up for the kids and implement some sort of regular engagement/interaction with homeschoolers. Stop giving into the homeschool lobbyists.
41
We should not take this awful plight of these children to be representative of the experience of all homeschooled children. I am a homeschooling parent in California and I see all types of homeschooling families. Some children are indeed "behind" and some children are well ahead of their peers by age group. The "behind" children could be behind for many reasons - they have learning disabilities, they are on different timeline, their parents are not doing a good enough job. It can be all of the listed reasons. My family homeschool because we weren't satisfied with what the public school has to offer, and are not happy with the $30K private school option either. It is not something parents endeavor to do without serious consideration. It is a lifestyle that takes at least one parent to be home with the kids all the time. With just a few exceptions, parents have strong incentives to educate their children well. My family homeschool through a charter, which means we get state resources to buy curriculum and meet with a teacher to discuss the work we do monthly. Testing is not compulsory, but I would say that most parents have their kids do the tests once or twice a year just to make sure we are meeting standards. It is not the nightmare scenario some commentators make it out to be. In fact, my kids get more time to play and pursue academic and non academic interests. They are also free to advance their math education beyond what would be supported in a public school environment.
23
I homeschooled my kids in CA for 13 years. Though most parents were quite conscientious, I also saw problematic situations. The laws, as they are, are so minimal that there is no meaningful oversight or curriculum requirements. And many homeschool parents are very counter-cultural and distrustful of government. They often eschew vaccines and other accepted medical practices; some have home births and don’t apply for social security numbers for their kids, because they are so afraid of Big Brother. And don’t even get me started on the creationist science curriculum and the radical social science/history curriculum some of them embrace. I once came across a Catholic history textbook that carefully explained how America was great until the “Liberals” ruined it. Socially, there are often many opportunities for homeschoolers to have friends and group classes/activities, but that depends on where they live and the attitudes of their parents. And even when kids are involved with their peers, the groups tend to be rather religiously and politically homogeneous and conservative. Progressive attitudes tend to be absent and unwelcome. Thus, the young people are usually polite and fun-loving, but incredibly distrustful of anybody who does not think like their parents and the other homeschoolers in the group. So, even though I loved homeschooling my kids, I am also sad about the harm that can be perpetrated. Maybe something needs to be done to strengthen the law.
53
Send in a form, create a home school with no verification/security process and no background check or follow up, ever?? How can anyone be surprised this horror occurred under these lax regulations. I'm sure worse will be found if CA State actually follows up to tighten the rules.
17
How sad that our standards are so low that there are no protections in place, that anyone can pretend to run a "school". What business do non-credentialed people have pretending to be educators? Don't all children deserve a basic education delivered by competent teachers, in the company of other children in an enriching environment? Children in civilized countries have this right. Maybe someday, American children will be deemed deserving.
36
As a California public school teacher, I certainly hope this helps the push to privatize all the schools here.
3
Having worked in university admissions, I've seen the results of home schooling. They tend to be poorly socialized, academically unprepared. Several led rather insulated lives, were taught to view the world through their "teacher's" dogmatic perspective. In this type of home school setting, there's little of the questioning and topic exploration that occurs in classrooms.
This is one of the ways our education system disintegrates when there is minimal regulation and fund allocation.
53
Our society is always looking for some "system," some government policy, some politician, someone else. We need to start digging deeper into the root of the cause(s). We think throwing money at something's is going to fix it. We are humans, with human needs and human sicknesses; why is it that our country turns a blind eye to the deeper roots of the human condition? It seems to me we blame, shame, curse, and hate? It the end, everyone loses.
4
And the 17-year old saved them. Thank the stars for rebellious teenagers.
Since the sheriff doesn't know why this happened, maybe I can help. This happened, I suspect, because weakly educated people let their superstitions overcome their common sense.
Religious fanatics in this country have long advocated home schooling as a means of avoiding learning about evolution and sex, and, not incidentally, to avoid socializing with people of different races.
And Ms. DeVos, I fear, wants the same for all of our children.
69
Home-schooling should be illegal. There's no place for it in a democracy. Social cohesion comes from public education.
40
The comments blaming Betsy DeVos and the religious right show gross ignorance of so many of the readers. I and my five siblings were homeschooled K-12, we all graduated from college and all but one received graduate or law school degrees. We had happy childhoods and are leading successful lives. And we hate Trump just FYI. This is the story of many homeschooled adults today. Unfortunately it’s the tragic stories that get the most attention in the media and lead ignorant readers to silly conclusions about home schooling, religion and politics. I wish people would get to know the facts and statistics about home schooling before passing such judgement.
I’m not against government oversight in home/alternative education, but when you consider the horrible statistics and experiences of public schools, one needs to try to be fair in these discussions. And educated.
24
In 11 other states, including Texas, parents are not required to submit any documentation at all. What Texas does and their policies not give anyone a clue that they always do the opposite of what is actually the correct thing to do? So please, any Texas law needs to evaluated by the other states and enact the opposite laws. Then and only then will ordinary law abiding people and especially children will actually live in a just country.
6
How is it possible that a state registered school is not inspected?
18
As a retired public school teacher, I am horrified by the lack of oversight that allowed these children to be systematically tortured. Over the many years I taught school, I did teach some students who had been home schooled: some were bright and sociable, but most of them were years behind grade level and awkward in social settings. All home schooled children should be required to take grade level tests several times a year. This mandate would force home schooled children to be evaluated and interviewed by the state's department of education and provide these students with some oversight without their parents present. If the parents aren't capable of educating their children at home, then the students should be sent to accredited pubic or private schools and the parents fired as educators.
170
I'm sure there are plenty of children who were home schooled and not subjected to such cruel and inhumane treatment. This is not about home schooling -- it's about two sick individuals who have likely scarred their children for life.
47
It is about home schooling if the state laws regarding the schooling allow abusers to use home schooling as a way to shield their activites from the authorities. I know of one instance in Nevada where the parents of a troubled family removed their children from public school and "home-schooled" them. There wasn't paper or pencils in the house much less a curriculum. They simply didn't want to have to deal with their problems being exposed to the teachers at the public school when their children acted out. Then they would be held accountable. That said I am not opposed to home schooling but not as a cover for child abuse.
24
Why isn't
Ms. DeVos
calling this out
as a symptom of
a failed system of
private/charter/home schooling????
119
I appreciate all of the concerns about homeschooling. But my understanding from the reporting is that at least 5 of the "children' in the home were adults -- one as old as 29. It is hard to comprehend how this could happen when there are that many adults in the home. Were the older children complicit and/or participating in the abuse? Were all of the children brainwashed into submission by their parents? Were all 13 chained to furniture? Homeschooling seems to be only one of the many issues that could lead to a horror story like this. We need a lot more information before we pin this all on homeschooling.
70
It's my understanding from local reporting here in Southern California that the adult-age children of the couple were also chained and malnourished. They appear to have been victims as well.
10
Obviously there's a lot of information we don't have. But it's possible, maybe likely, that even the adult children were not let out of the house any more than the younger ones. Brainwashing is a good explanation for what went on; seems like none of their children had any outside contacts to compare their lives with.
Then there's the matter of just who was in chains and why. Perhaps a punishment for a bit of rebellion?
5
Home schooling is certainly not the sole culprit here. These parents were clearly abusive and unfit. However, home schooling with its utter lack of standards, oversight, and regulation made it possible in the two states in which they lived (Texas & California) for this to happen. Surely the adult children also lived through a similar experience and the brief description in the article suggests that their isolation from the real world along with lack of proper nutrition made them child-like. If all children were required to go to school like they were in the past at least there would be someone checking on missing children as truants or following up on children who had the classic symptoms of abuse.
13
Multiple adults in this household being chained to furniture and starved.
This is way, way beyond a homeschooling issue.
40
This cult, that cult, what does it matter? Children are inculcated into cults as a way of making them good slaves to the wealthy and too ignorant to do anything about it. Their chains may be mental, but they are chains nonetheless. It is impossible for most people to think and act based on their own thoughts. So you founds some dirty children. This society cannot claim to care given the cruelty and injustice that is it's norm. The real crime is making children swear allegiance to the religious cults of their parents.
8
I want to say that I look at civil rights database data on a daily basis and there is a scary fact in the data. If you look at census data, any given state, city or school district may have ratios of boys to girls (or men to women) between 52%:48% and 48%:52%, which is quite reasonable. But every single school district, state, however you aggregate the data, there are fewer girls in school across the board. What is being done with our girls? Who is keeping them from school? Please look into this, some enterprising reporter. Where is Upshot when you need them?
28
People seems to lack basic notions.
“This is a very happy and tight, hard-working family community.”
Please review the meaning of 'tight community'.
"How a family that some described as normal just a few years ago had seemingly unraveled so severely, nobody seemed to know."
Also, review the meaning of 'normal family'.
