The Tribune-Democrat - Johnstown, PA - October 21, 2009
EDITORIAL: Put children’s needs first | Get Amish kids back in the classroom
The battle in Cambria County to bring members of an Amish sect into compliance with sewage regulations has taken on a new and even sadder twist.
The real victims in this unusually complicated case, it would now seem, have been the children – about a dozen or fewer – who apparently have received no schooling for more than half a year.
What a shame. This cannot continue. Somebody in authority – anybody – needs to step in. Now.
But who?
If you read a front-page story in Tuesday’s Tribune-Democrat by Kathy Mellott, [see story below] you probably are confused, as we are, as to where the responsibility lies in getting schoolbooks into the hands of these Amish youngsters.
Mellott refers to no less than eight agencies or individuals all in agreement that a problem exists, but who apparently have no quick or easy solutions. That’s because the Amish and their religious beliefs maintain exemptions from many laws, including those involving education, that govern the rest of us.
“We’re currently looking into the situation” said Leah Harris of the state Department of Education. “It’s a unique situation for sure.”
The question is: Why has it taken seven months to look into the matter?
The children belong to families of the Swartzentruber sect. They apparently have not been in school since March, when their Barr Township school was padlocked because of inadequate outhouses.
Indications are they also are not receiving home schooling.
We can understand the leaders of the ultra conservative Amish sect battling the sewage compliance order – although we don’t agree with the sect’s position – but we can’t understand the adults allowing their children to go uneducated for more than half a year.
The adults could have been providing home schooling.
Overseeing the court proceedings has been Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker, who ordered that the school and two homes be padlocked.
We have wholeheartedly supported his decision. But we question why he, a judge who specializes in children and youth issues, didn’t make sure provisions were in place to continue the children’s education.
To his credit, Krumenacker has given sect leaders permission to reopen the school if they would place portable toilets at the school on a temporary basis. And he has said that, as an alternative, he would allow leaders access to the school to get materials needed for home schooling.
Neither has happened.
Attempts to keep track of the nonpublic Amish and Mennonite schools are done by the Appalachian Intermediate Unit 08, a four-county nonprofit public educational service agency that provides state-supported services to local public and nonpublic school systems choosing to access them.
That annual tracking is now under way with forms sent to all Amish and Mennonite schools in Cambria, Somerset, Blair and Bedford counties, served by the unit, said Executive Director Joseph Macharola.
The reporting, however, is not mandatory, he said, and records show the Swartzentruber Amish of Cambria County have not yet this year or in past years complied with the request.
Meanwhile, the Northern Cambria School District, where all of the school-age Swartzentruber Amish who attended the former school now appear to reside, is watching the situation.
“This is such an unusual circumstance. I don’t know if anybody knows where this is going to go,” Superintendent Thomas Estep said.
Unfortunately for the children, he seems to be totally correct.
This article was found at:
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_294145517.html
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The Tribune-Democrat - Johnstown, PA - October 21, 2009
Education Dept. exploring status of Amish students
By KATHY MELLOTT | The Tribune-Democrat
NICKTOWN — Efforts are being made by the state Department of Education to determine the status of the school-age children belonging to families of the Swartzentruber Amish sect of Cambria County, a spokeswoman said Monday.
The children, believed to be a dozen or fewer, have apparently not been in school since March, when the Barr Township school was padlocked because of inadequate outhouses. Indications are they also are not receiving homeschooling.
“We’re currently looking into the situation,” said Leah Harris of the education department. “It’s a unique situation for sure.”
Leaders of the ultraconservative Amish sect have made no apparent attempts to gain access to books and other educational materials in the closed school, court officials and Cambria County Sheriff Bob Kolar said Monday.
Classes at the school ended seven months ago when the building and two outhouses were padlocked on orders of a county judge after sect leaders refused to meet state and county outhouse standards.
The children have not been enrolled in local public schools, according to officials of districts in the area, and the children also are not being educated in a less restrictive Amish community setting or in private homes, said Ebensburg attorney David Beyer, who represents the Amish.
The lack of schooling is a primary concern for the Amish leaders, Beyer said last week following a meeting in the chambers of Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker.
Sect leaders asked Krumenacker to reconsider his earlier order to padlock the school and two private homes.
The judge refused, but gave sect leaders permission to put a portable toilet at the school on a temporary basis. That step apparently has not been taken.
He also said he would allow leaders access to the school to get materials needed for homeschooling.
State law provides some leniency for Amish-registered schools, allowing children to “withdraw” at the end of eighth grade rather than at 17, the age to drop out of public schools.
The law does require the Amish children to attend classes 180 days a year or the hourly equivalent.
While information is to be provided to local school districts, responsibility for enforcement of state education requirements for private schools is in Harrisburg.
“It falls back to the department, and we’re checking into it,” Harris said.
Central Cambria School District Superintendent Vincent DiLeo said none of the school- age children resides in his district.
While one Amish family with school-age children lived for a time in the Blacklick Valley School District, they apparently sold their farm and moved from the district in September, district Superintendent Don Thomas said.
Thomas thinks local school districts may have some responsibility from a personal standpoint, if not legally.
“It’s right on us. We have to make sure they are being educated whether it’s Amish or whomever,” he said.
Northern Cambria District Superintendent Tom Estep said he was aware of the closing of the school and believed the children were being homeschooled.
“They were going to educate their children and that was good enough for me,” Estep said.
“We have no way of knowing where these Amish children are. There is no record given to us.”
Attempts to keep track of the nonpublic Amish and Mennonite schools are done by the Appalachian Intermediate Unit 8, a four-county non-profit public educational service agency that provides state supported services to local public and nonpublic school systems choosing to access them.
That annual tracking is now under way, with forms being sent to all Amish and Mennonite schools in Cambria, Somerset, Blair and Bedford counties served by the unit, said Executive Director Joseph Macharola.
The information will be compiled and forwarded to the state Education Department by the end of this month.
The reporting is not mandatory, and records show the Swartzentruber Amish of Cambria County have not yet this year or in past years complied with the request, Macharola said.
Meanwhile, the Northern Cambria School District, where all of the school-age Swartzentruber Amish who attended the school now appear to reside, is watching the situation.
“This is such an unusual circumstance. I don’t know if anybody knows where this is going to go,” Estep said.
This article was found at:
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_292235508.html
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