Home-schooled 'truant' faces charges

Home-schooled 'truant' faces charges
'Persecuted' parents decry attempts to block them from teaching son

Posted: September 17, 2000
1:00 am Eastern

By Julie Foster
© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com

A 17-year-old Nebraska student, whose parents say the state's "ludicrous" bureaucracy has attempted to force their learning-disabled son into a "lock-down" for delinquent children, rather than let the parents continue to home-school him -- now faces probation violation charges in addition to truancy.

Tony Mercer, a student in North Platte, Neb., is scheduled to appear in county court in October with his parents. The court will evaluate the teen-ager's case and determine whether he violated probation by missing a scheduled meeting with his probation officer. Tony was found to be truant in 1999 after years of battling with the school system.

Hank and Kellie Mercer had been having problems with their son, who they say suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Tony, who repeated 6th grade in the 1996-97 school year, was enrolled in special education classes and given psychotropic drugs throughout his entire academic career. He would bite, kick, cuss, stand up in class and scream. At the start of 7th grade, Tony was allowed to receive homebound instruction with a tutor who came to the Mercers' home in September 1997, along with a behavior specialist.

But the government-funded tutor and behavior specialist were canceled in favor of the new "Boys and Girls Home," according to the parents, who call the home a "lock-down" facility for delinquent kids. A journeyman electrician, Hank Mercer said he worked on the facility, which he describes as having "cinderblock cells."

"It's a jail for kids," the father said. "It's for runaways, heavily abused kids. Tony is very gullible and that would not be to Tony's best interest to lock him up with kids like that. These kids would have just torn Tony up, just eaten him alive."

According to Nebraska law at the time, parents were allowed to home-school their children for religious reasons and had to file a notice of intent with the state. The Mercers, desiring to home-school Tony rather than have him sent to the Boys and Girls Home, filled out a notice of intent but crossed out the sections pertaining to religious reasons.

"We're religious people, but that's not why we brought him home," Mrs. Mercer explained, saying she didn't want to lie about their reasons for home-schooling Tony. She also stopped giving Tony the psychotropic drugs, such as Ritalin, which she believes were contributing to some of her son's behavioral problems.

Although state law has since changed, allowing parents now to home-school for non-religious reasons, state officials rejected the Mercers' filing at the time. Notably, it wasn't until Tony's 2nd semester of the 8th grade that the family was notified of truancy charges filed against them. In August 1999, Tony was placed on probation for a six-month period, during which he was to pass the General Equivalency Diploma test, or GED. The probation period was extended for another six months to give the boy more time to pass the high school exam, which he still has not completed.

It has now been one year since Tony was first placed on probation and the family appeared on Sept. 6 for a status hearing on the case. At that time, they learned of the county's assertion that the boy was in violation of probation for missing a scheduled meeting. But Tony and his parents say the boy had just returned from camp and called the probation office the day after the proposed meeting to reschedule.

The Lincoln County Attorney's Office did not return calls for comment.

The Mercers believe they have been targeted because of their decision to teach their child at home. A professional tutor comes to their home during the week free of charge to assist Tony with his studies.

"Here we are taking responsibility for our child and we're being persecuted for taking responsibility. What should we have done?" asked Mrs. Mercer.

The couple believes Tony's case should never have progressed through the judicial system, where it is being treated as a criminal matter in juvenile court. According to the law at the time, their son was truant, but an analysis of the situation by a judge should have cleared up the matter without probation.

"It's starting to get to the point that this is ludicrous. Are we that wrong? He's better off now than he was," Tony's father remarked. "We need to get our priorities in order. If a kid needs to be taken out, we shouldn't punish him for it. It ain't right. ... I don't care about legal; I'm talking about moral. This should supersede any legality. The legality of this situation is ludicrous."

The judge "doesn't want to hear our side of the story" and "isn't interested in why Tony is truant," said Mr. Mercer. "My kid's got a disability and I had a disability when I was in school. When I was in school, you were just diagnosed as a bad kid. You were sent to the hall," he continued. "What they are doing to my son ... is just morally wrong."

"They (school officials) told me they could no longer educate my son," noted Mr. Mercer, who resents that government officials would have his son attend the Boys and Girls Home rather than allowing the parents to home-school.

"The best interest of Tony is not at all being considered," Mrs. Mercer added.

Lori Brouillette, spokesperson for the North Platte School District, said she was limited in her comments on the case unless the Mercers sign a release form, relieving the school district of any liability for discussing the content of Tony's records.

"This particular student's records are confidential," she said, noting that all records of students in this particular "category" are confidential. She couldn't name the category, though, because of laws against "labeling students."

"Our policy is to keep special ed. student records extremely confidential," she added.

Asked why no charges were filed against the family until Tony had been out of school for nearly a year, Brouillette said there is an answer but it is confidential information.

Prior to filing notice of intent to home-school Tony, Mrs. Mercer attempted legally to take her son out of school. But since he was not yet 16 -- the age limit of the state's compulsory education statute -- they were unsuccessful. In her attempts, however, Mrs. Mercer discovered that her son's records had been advanced to the local high school, even though Tony had begun home-schooling in junior high.

Brouillette said she "can't confirm or deny any of that." But, she said, "I can tell you that there is another side to the story that makes much more sense." However, she could not explain that side until the Mercers signed a release form.

"As a school district, we strive to provide the best educational opportunities for each one of our students. Sometimes that opportunity is very individualized because of a student's needs, and sometimes it's not," the spokesperson continued. "Whether the parents choose in any situation to agree or disagree with that is completely up to them," she added, ostensibly referring to the Mercer's refusal to place their child in the care of the Boys and Girls Home.

While the school may be limited in what it can say about the Mercer case, Tony did not mince words when asked how he feels about the situation.

"I think it's just a bunch of bull," the teen-ager said. If given the opportunity, Tony said he would ask school officials, "What did I do to you? I'm trying to get an education here and you people are giving me brick walls ... and cliffs to fall off of."

Tony is still studying for the GED exam and is currently working at a 10th-grade level. He wants to go into the military and on to Bible college to become a youth pastor.

"I just want to say that those people out there who have a dream, just go for it," said the articulate young man. "If anybody gets in your way, just say, 'Don't get in my way. I'm going for my dream, and when I get it, I will be proud of myself.' When you have a dream, you can fulfill it."

On Oct. 4, Tony and his parents will appear in court again to discuss probation violations, including missing a scheduled meeting and not completing the GED as ordered.

According to attorney Leonard Vyhnalek, who represents the family, no punitive action can be taken against the teen-ager since the case is a juvenile matter. The judge could order Tony to be placed in foster care, but such an action would not be justified in this case, he said.

Vyhnalek predicted the court would either recognize state compulsory education laws to be moot in this case, since Tony is over 16, or it could again extend probation and continue to require him to pass the GED.

"Hopefully, after Oct. 4, we can avoid further problems with the probation office," the attorney said.

The Mercers see much more than Tony's fate in their case.

"One of these days, these kids are going to be ruling this country and we have to get it right. And if it means taking them out of school and jerking the system," then that's what parents should do, said Mr. Mercer.