16
Our Secretary of Education must be glowing at this progress report of home schooling. Sounds exactly like what she has in mind. Parents always do know best - always!
27
These monsters took advantage of a loose law to torture their kids.
Regarding some of the reasons for homeschooling your kids, bullying is cited. Do the homeschooling parents tell their kids about Donald Trump, bully in chief? With no experience in learning how to handle a bully I wonder if they are not terrified of entering the world given DJT yammering away on Twitter all the time. Maybe Melania can also oversee CPS in addition to her portfolio on bullying.
6
School isn't the only place where bullying takes place. Rest assured, kids get plenty of experience with bullies in all walks of life.
On the other hand, how does the experience of "handling" bullies work for kids in school who self-harm or commit suicide as a result?
6
This has nothing to do with schooling, homeschool, or otherwise! This has everything to do with sick people who were able to get away with this for far too long! Sickening!
21
That they pulled this off by claiming status as private school is interesting (Yes. I know. I think it is tragic and heart breaking, but that doesn't mean it is not interesting). I think the motive behind their actions is extremely important to the private school aspect. Based on what was released to the news so far it looks like they were a "normal" family at one point. What changed and how quickly did it change? Yes, all "schools" should receive attention from the state and that probably would have stopped these crimes far earlier, but it's extremely sad that it took such a horrible crime for this question to be raised. I hope all of the victims find peace and happy lives.
10
For home schoolers the state should reserve the right to inspections....unnanounced.
Unfortunately these situations can breed controlling, unhealthy situations.
I would bet hands down that this is not an isolated incident.
While many are healthy and lawful, there is too much opportunity for wrong doing.
55
How did these parents support themselves and their abused children? Did they work? If they did, did not their employers and/or co-workers know about their children and become suspicious about how they were raising them? Or did they manage their lives on "services and money from the state"?
15
Progressive California seems to be no better than any poor, backwards Red state. Despite all of its so-called concerns for children, California allowed this house of horrors to exist.
24
I have a sister that was adopted when she was four. Severely neglected - didn’t talk or walk, but quickly caught up. Graduated HS with no problems. In her 20’s she ended up becoming very secretive and severely neglected her own kids. Didn’t want to ‘leave kids with a stranger’ so she and her husband worked opposite shifts. I called DHS several times to have them checked on. Always said they were fed and not bruised - looked okay..... When I went to visit my friend in Germany, she hadn’t made a one-year check-up for her son yet. The state called her every day to remind her. She also got $75/mo high-quality daycare. Why can’t we have mandatory annual doctor check-ups for kids here? And offer government run daycare for everyone? That would give all kids a fair chance at eventually having happy, healthy lives. We are approaching a very serious mental health crisis in this country because we don’t care about kids! I predict it’s going to get extremely bad here!
112
I was homeschooled as a child (my parents are very religious, and decided that regular Catholic schools weren't Catholic enough). This story has horrified me because I can see how easily this could happen. Most of the homeschoolers I know are fine people: the parents may be a bit too protective, but they care deeply about their kids. Yet homeschooling is terrifyingly under-regulated: in many states, literally anyone can declare themselves qualified to teach and receive almost no state oversight. I know plenty of families where the 'teacher' is a parent with nothing but a high school degree and a grudge against formal education. The homeschooling movement is now several generations deep, so sometimes the 'teacher' was also homeschooled, and may have never set foot in a formal education environment. In a best case scenario the kids might benefit, but only under very special circumstances (e.g. severe learning disabilities, or if the parent is actually a licensed teacher). In a worst case scenario, the kids end up chained to their beds while being forced to memorize the bible. We shouldn't leave this to chance: homeschooling should be rare and heavily regulated. At very least, parents should demonstrate that they have the same qualifications as a public school teacher.
81
"...the 'teacher' is a parent with nothing but a high school degree and a grudge against formal education."
This nails it. The homeschool "teacher" is also often an evangelical creationist zealot with a grudge against multiculturalism and the increasing scientific evidence against the Bible that's undermining the social control to which Christians felt entitled for so long. They're angry that their hardline Iron Age philosophies are finally being rejected by science and society. So, they vote for Donald Trump, the ultimate middle finger to education, and boycott society by homeschooling their kids in defiance of the 21st Century.
8
Another government systems failure resulting in lives being at risk of early mortality after suffering long term abuse. Instead of reacting to each discovered failure, why not overhaul the system to favor constant risk management to protect the innocent?
2
I don't have a problem with home-schooling, I know many people in this country do it.
My problem is with the neighbors. How could anyone NOT have called authorities, knocked on that door, or tried to figure out what was going on???
6
See something , say nothing. Would the police have gone into the house with or without a warrant based on a neighbor's phone call, not if history is a guide.
4
In the America of today that kind of curiosity could get you shot.
9
I would like our President to make an on-record public comment regarding his personal feelings on these evidently god-fearing motivated parents
9
One more thought... blaming the neighbors and family is counterproductive. We live in a country where we have to pay $12k /yr for childcare and often pay for our own healthcare. Cost of housing in cities has skyrocketed. People are exhausted. Divorce rates are high. Mental health problems are increasing in all classes. We need GOVERNMENT programs to make sure kids get dr check-ups and educations. Things are so messed up- it’s extremely naive to expect family/neighbors to solve these problems. Poor kids.
34
I recall a Los Angeles resident being interviewed curbside during the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The woman pointed out that she and other neighbors on the front lawn were also meeting each other for the very first time, despite having all lived in the same apartment building for several years. That said, it's not surprising that this would happen in a sprawling state renowned as a haven for people from all over the US and elsewhere who are seeking the freedom 'to do their own thing.'
7
across the country, mentally diseased parents have been able to abuse their children behind the curtain of "religious liberty" and home schooling. in a rationa and decent nation children with have rights other than those coming from half-wits with religious motives.
29
More legislation and more government fees for bad apples spoiling bunches. This is not a matter of government. We have lost the good neighbor policy.
3
Privatize everything. Then there will be no need for additional oversight.
3
Why be surprised. Its America, its freedom, the freedom to not care. Dont hold your breathe awaiting change - these home school zealots will never allow allow it, and the spineless legislators will cave.
12
Home schooling is an idiotic American institution that deserves to die. I know several homeschoolers and they are all religious women with no discernable gift for teaching or education who are proudly undereducating their children while allowing themselves to be tied to their homes by obligations they cannot fulfill. I know their are a lot of bad schools and bad teachers out there, but the idea that any old high school graduate (assuming they've graduated) can do what teachers do is one of the things that demeans the teaching profession,
If instead their children were in school learning, for example, actual non creationist science and their mothers' collective energies were directed into, say, volunteering for the PTA or school library or classrooms (assuming their religions preclude women working outside the home) the children would be better off and the schools would be better off. Allowing huge swaths of Americans to opt out of the school system and to then accord their children absolutely no oversight of their educations is an embarrassment,
79
Everyone I ever met who home schools their kids has been weird with crazy ideas and beliefs.
29
As awful as this situation was or is, we must also remember what happened with those who owned a child care business who were falsely accused back in the 90's.
Let's not use this as an excuse or granting permission to go on witch hunts, especially going after homeschoolers.
Careful here.
8
There’s some degree of delusion at play here. How tight a family community is when nobody remarked something was off about those siblings nor cared about it? Not much I reckon. They must have been beaten and brainwashed for the adult siblings didn’t tried to escape before. Home schooling ought to be forbidden or at least monitored to prevent such nutcases abusing children.
9
I see the media is going to avoid the issue of religious fundamentalism as long as possible, then minimize it. Another victory for the god-botherers, another loss for human civilization.
17
Privacy as a right needs a better definition. The discussion has devolved into an ideological wedge that only protects those who are committing crimes. Ironically, honesty and ethics, which should be central to the law, have been forgotten. Without honesty, decency, and ethics, especially in the law, a republic collapses.
5
I cannot understand the thinking of many readers here. This isn't about home schooling. A parent can have a child, or 13, and never register them for school. When sick people have children and no one reports anything, it is the fault of those sick people. Not people that home school, or people that go to private schools, charter schools, public schools. One can be abused, and have been, at public schools that are fully regulated. Why is it so many are so filled with hate and misunderstanding that they will jump on anything that helps them rationalize that hatred (couple tortures children in home and claim to home school, now all those that home school are suspect and we must regulate them with government visits). This kind of lack of critical thinking is frightening.
20
Unfettered home schooling should not be permitted. Society at large has an interest in the health, welfare and education of children. Parents should not be permitted to squirrel their children away for years on end, abusing them in various ways under the mantle of religious freedom.
Home schooled children should be required to meet the same educational requirements as public schooled children, including testing. Schools should be spot inspected without warning.
