Compulsory Attendance is Unconstitutional
I think the compulsory attendance statutes are unconstitutional as written.
Massachusetts, where I live, has a statute that compels children 6-16 to attend school or receive an alternative, approved education. Students can attend a private school or homeschool so long as it meets state approval. There is also a statute that compels parents to compel children to attend school. There is no statute that compels schools to provide an education.
The First Amendment guarantees us Freedom of Speech but that presupposes Freedom of Thought. How can we have freedom of speech if the state determines what we think about, what we must read? How can we have free elections if the state controls the education of future voters?
The Second Amendment says- A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. How does one learn to regulate a Militia? I haven’t seen it on a curriculum in public schools. What are Arms? Personal rights are interpreted broadly. Black’s Law Dictionary defines the word arms as “anything that a man wears for his defense, or takes in his hands as a weapon.” Is a book a weapon? Is knowledge? Am I?
The Fourth Amendment affirms the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search and seizures. Does this apply to children? Compelling attendance is an unreasonable seizure, even if the state could guarantee an education, which it does not.
The Ninth Amendment tells us that the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. When the Bill of Rights was adopted on August 21, 1789, people were responsible for teaching their own children. The first compulsory attendance statute was written in 1852.
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished involuntary servitude except as punishment. What is compulsory attendance if it is not involuntary servitude?