34
I do not understand why the headlines on this story in the NY Times are focused on the home as a school. This is legal and in fact required in CA if you want to homeschool. You are asked to give your "school" a name on the form. It is in no way a sign of criminal or malicious intent. What's more to the point: that a family living in suburbia could make 13 kids disappear and no one in the community would notice or bother to make a call to the authorities? Surely that's the real problem?
13
Is this one of Betsy Devos 's shining examples of private religious schooling?
16
Born in '54, I grew up in a house of horrors where our father, a gifted engineer, got away with many criminal acts against his wife and children. The details no doubt differ but the Turpin children, like me and my 5 brothers and sisters, have been deeply effected and will need to learn how to live in the real world. Some of them may not be able to. They'll need a lot of support.
I used to hate my parents, particularly our mother for not protecting us from our father. The truth is that she couldn't even protect herself from him and had little or no family or community support, so we were left to fend for ourselves. I wonder what kind of hell our father grew up in to make him such a mean spirited monster.
We don't yet know what happened in the Turpin home. Louise Turpin may have been a good mom at one time, like mine tried to be, and perhaps she was tortured and beaten into submission, like my mom was. Time and a thorough investigation may tell.
40
From the looks of their photos they look like wayward cult or commune members from the 1970's.
Can we agree that sending your kids to school and partaking in all the activities in the community is the best thing for all and a intrinsic part of our democracy.
Home schooling ought to be helping your children with their homework.
18
That the adults rendered child like are safe, is # . 1. That they are not separated is # 2.
That the testing for sexual abuse must be handled with kids gloved, least there be a presepection of force , which will only add a new trauma.
I once was in a school while my son got after school tutoring. Wandered the a halls. A very brave teacher had on a string, hung ALL the students written poems. One was a shock. Confused I continued to wander and saw the school psychologist who happened to be still working. Advised her to read for herself. My expression was all she needed. Later, she pasted me, while I continued to wait for the tutoring to end. Visibly shaken. Said thank you.
6
One of the greatest tragedies in this world is that anyone can procreate. So many humans have no business procreating. Either because of innate sickness or evilness, or because of what was done to them as children. I pray for the innocent children of this world who are in the custody of evil beasts like these people. I hope they get beaten to death in jail for what they put those blameless children through. People like these don't deserve to breathe our air. There is no punishment too harsh for anyone who harms a child.
17
Nutty parents abuse their children horribly and it's the school system's fault? Oy. The school system has its hands full with the enormous challenge of education. Heaping additional responsibilities, including detecting abuse occurring outside of school, enforcing complex public health laws such as immunization mandates, etc., all take schools' focus off of their core instructional mission. It's time for reporters and others to stop expecting schools to be the backstop to all that ails society. If schools are expected to serve this role, their funding should be doubled.
8
Homeschooling should be illegal. Just because people can procreate does not mean they are qualified to teach. The first is a biological function, the second is a social skill. And any couple who have 13 kids should be monitored by the Social Services. I would suggest that having so many children is itself a form of child abuse. How can the parents offer love, nurturing and guidance to so many kids? We are no longer in the dark ages when people could not control their reproduction. Choosing to breed like rabbits is a symptom of a psychological disturbance and letting mentally ill parents lord it over their offspring without the intervention of the state is a disgrace.
30
Has anyone checked on the Kardashian’s? Most famous, least educated home schooled celebrities in the world? I’m going out on a limb by saying that not a single one could pass SAT’s let alone a GED.
11
Parents who "home school" should have to prove they have some sort of qualification and pass some sort of test. Too many times home schooling is a smokescreen to abuse and control children, as well as a way to promote crazy religious and racist views. Quarterly inspections and testing should also be put in place.
23
New York City has those kind of laws for homeschooling. you must be qualified to homeschool your kids. Sadly, California is California and as others have said, this is not about homeschooling but sick parents who were smart enough to take their children out of society so they could torture them. If they had attended school, someone would have reported them to Child Services.
5
What an act of heroism by the seventeen year old sibling.
28
Did none of the neighbors see anything at all that warranted calling the police? We must be reminded: "See something. SAY something."
25
Why should the neighbors be blamed? They kept their kids inside. What is there to even see?
If it's anyone's fault besides the parents and the fear-oriented paternal grandparents, it's the homeschool lobbyists who vehemently resist the slightest governmental oversight. They're like the NRA. Any sensible rule to them is a giant slippery slope.
23
So many commenters are trashing religion, home schooling and Betsy DeVos. They did NOT cause this tragedy!
There are extremely good home schooling networks out there, often faith-based, with great curriculum, lots of social interaction and support for parents. The kids that come out of them are superb.
I'm referring to my experience here in Canada though - maybe the laws are different, and require a certain amount of supervision and interaction.
So please - stop blaming religion when the fault lies with these parents, and the system that allowed them to create this swamp.
19
I agree. But just like public schools around the US the classrooms are always open for those wanting (or needing) to 'sit in' and evaluate how the teacher is performing. Had the same latitude for home schools been in place perhaps an observant evaluator might have picked up on the fact that something was terribly, terribly amiss inside this 'school'.
10
Nancy, do you remember the Dukobours were great on home schooling too?
4
Religion is the system that allowed them to create this swamp.
10
Another part that needs answers: the 17 year old who called for help had to show photos to the responders before they would take her seriously and investigate? Her 911 call was not enough? What if she did not have pictures? Would 911 have brushed her off? The police need to explain this.
I have never heard of such a thing. In another story, a SWAT team rushes in and shoots an innocent person because they don't have a way to verify a fake report, while here, a teenager (who looks like a young child) asks for help and is asked to show pictures? What is going on?!
253
Abuse of the infirm, children, elders, and the vulnerable is always surprising to hear about yet is seemingly always with us. What does this say about civilization?
12
A country that elects Donald Trump is not civilized.
13
What civilization? Missing in action....
6
NO! That's not so.
HOWEVER its system of government needs SERIOUS overhauling and amendment..
Can you not call it 'horror'? This was their lives, for better or worse. Giving it a tabloid name makes it worse.
They will learn soon enough, if they haven't already, that what they went through was not how children should be treated or raised, but for now, can we not welcome them to the world gently?
7
By all means they should be treated as kindly as possible. But children's minds are irreversibly damaged by early childhood abuse. Can these kids ever be normal?
3
I'm horrified at the thought that parents who are inclined to neglecting/abusing their children apparently have a state-approved mechanism for doing it, in the form of registering as a private school and thereby severing all links with authorities. Appalling.
78
I'm horrified that teachers and police ho are inclined to abusing/harming children apparently have a state-approved mechanism for doing it, in the form of public schools. Appalling.
4
I was homeschooled. It should be illegal. As an adult I now understand that much of what was happening in the church homeschooling group we were apart of was many shades of abuse. Every time someone knocks homeschooling you have everyone run out of the woodwork with anecdotes and statistics but for every 1 happy healthy homeschooler you have 10 abused evangelical kids. For the record I am one of the ones who makes the statistics look good, college at 15, masters degree from an Ivy League college. But its not something anyone should be forced to endure and the kids have no reprieve from abusive parents when they are homeschooled.
254
It should be regulated if not illegal. A teaching credential is not required for home schooling in California. Shouldn't the requirements for teaching be equal for both private and public schools?
16
Kudos to you for saying it. My experience with homeschooling, and private religious schooling is that is mostly a facile and socially acceptable to way to avoid public accountability.
19
It infuriates me when homeschooling is held responsible for a child's abuse being covered up, as if every single abused child who attends public school is discovered and rescued, even in public schools where the student population is in the thousands and kids have little to no contact with counselors and can sit in the back of a classroom with 40 kids and easily escape notice. Then each time, these rare, horrifying events are used as fodder against the entire homeschooled population.
People as severely mentally ill and religiously morbid as these parents were could always find a way to hide children from outside view.
Public schools will always find ways to excuse violence perpetrated on students, by teachers, security, police. There will always be outlier cases of sexual abuse in public schools as well; there are a number of publicized cases in which teachers groom minor students and engage in sexual relationships with them. To place the blame on homeschooling is absurd.
15
The issue isn't just abuse; it's the question posed by a former president when he asked, "Is our children learning?" Years ago, watching a news story about homeschooling in a state where the oversight can be charitably described as "lax," I saw a mother who was clearly poorly educated herself give a halfhearted lesson to her son, using a "workbook" she picked off the Internet, only to dismiss him after ten minutes because "he gets bored and needs to do something else for a while." (The "something else" was not exercising or even playing in the fresh air; it was to repair to his bedroom to play a video game.)
That child was so badly served, not just by his mother, but by his state government, that I really wonder what became of him. He'd be about 18 now. Did he complete anything resembling an education? What sort of work was he prepared to do? Does he have a job? Or is he still sitting in his bedroom, playing video games?
We will never Make America Great Again by letting unqualified parents have sole control over their children's education, making it up as they go along. There must be standards, and oversight.
16
Public schools plus Universal National Service are the two elements that might possibly save this floundering, divided , soon to vanish Nation.
15
"People as severely mentally ill and religiously morbid as these parents were could always find a way to hide children from outside view."
The powerful homeschool lobby made it easy-as-pie for these parents to abuse their children, even the adult ones.
15
If Americans don't care about unsecured guns in a house with children, it's unlikely that they will care about home schools in people's houses. Yes, they should be monitored, yes, the children's level of education should be tested annually at a minimum. The American penchant for privacy and individualism is killing us.
84
Another day or two in the headlines and this story will be totally forgotten along with other children who are being abused out there. What a country! And we call other countries shitholes?
78
Maybe California will regulate homeschooling as they have done with vaccines. The one state we can now count on to pay attention and git 'er done.
5
Conservatives and libertarians will say the same things about this type of case as they say about gun rights: that the right - to educate your child as you see fit, without interference from the state - is what is paramount, and that "these things" - abuse and neglect of children, mass shootings - are just collateral damage. I can hear them now.
45
Home schooled students should have to demonstrate the same level of academic achievement through testing that public school students do. All schools should be inspected. "Home schooling" seems to work in some instances, but in others it is a loophole that troubled people use to keep their children out of sight and do whatever they want to them.
63
Homeschooling is not the real issue here. The problem is clearly that these parents are mentally ill. There are monsters in public institutions as well - Dr. Larry Nassar, for one. No one "noticed" him, despite the fact that he working for MSU's sports medicine clinic, USA gymnastics, and TwiStars. Those girls were well within view of the public eye, yet still were abused. Yes, there should be oversight of homeschooling, absolutely. My homeschooled kids are state-tested four times a year, and I'm grateful for the regular validation that we're "on track" with their education. We meet with an educational advisor twice a month, often in our home. They are enrolled - outside the home - in science, music, art, acting, and outdoor skill classes. They are both working at or above grade level. We chose to homeschool because both public and private schools had failed to accommodate their learning needs, and as a result they were suffering both in terms of their education and their self-worth. Now that my kids are homeschooled, they are happy, healthy, high achieving and well-adjusted kids, with a busy social life. Often families choose to homeschool their children, even when it is a financial hardship, because the public system has failed them. There are thousands of loved and well-educated homeschooled children in this country. Let us not condemn an entire group because of one bad - very bad - situation.
39
No one is condemning home schooling, just calling for legal, enforceable oversight. If you're truly capable and meeting basic educational standards, then you should not only not fear oversight, but also wholeheartedly welcome it. It appears that you're already submitting your children to outside testing four times a year and have them enrolled in outside academic activities. This is fabulous and exactly what we're asking to be legislated for all children who are being home-schooled. Why not work to have your level of commitment and ability mandated for all children? The main reason I'm often suspicious of home schoolers is not because they have special needs children not being adequately managed in the public settting. Many home schoolers are ultra religious, often white, and fear exposing their children to regular normal society where other children of different ethnicities, religions, and orientations may enlighten their own children to the fact the world is far larger than the one presented in religion. In this case, home schooling is not about special needs, but fear, racism, and patriatchal control. This is toxic to a child's development, dangersous to a peaceful multicultural society, and should be regulated tightly. It's the isolated religious homeschooling, which this case is, that's a danger. My ex's sister was an ultra-religious homeschooler of her seven children in a backwoods of Tennessee, so I know of the mentality first hand.
18
I agree, homeschooling is not the real issue. When I was a teenager, the homeschooled kids I met through extracurricular activities were happier and better adjusted than many of my classmates in public school. How much attention and support does your average child actually get in K-12? Herded from room to room every fifty minutes, sitting in classrooms of 30 kids or more taught by overworked and underpaid teachers. Every American adult who went to high school has stories of terrible bullying and sexual harassment...and the authority figures didn't know or, just as often, knew and did nothing.
People want to believe homeschooling is the source of the problem, though, because if it were, there would be a nice and easy solution. Just introduce regulations and send them to "real" schools, and the horrific child abuse will stop. Problem solved. It's a beautiful fantasy.
6
Yes, of course, the above-average exception.
2
I find the lack of oversight for home schools confounding. Would any amateur be allowed to practice medicine this way? The long-term consequences of the damage done in such cases is just as critical.
68
Any entity that claims to be a school needs to be subject to regulation, curriculum verification, unannounced inspection for health and welfare violations and parental involvement. Even single family home schooling must be subject to curriculum standards.
40
"There is no state requirement for a teaching credential or equivalent training for private schools"
"Schools are expected to comply with local regulations for zoning, health, safety and fire codes"
"Schools with more than six students can receive some services and money from the state, officials said"
What can we expect when these are the state's regulations. The first and third should not be allowed and the second was obviously not enforced.
28
It's time for states not under the thrall of their radical religious minorities to end the indiscriminate power of religion over children's lives and set minimal enforceable standards on their health and education. Sure, practice your religion as the Constitution allows but you have no right depriving your children, who are more and more being recognized as separate legal entities entitled to their own constitutional protections, of a basic secular education and adequate medical care, which includes vaccinations. California was once a magnet for all kinds of social "rejects" including religious ones which made LA a hotbed of evangelism with flamboyant con-artist preachers. KCET did a great story on that bit of history of the 20s and 30s, "How Los Angeles Helped Make the U.S. an Evangelical Nation" (www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/how-los-angeles-helped-make-the-us-an-evangel.... I know, shocking, right? That's why the state was far more conservative in the mid-20th Century and able to produce the likes of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Reagan, even as governor, was anti-government involvement in any area whether it was home, healthcare, school, or workplace. I suspect the "live and let live" attitude here of home schooling with no oversight is a product and leftover of those more conservative times. It's time to exercise the final ghosts of Reagan and radical religious conservatism once and for all. We've come so far as a state, it's time to finish the job.
41
Unless things have changed in recent years, Michigan parents can just tell the state they are homeschooling their children and there is no further check to see that it is happening and no requirement for testing, teacher certification or anything else. It is almost impossible for a relative or friend to help the children without taking on incredible nastiness from home school leaders and being able to afford legal pursuit. Parents who believe no one can tell them how to raise their children or to send them to any school can use home schooling lies to avoid the whole "bother" of seeing that their children are educated. There is a huge investigative story waiting to be told about states' home school laws and children's rights to an education.,
38
This is horrible. But I believe that those that want to ban all homeschooling because of this obvious atrocity are out of line. I have had several homeschooled students excel in my chemistry classes at the University level. Additionally, if public education is not doing the job, parents WILL seek other alternatives, one of which is homeschooling. In Pennsylvania, the local school district has jurisdiction over everyone that home schools. This includes a person that verifies that the requirements of Pennsylvania are met and followed. Other states however likely have less stringent requirements.
13
I've excelled in many chemistry classes and eventually earned a masters degree in chemical engineering. What this comment says to me is that no other part of me matters other then the grades that I earned? Grades aren't everything. Homeschooling needs to be eliminated or given much more oversight to the children who have no say in the matter and are given no where to turn. Evangelical churches condone the abuse and the children are taught from all around them that this is normal and right.
6
As a homeschool mother in CA, my child's education is robust and enriching for her and our family. There is every type of athletic team sport, theater, art, math clubs, creative writing groups, nature classes and science programs to be involved in. The community is engaged, social, supportive, and large. We are talking about parents teaching their children and 99.9% of the time this is very healthy and natural way to go - a tradition that spans across cultures and 1000's of years. Inviting private households to be regulated by government due to an extreme and sad incident like this is a knee jerk reaction and a slippery slope that would be tragic to the many children and families that cannot thrive in the traditional school setting of constant testing, forced vaccines, limited bathroom use, etc. There is abuse and violence, it seems much more so, in the traditional school setting that is so highly regulated and controlled. It is tragic this has happened, but it would be wrong to turn the blame and focus on the fact they were homeschooled. Additionally, Coalition for Responsible Home Education, quoted in the article, appears to be a highly funded, full time lobbying group keenly opposed to homeschooling and intentionally using this tragedy to advance their agenda.
10
How come you and your friends don't take the same kind of energy and fervor to help enrich the public schools your kids were attending?
In some parts of California, praying openly in school is a big bone of contention for some parents. For myself, I don't understand why religion has to be ostentatious, why isn't a moment of silence for the students to pray quietly or breathe or meditate or whatever they like, good enough?
3
Home schooling is not a high quality solution. Teachers should be credentialed and evaluated.
32
I think it really depends on the parents. Michelle and Barack Obama would be more than adequate.
2
Can we please talk about the giant honking elephant in the room here? Doesn't anybody notice how these cases of sick, perverted people doing unimaginable horrors to others - all kinds of psychopaths from pedophiles to abusers to serial killers - are all white? Can we please acknowledge what is glaringly obvious? And then ask the same questions we seem to ask when anybody non-white goes even vaguely astray? Like, what is wrong with white culture? Where were their friends? Their neighbors? How do they raise their kids to become such monsters? What kind of religion or upbringing allows for this to happen? And please, let's not start carving out exceptions for individuals, like "oh he was just sick", "she had mental illness", "that's an exception, it's not the culture"... Because y'all never allow such exceptions when a brown person does anything wrong. Oh no, a brown person going astray condemns the entire race/ethnicity/religion/nationality. All blacks are dangerous. All Muslims are terrorists. All Mexicans are rapists. But all these white psychopaths and their sick abuses of innocent victims? Nah, that's just an exception. Nothing is ever wrong with white culture.
It's so twisted that it's sickening. Look at your double standards and tell me how you can live with yourselves and sleep at night. Because I just don't get it.
182
Your post is definitively cultural misappropriation. Seriously do you carry a color wheel with you to judge a persons worth by their whiteness?
4
Let's be more specific as to the group that constitutes the greatest threat to the
human species--it's white MEN. Sure, you see their brides/girlfriends of Frankenstein at their sides in the kinds of cases you refer to, but the deadness in the eyes of their women shows them to be victimized as well. White men hold virtually all the positions of power on the planet as they have for millennia. If the world is in shambles, guess who's responsible for that.
8
California is but one of many states with zero oversight of Home Schooling programs. The movement has powerful lobbyists: HSLDA ( www.hslda.org).
The investigative website, Propublica has a list of Home Schooling regulations by State (projects.propublica.org/graphics/homeschool). It is definitely worth taking a look.
61
These parents had registered under California law as a private school. They were not homeschooling,. Home schooling in California would have required annual reporting, etc. Please don't conflate the two, they are not the same.
13
@KKJ: Yes; they registered their "school" as a Private School out here in California- but for practical purposes, they were *educating* their children- at-home. Your Distinction-without-a-difference- (regarding the Turpins), is duly noted.
6
From what I have seen, there technically is no homeschooling in California. Those who wish to "homeschool" file an affidavit registering a private school with only their own children as students , but that affidavit is the equivalent of the form filed in other states to notify the school district that your are homeschooling - it doesn't mean the state has approved the school in any way.
4
Home schooling is the least of the issues I read here. This family abused 13 children for their entire lives. The parents are no better than those lunatics who kidnap a child or teen and hide him/her (usually) her raping and torturing them as captives for years - this is just on a larger scale. Chaining children to beds and starving them - the parents are psychotic. I value my nosey neighbors - these neighbors were not nosey enough. The incident in I believe Cleveland Ohio where people were being held by two men in a home for years - I think they were turned in by neighbors. I wish the malnourished 29 year old adult child in this household had the wherewithal to escape and turn the parents in many years earlier - some parents should not be allowed to reproduce. Life in prison is too good for them.
72
Actually one of the three women escaped and ran to a neighbor for help. Another situation of no one seeing anything. People. Wake up and get involved. Get your heads out of your phones.
4
How were any as well as the last baby born? At home? Like malnourished babies born in refugee camps, cognition can be severely effected for all these kids. No SSNs for any of these kids? If this family lived in an isolated rural area, no notice would be understood. But in a neighborhood with houses so close, no HOA? American pattern of neighbors not knowing each other is highlighted. And those trips to Vegas and Disneyworld---NOBODY noticed those kids looked way different? But even if somebody had noticed and reported it, in USA, nothing happens until a crime has been noticed or committed. Even then, fear of involvement prevails. Larry the gymnist doc look familiar? Thankfully, the daughter who escaped, as well as her siblings, somehow knew this wasn't normal. Yard work at 11pm isn't either.
46
In all the comments, there is not a single mention of mental illness. Quick to indict homeschooling and religion, no one has yet to cite the frightening conditions of children living with parents off their rockers.
40
Yes, but if they were required to have some qualified people inspect them from time to time, such frightening conditions could be found out much earlier. If homeschooling can be used as a pretext to keep children locked up and maltreated then there is a problem with it.
28
The reason to focusing on homeschooling is that if there were better controls and monitoring of registered home schoolers there would be more awareness of issues in homes, like mental illness, that could contribute to horrific scenarios like this one.
18
Linda: These people who were "off their rockers" still managed to file the necessary papers with the state to protect their chosen way of life. Also, they managed to pay the rent on their home, they managed to own three cars, they managed to put up Christmas lights, and they managed to renew their vows in an Elvis chapel in Vegas twice in five years and post videos online.
So they seemed to be pretty functional people on a basic level.
Having disgusting and evil ideas about how to raise your kids is not the same thing as being mentally ill.
7
One of the biggest downsides of homeschooling is the lack of any safety nets whatsoever--whether teachers, administrators, counselors, or other students and their families.
91
Ironically, many people pull their kids out of public schools because teachers and administrators and other students bully them mercilessly, and no one will listen, and no one is held accountable.
8
I have been wondering why so many people in this country seem stupid or ignorant. I now realize that many haven't been educated at all. I did not know that anyone could open a school just by registering with some states (and paying a fee, of course), and that the only requirement for teaching is "being able to teach".
133
Apparently you haven't read statistics on the number of students who emerge from public schools functionally illiterate and join the school-to-prison pipeline.
8
All schools, home or public, private or religious should be inspected often by health and safety officials.
That said, these "parents" are obviously mentally ill. A good part of their incarceration should include psychological evaluation if only to better understand teh circumstances that could lead to such depravity.
52
What a horrid picture of neglect. That there was no oversight by state education officials boggles the mind. It takes getting involved with one’s neighbors to prevent a recurrence
19
One has to wonder what motive these parents had for torturing their children. Was it religious as so many home schooled children come from religious homes that seek to avoid the evils of 'secular' schools? Or perhaps some sadistic mental illness on the part of the parents?
20
Most homeschooling parent don’t do so primarily for religious reasons, at least according to surveys of parents. The top reason given is academics.
10
Religiously motivated homeschooling has for some years now constituted a minority in homeschooling communities. I'm sure in some areas of the nation it is still the majority, but overall, academics and bullying now are the top reasons parents homeschool their kids. Some homeschool one child while others remain in schools that fit their needs; some homeschool only during certain years (middle school is popular).
The combination of religious extremism and mental illness is toxic in the extreme.
13
I would bet everything I own on it being religious and to avoid the "evils" of the world.
2
What does this horror say about California's education system? Unfortunately the system can't even terminate a mentally unfit teacher with a record of abuses without going through the courts.
12
Are there any states that inspect families that opt for homeschooling?
5
So Dad was a software engineer, you have to wonder how someone like that can fit in on the job. I look forward to hearing more about it. I hope they rot in jail.
21
California and other states that permit private schools to operate without any supervision need to revise their laws right now! I have no quarrel with true homeschooling, but someone needs to monitor to make sure they are for the benefit of the child. This egregious case is not the only one; it's just the one that was exposed now.
41
From 25 years' experience teaching university, I'd recommend that home-schooling be abolished for all except disabled students. Too often the home-schooled don't have sufficient discipline and focus to do well at college, even when they have social skills.
80
My experience is utterly different. My homeschooled daughter attends a private university on a presidential scholarship and belongs to to honors programs. I know a number of similar kids. Stanford admits more homeschooled students, percentage wise, than they do schooled kids. The homeschooled kids I know in my very small circle include kids who became therapy dog handlers, kids who started and ran Maker programs at their libraries, kids who fence or skate on the international junior circuit, kids who are paid lighting designers in community theaters during high school, kids who run their own businesses and have sold products to places like diy. I don't know a single one who hasn't easily adapted to college -- in fact many start at community college as soon as they are age eligible, and finish up high school there, graduating with multiple college credits.
I'm sorry you don't know any of these accomplished kids. They are well worth knowing.
20
This is a diversion from a discussion of this horrible tragedy, but there are lots of reasons to homeschool besides disability. For a variety of reasons, a traditional classroom is sometimes not be a good match for a student. Our school district provides homeschool programs that are overseen by credentialed teachers, which I think is the best of both worlds - most have some classroom time each week, though that is optional.
Our daughter was homeschooled for most of her K-12 years. She graduated with honors with a double major in college and is now poised to earn a dual-PhD.
10
Eh, I disagree. I was homeschooled and just finished my PhD in a STEM field from an R1 university. I knew a number of other homeschooled, successful grad students. Like many other things, it varies.
6
Schools and medical personnel are at the front line of protecting vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and the disabled. They are mandated reporters of any suspected abuse or neglect. Any members of these populations who are hidden from schools and medical intervention are at risk for this kind of horrific situation. If a state is going to allow home schooling, they must fulfill their responsibility to ensure a child's educational program and wellbeing are satisfactory and meet societal standards. Otherwise we will continue to see this scenario repeated.
35
Horrifically abused children slip through the public system of schools and medical personnel and social workers too. The system is no miracle-worker. To place all the blame on homeschooling is to ignore the fact that in extreme circumstances anyone can hide abuse, even if their kid goes to school -- it's easy to hide abuse in a cowed child where the student population is in the thousands, classes can be up to 40 students, and a kid may see a counselor once, or not at all, during his or her tenure there.
Homeschooling has no connection to medical personnel, so I'm not sure why it is relevant to mention here.
3
@Karen: You've made your point in your previous two comments.
The issue is not so much home-schooling as the lack of participation in the community.
In a healthy society, people interact with others in the neighborhood on a regular and transparent basis.
1
Hopefully there will be a Go Fund Me account set up to benefit these children. Clearly they will need a conservator, even for the older ones.
15
The state of California let them down. The state needs to fund their recovery.
10
Shouldn't we have inspections of so called 'home schools'? If these children had been in public schools, someone might have noticed that they were malnourished, but being locked away for religious based home schooling no teacher/counselor/social worker ever saw them. This is probably an extreme case, but I doubt that it is unique.
34
It is a very common situation taken to the extreme.
3
Our representatives in Sacramento need to enact some laws to provide oversight of "home schools". While I know of some examples where the kids have been home schooled and have gone on to achieve college and excellence, it is the extremely rare parent who commands a thorough enough knowledge of math, calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, literature, history, not to mention foreign languages, to be able to teach these subjects adequately. To not provide oversight and inspections does children who are at the mercy of their parents a real disservice.
50
This is a misunderstanding of how high school works in homeschool. There are literally hundreds of online programs ranging from basic K12 get-it-done computer curricula that replicates much of the public school curriculum, to AP courses run by PhDs, to open courseware from places like MIT. There are hundreds of lectures on a range of subjects through Great Courses, taught by university professors from around the country, with workbooks its discussion and essay questions. There are community co-ops in which parents teach in their specialty. There are tutors (usually employed by parents at higher income levels, just as with publicly schooled kids). There are community college classes, and extension classes at universities. One of our local universities offers a three-hour monthly physics workshop taught by graduate students.
And you'd be surprised at how kids can self teach when they are allowed to choose materials that work for them. My daughter self-taught math to the level of calc 3 by the time she graduated. She took three years of Latin. One homeschooler I know took five years of Greek through rigorous online classes and three of Latin, plus taught himself some Norse and Turkish (he's going to college on full scholarship to study linguistics).
Many people have an idea that homeschooling consists of a parent making a kid sit at the kitchen table all day and the parent teaching all the material, but that is by no means the case.
8
Dear Karen, first of all, thank you for your comment, b/c it illustrates how an ideal homeschool setting can work. The same can be said for an ideal public (or private) school setting. You need motivated students, parents who can - and want to - be involved, some kind of effective instructor (in the flesh or remote), well constructed curricula, etc. These scenarios work quite well in ideal situations, less so in real ones, where the variables interact in many degrees of [im]perfection. I was a public school and private school teacher for over forty years, in the USA, Europe and Middle East, from kindergarten to university. But at home, as a parent, I was not as effective a teacher as I was in the classroom. Also, I believe children need the social/academic interaction they engage in with a larger group of peers, not necessarily siblings. I agree that academically many public k-12 schools (I live in California) are not serving their students well, that we need better teachers, better curricula, etc. I also think that bullying needs to be addressed more effectively. But even with the dismal state of public education, is homeschooling the most effective answer? When parents do not like what’s going on in their public/private schools, they can address the school board, demand changes, and work together for all the children in the community. But, who monitors home-schooled children, who protects them? Isn’t there a possible conflict of interest in the role of the parent-teacher?
13
Dear Karen, in my previous comment, re the conflict of interest, I meant a possible conflict between the parental role, the academic role (as teacher) and administrative role (paying for, coordinating, implementing the programs). I’m not sure it was clear the way I wrote it.
I’m betting there’s some fundamentalist “Christian” belief system behind this atrocity. Just waiting for details to come out.
57
You are correct. The husband was raised Pentecostal in Texas. They've had this many children because they believe that God wants them to procreate as much as possible, even though they've filed for bankruptcy twice already for being unable to afford care for the children. Yet they have visited Disneyland on occasion, which would cost a fortune for that many kids. And why keep the adult children cloistered too? Why not let them work, be functional, to help provide for the family? Many, many inconsistencies here.
10
I am very afraid that the home schooling trend will create more of these horrible situations for kids, because apparently there is so little, or no oversight.
28
All this could have been prevented if we ensured that children are armed, as is their first Amendment right.
DJT
11
“Deregulation” is the official motto of the Trumpublican Party. Well, folks, this is what deregulation of private schools looks like.
113
Really? Did the Republicans establish California's regulatory environment for private schools?
Point the finger at the incompetent Democrat responsible for this mess.
4
Let this be the case that changes the home school system, in every state.
43
Betsy DeVos wants to privatize education so she and others like her can profit off of it. Pesky standards just add to overhead costs.
41
Home schooled students should have to show up to a public place two times a year for grade level testing
If they don’t pass - no more home school
109
Is there a comparable outcome for public school students? Would they be sent to a new school or private school on taxpayer money? Just curious.
7
Excellent-and practical-idea.
Thanks, Deirdre.
1
"The department registers private schools, but “does not approve, monitor, inspect, or oversee....”?
I have to show picture ID to get over the counter flu medication but anyone can run a private school with no State over-site?
182
"And the State Department of Education said it had registered the school, but had never been inside."
If this board had emoticons, I'd be throwing up that Edvard Munch screamer all over the place right now. Seriously? You can just register a school and nobody ever comes to see if it's really a school or just an excuse for torturing kids?
California too lenient? Well, I think so!
But at least you can't force feed geese here. No foie gras! We have strict laws protecting geese.
30
Maybe we need a new maxim. "If you don't notice something- do something!"
Why didn't a neighbor knock on the door asking if any of the children would like to come out and play with their children?
Instead, neighbors chose to ignore what was clearly a reclusive pathological cult right on their block.
19
What you suggest is regarded as intrusion and invasion of privacy in many parts of the country. In New England, where people are especially persnickety about privacy and non-interaction with people not their friends, most would be quite hesitant to intrude in this way. In fact the habit of ignoring your neighbors means signs of problems would likely never even be observed.
1
Maybe we need to be more nosey and gossipy. Recent horrible events lead me to believe that absolute right to privacy isn't working. Almost every one of these mass shooting and child abuse cases ends with "they seemed like nice people who just kept to themselves."
41
And all the neighbors failed to notify authorities about children they describe as clearly malnourished and fearful and rarely outside.
35
Most Californians have a "live and let live" ethos. Many of them move every couple of years or so which does not give them much time to get to know their neighbors well or establish a sense of community. To facilitate this, they have developed a very open-minded attitude towards each other, to the extent that almost any behavior is tolerated. Having worked as a counselor in California, I can say that behavior has to be obviously dangerous and pretty extreme before a neighbor will report it.
7
Totally agree. If just ONE person had made a call for a welfare check this would have been discovered a long time ago. If you see something, say something and if you are proven wrong then so what.
If only these parents could be shackled in jail and food withheld for awhile just to give them a taste of what they did to their kids. Monsters, both of them.
2
It is very difficult to get neighbor involvement going in many parts of California. For one thing, there are language problems and cultural differences to contend with. When you literally can't communicate with your neighbors or some aspects of their lifestyles annoy you, you get in a habit of simply ignoring them or pretending they don't exist to prevent getting angered over various matters of cultural conflict.
Then, when you move, even though you move next to an English-speaking neighbor with more American customs, you are so acculturated to not getting involved that you still don't get involved, even though your original reason is no longer there. This is one downside to massive uncontrolled immigration that never gets discussed.
I'm sure the neighbors saw the children dressed in strange clothing, mute, shy, never playing and rarely outside but lacking any other information, probably just assumed the family were members of some extreme Christian fundie denomination.
2
So, how did the parents support themselves?
17
He was an engineer at Northrop Grumman making $140,000/year and they've declared bankruptcy twice.
4
This so absolutely heart breaking. I suspect that the parents have mental health issues--the problem being that they may not have been able to see that what they were doing was cruel. I have seen it in animal abuse cases and the crowed says "throw them in jail!" and "give them a taste of their own medicine!" but that doesn't really solve the problem if the people don't recognize their own actions as inhumane. We have a problem with mental illness in humans. My belief is that it runs a wide spectrum from cases like this to some of the sexual predators we've been reading about to mass shooters/killers to extreme racism. What do we do about people who want to do harm and have mental illness?
10
The entire home/private school certification sounds like a scam.
69
It's one way we cater to people on the fringe, the people who think their kids need to be protected from so-called government schools. It's clear that this is also a way to avoid any oversight from the state into how these people treat their kids. They don't often have the gift of self-awareness necessary to see that their kids also need protection from people like them.
32
I beg your pardon, but I registered as a private school for part of my daughter's homeschool years. Some years we worked through a supervising public school. As soon as she was qualified age-wise, she started community college and is now on a presidential scholarship at a liberal arts university. We know MANY kids like this. We chose the private school registration route at a certain point to be able to tailor my daughter's education to her needs and gifts, and to be able to school year-round at her leisure, so she could finish every single part of her math books without pressure to finish on a certain date in June, so that she could stop in science, for instance, when she had questions she wanted to explore at further length, and to let her focus in on subjects like modern British drama and meta-literature that she wouldn't have been able to do under public school/government supervision.
There are rare and horrific cases of "these people" whether kids are in school or homeschooled. To tar all homeschoolers its the same brush because of those incidents is like tarring all public schools because some kids who attend escape notice and are abused, are sexually pursued by their teachers, are bullied until they commit suicide.
5
ABC News interviewed neighbors of the Turpins and one stood out, to the point I found myself yelling in frustration at the tv. The neighbor claimed they occasionally would see the Turpin children outside around 10 to 11 pm doing yard work. I can’t speak for others but for me this falls into the category of really strange behavior. The number of times we have heard child abuse horror stories and at least one person saw something that didn’t seem right. We must learn “if you see something”, “say something.”
67
Who exactly do you call if one sees something like kids doing yard work at night?
Calling the police would be fruitless and child protective services would most likely put this one on the back burner and maybe get around to it someday.
Do we realize how overwhelmed these social service agencies and their workers are? I don't think that they have the time to investigate kids doing yard work. Highly unrealistic that they'd be 'right over'.
12
What about extended family? This is a question I've not seen answered. Grandparents? Aunt & uncles? Did none inquire after these kids?
48
Apparently nobody in the family had the address (how this is possible I don't understand). Their grandparents tried, even flew to see them but were told to go home a the airport by the parents. At least one aunt had sporadic telephone contact with the mother, but was not permitted to visit or talk to any of the children.
11
Good Lord! How many red flags did they need???
5
It was loopy on both sides.
On his side, his parents thought everything was fine. Saw nothing unusual in kids frantic to memorize the ENTIRE Bible. They last saw them 4 years ago and "everything was fine". Not believable given the condition of the older siblings.
On the mom's side the parent's would fly out to Ca., but the daughter would never tell them the address. There is a sister who is an "evangelical self-help" author who has written on the abuse that they had when children.
This appears to be a case of "generational abuse".
Also, there's a difference between the reports from USA and the British papers. The Brits are astonished and say so. In the USA the papers are hesitant to say anything about the religious aspect or the quote from the Turpins that they intended to have as many as "God wanted them to".
6
I have always had reservations about home schooling. Even well educated parents with good intentions cannot deliver the total structure of established professional school systems. I realize some schools have serious problems, but they offer something, especially lacking in this and other similar cases, that home schooling largely lacks--social interaction with peers from varied backgrounds. They also offer academic, athletic and social organizations/clubs home schooling does not, allowing students to develop their interests and increase their maturity.
Even with long-term rehabilitation, these children (and adults) will have difficulty adjusting to the world they have been closed off from for so many years.
116
I have a great idea! Let's turn our backs on public education, which is transparent, available to all kids, and tightly regulated, because Betsy DeVos says it's failing! She would know, having never been exposed to public schools and having never exhibited any curiosity about them. Then we can read stories like this one all the time! And the kids who aren't chained to beds and force-fed religious texts can sign their names with an "X" to their bankruptcy filings after the private sector vultures take all their education voucher money. Who needs an engine for middle-class prosperity or a forum to become a citizen of a democracy when we can have Sandcastles in the air?
162
Home schooling has become the preferred option for ideologues who fear the exposure to ideas and diversity of opinions to which their children may be exposed. As a college teacher, I've found my home-schooled students in lower division classes general lack the breadth of knowledge that their public school peers enjoy. In nearly every case, these young learners educated in an isolated setting where ideology is the framework for pertinent information resist ideas and fall back on the importance of "faith" as a factor in their reasoning. As one reviewer here enjoins, "Betsy Devos take note!"
Indeed.
248
I agree with your statement that home schooled children lack the social awareness that they would receive had they attended a public school. I had a dear late friend who allowed his wife to talk him into home schooling their three grammar school aged boys. The wife was a teacher with very strong almost kooky religious beliefs. As it turned out is was a total disaster. the wife despite her best intentions was unable to handle the boys who were basically learning nothing except for watching mother go off the deep end.
My friend confided to me in private that he wished he never allowed this to happen. Eventually after my friend too ill the boys returned to public school and have turned out into educated productive individuals
11
I'm sorry you have had such an unfortunate experience with homeschooled kids.
But actually, nationwide, improved, tailored academics and bullying are now the top reasons why parents homeschool. Religious-Based homeschooling is now in the minority -- again nationwide, so local communities may differ. My homeschooled daughter is on a presidential scholarship to a selective liberal arts university, where she is on the Dean's list; she started community college classes as soon as she could qualify in age, at sixteen. She as accepted to almost all the universities she applied to, with handwritten comments and phone calls soliciting her attendance and praise of her extensive reading list. We know many kids like this who have had zero problems adapting to formal group education and in fact they are often frustrated by the lack of seriousness with which large numbers of their age mates approach classes. Stanford accepts a higher percentage of homeschooled applicants than they do publicly schooled applicants. Clearly your experience has been unhappily confined to what is a minority of homeschool ideology.
7
The key is the kooky religious beliefs, not the homeschooling. Most of the homeschoolers I know not only take a multitude of outside classes, but also spend time volunteering -- one was the youngest to qualify as a therapy dog handler in the country at the time and spent hundreds of hours in retirement homes and libraries -- and hold jobs. My daughter's first job was at age twelve. One boy we know designed a product that was purchased by diy, when he was eleven. His brother as invited to an international coding conference at age sixteen. These kids actually tend to have more social awareness, as they interact widely with a range of different age groups rather than being confined to their own age group peers all day.
I'm sure you are aware that not all publicly schooled kids turn out to be well educated and productive either.
6
I'm not surprised. My own experience of life is that people like this get away with it far more often than they get caught often with the help of people who if confronted would say they would never help hide it and claim ignorance.
That said the news so far has made them seem confused and possibly very religious. I want to point out that the fact that they took the time to register as a private school shows consciousness of guilt. They knew they were doing wrong. It worked for a very long time too.
46
This is all incredibly disturbing, but it does not account for the fact that many of those being held there were not of school age at all — they are adults.
There are plenty of very normal and pleasant homeschooled children and parents who interact with their neighbors and extended families, take music or theater classes, volunteer, play outside, and otherwise are not home bound, and certainly not forcibly restrained.
I find it extremely worrisome that the extended family and neighbors claim to have no idea any of this was going on. Even their previous house was supposed to have been left covered in fecal matter with scratches on the inside doors. There were plenty of signs on many fronts, but they were ignored.
68
I also read that the ranch house they had in Texas and lost which forced their move, was discovered by the subsequent owner to have strange vents installed in the closets of the house prompting suspicion that the children may have been locked inside as control and punishment.
6
The people that bought the house thought the scratches and waste were from animals.
3
Horrifying to learn, besides the hellish details of this story, that the State of California allows pretty much anyone to open a "school." I lived there a long time and was not aware. Lack of regulation at this level invites abuse, in any aspect of society.
28
Welcome to Republican utopia, no rules, no regulations, no oversight.
27
Except when it come to women's reproductive rights. Then the GOP thinks the government should have control over them.
8
Well, John, except for the fact that California has been run by the Democrats for decades, your comment is spot on.
Hate for the facts to get in the way of a good Leftie rant.
3
If parents with no medical credentials try to set up a "home-hospital" operation instead of taking their children to a real doctor, they can be charged with a crime. Why, then, do we allow unqualified parents to pretend to educate their children?
208
Home schooling should not be allowed if the parents aren't credentialed teachers. Enough, already.
148
Teaching one child, or even three or four, is vastly different from teaching a classroom. I've done both, plus something in between (a co-op with six kids in the class).
Much of the teacher credential training focuses on managing a classroom, as well as requirements like a class in the Constitution and computer technology and complying with state requirements (I have a K12 teaching credential in English as well as a PhD). It's very bureaucratically-oriented. Most teachers never have a dedicated course in teaching writing.
Furthermore, most homeschoolers -- including many religiously motivated ones -- draw on a range of online courses, community classes, co-ops where parents teach in their specialty. Many homeschool one child with special needs or a different pace of learning (highly gifted kids, for instance) while others remain in outside school. Some homeschool only during certain years due to bullying or a bad teacher.
It's sad that the stereotype remains the socially isolated, religious-ly motivated homeschooler, when that group is a minority nationwide.
2
Republicans are all pro-life about embryos and fetuses, but once they're born, they're on their own. Heaven forbid that there should be any oversight of "home-schooling" which can easily be a cover-up for abuse. See also: funding children's health insurance.
234
These people are the poster family for Betsy DeVos's home scooling and private schooling initiatives.
171
Obviously you were home schooled Tim. Spelling isn't your strong suit, is it?
1
Shame on their neighbors is all i can say.
27
What were they supposed to do?
4
Home schooling should not be allowed.
41
Why not? There are extreme cases and outliers who abuse kids in almost every situation -- including public schools.
Meanwhile Stanford accepts a higher percentage of homeschooled applicants than it does applicants from public schools.
3
I'm just spitballin' here, but you could knock me over with a feather if the authorities don't find that religion was the basis for the Turpins' aberrant behavior.
267
Mr TyroneShoelaces, g'day.
You are definitely not spitballing' here because you are absolutely correct: all religion is the basis for aberrant behavior in the U.S.A.
Unless local and federal authorities take action to better check these "home schools", very little will change.
In the meantime these 2 people must have pocketed quite an amount of taxpayer's money for their "school".
It will be interesting to follow how the lawmakers in California tackle this problem, after all they have set - and are continuing to set - the standard for various problem areas to change for the better.
Only these 2 people (and their children) know what happened in Texas, reading about the California side, chances are it must have been much of the same.
15
@ Tyrone Shoelaces: There is speculation the Turpin family were adherents of the Quiverfull movement: Christians advocating having as many children as possible; and given a national platform by Mary Pride’s 1985 book "The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality." Although reports do not have the Turpins affiliated with a particular church, they are categorized as "Conservative Christians."
20
Religion? Really? Don't you think it's far more feasible that such extreme behavior is caused by severe mental illness? Schizophrenia, for example, often involves having religious delusions.
5
Please Betsy DeVos take note! Children are not objects to mold to your ideology. I see that these children were indoctrinated with repetitive bible readings. Religion what a foul institution. What good has it done mankind?
112
So who's ideology do we mold our children to if not our own, Armand?
2
Obviously it has done you no good. It’s fantastic that you’re blaming religion and not mental illness.
1
Should the parents prevent medical attention for their children? The way the Christian Scientists do. Clearly society has a responsibility towards the welfare of children. You used the word ideology. Very revealing of your mind set. Give me the education of the child and i will account for the opinions of the adult!
1
One wonders what life was like in their previous homes before moving to Perris. It is so difficult to wrap my head around this story.
22
They lived in a double wide trailer at one time. The two California houses must have been a huge improvement.
Home schooling is an environment conducive to physical and sexual abuse of children because the children are often very isolated. Especially the home schools founded because of religion. Any religion.
Obviously not all home schooled children are subjected to abuse/neglect. And children in religious home schools aren't always abused. Far from it. But, the isolation makes the abuse possible.
Churches and local school districts might consider offering group learning or recreation opportunities for home schooled children. The state has a legitimate responsibility to ensure that all children are actually receiving an education since most state have laws requiring children to attend school. Annual inspections are not out of line. Those are the minimum actions that would lessen the isolation.
These things aren't done because we don't really care about kids as a society. Children are almost considered property in a way. I am not suggesting usurping parents' rights. But, I do assert that even though children are home schooled, the state and community have a responsibility to both parents and children to optimize home based education AND contribute to the well being of children.
At least this way, the really isolated schools would be identified and warning signs of abuse might become easier to see. Family/friends/neighbors also have a responsibility to voice concerns. These kids reaction to the neighbors demonstrates that. It was a big red flag!
138
Public school abuse goes on all the time: teachers groom and have sexual relationships with minor students in their charge, security and police are violent and harm young children. A huge number of kids from lower performing, low income area schools are functionally illiterate and join the school-to-prison pipeline; a huge number are dyslexics whose learning difficulties were never handled appropriately.
Schools and churches and other community groups DO offer huge numbers of activities for homeschooled kids. During my daughter's homeschooled years she attended programs through the Wild Animal Park (for 7 years; wonderful program), music lessons, public supervisory school classes and trips to the opera and a floating marine lab, museum offerings for homeschoolers, a co-op in which I taught for a few years, and more.
The options are legion. But if you're attempting to keep your kid isolated, that's not going to be something you choose.
And if your kid goes to a subpar, huge, overcrowded public school, home abuse can easily go unnoticed as well.
2
Homeschooling can be a cover for paranoid, violent, diabolically religious parents who believe their children are their property. School attendance is compulsory, so California should take the lead in making sure every child is in a safe place. Regular Social Worker visits to the "school" and private interviews with the children should be mandatory if parents are going to pull their kids out of regular school to "educate" them. Either that, or scrap it altogether and go back to mandatory Public School attendance.
384
If the "private" interview is known to the parent and the kid knows the parent knows, the child is going to learn quickly that being honest about things in private is a lie. If they reveal some small thing to test and then the parents are confronted about it later the parent will know the kid told and punish them and make sure they never speak up again.
There is no safety if the kid has to go back so reporting is pointless.
16
Be careful what you ask for. If "Regular Social Worker visits" were enacted on home schoolers, where do you think the funding would come from? The answer is probably from already limited education funding. So money would be taken away from public schools to police the home schools.
2
Home schools should pay for inspections or no certification. There's already a funded public school structure in place which the kids can attend. So, if you choose to not avail yourself of that system then it's up to you to pay for all that it entails to set up an alternative. Simple as that. Home schools pay for their oversight or they should be shut down.
23
It’s hard to fathom that in states like California children’s right to an education is treated in such a casual manner. It is treated as secondary to either parental or religious freedoms. I am willing to bet NY is not a whole lot better. In certain religious communities ( Hasidic for example) religious schools barely teach secular subjects, and girls are taught even less. For political reasons, the state doesn’t intervene to protect these children’s right to an education. States need to do a better job enforcing laws that ensure that basic minimum educational standards for children, home-schooled or in religious schools who are powerless to make their own choices.
Perhaps these particular children’s misery could have been avoided if there had been some outside eyes on the situation.
196
Considered to be one of the most serious felonies in California, the crime of torture under California Penal Code Section 206 PC involves intentionally inflicting great bodily harm on another in order to cause extreme pain. Torture is a felony-level offense that carries life prison sentences.
96
Let's hope they never see the light of a free day again.
16
The parents should be given 13 life sentences for the 13 lives they've ruined.
States should mandate inspections of so-called "home schools" on a regular basis. For all we know there could be many other criminal situations like this case going on and no one knows about them....yet.
239
It's time to bring in the Department of Justice, to ensure "never again".
5
Some agency needs to step up and provide years of financial support for all these children, and training and school. The adults in this group of children are not equipped to support themselves or their siblings. Authorities must not break them up unless there are reasons of conflict within the group of children. It will be an expensive proposition. The horror is real, but self-righteousness needs to be checked at the door when it comes time to stepping up to help them. And in my opinion, no right-wing evangelical churches should be allowed to do the job.
215
RE: "In California, almost anyone can open a private school by filing an affidavit with the state. California is one of 14 states that ask parents only to register to create a home school, and in 11 other states, including Texas, parents are not required to submit any documentation at all.... there is no state requirement for a teaching credential or equivalent training for private schools."
My God. All I can say is my God. Republicans are so concerned with Government control but what we have seems as if laws have been specifically created by abusers for abusers to cover up situations like this and allow for the hiding away, control, abuse, and the non-education of children.
There are more than 3,000 private schools registered with the department.
In CA. How many more cases are there? How many more where the adults didn't go to the trouble to register as private schools?
331
Seriously? This is about a sick, vile couple that abused their kids. They didn't need a 'home school' to do this, just fail to register kids for school and the kids are off the radar. To attack private schools or home schools is outrageous! But then you go further and attack the GOP?! You do know this took place in CA, that CA is one of the deep blue states, that CA regulates everything and anything, except the important stuff? Unreal.
4
Instances of extreme abuse like this are, fortunately, quite rare. But it has nothing to do with homeschooling in and of itself. To think that kids aren't abused, sexually as well as physically and psychologically, or that they aren't given an adequate education, in all too many public schools around the nation is completely inaccurate. To think that a cowed, abused child can't hide in a classroom of over forty kids and a school of thousands is likewise inaccurate.
3
All due to the political influence of evangelicals.
9
My father once told me many years ago that this country didn’t care about children. He would be devastated with the state of things today. Betsy DeVos would love nothing better than to have our public schools privatized so there could be no obstructive oversight, regulations or inspections. After all what could possibly go wrong?
I hope these poor children get the help that they need but with no CHIPS and other social programs to help them I do not hold out much hope. We have failed our children.
343
The oldest is 29and you’re blaming Devos? Do you think this just happened this year?
3
I agree with your father. We pretend to care about children but we don't, not really, not where it matters.
6