How will this election impact parental rights?

The election frenzy has finally ended and we are all getting used to hearing "President-Elect Obama". I'd like to turn my focus to the impact the new adminstration could have on homeschooling and parental rights -- and what parents from both parties may want to consider.

Today I received an email update from Michael Smith (President of the HSLDA) that I believe is worth sharing. Here are some excerpts:

Despite HSLDA’s efforts prior to the election to get an official statement from the Obama campaign regarding their position on homeschooling, we received no response. So where does that leave us?

We do know that the Democratic Party has an official position of supporting public education. The National Education Association (NEA), which is the national teachers union, is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. We know that the NEA’s position is that every child should be either taught by a certified teacher or supervised by one. Additionally, their position is that the curriculum used by all homeschoolers should be approved by the state, and children should only be able to continue to be homeschooled based upon systematic evaluation by the state.

He then goes on to describe legislation introduced over the years (defeated due to the vigilance and outcry of homeschoolers) that would have given the federal government authority over private and home education, even though such power is unconstitutional. We will all need to keep our eyes open and make our voices heard whenever necessary.

Even more important is an issue that has been dear to my own heart for years -- the importance of not allowing our national sovereignty to be placed under international law. This would greatly impact parental rights (including, but not limited to, homeschooling) -- not to mention other liberties we enjoy. One of the most immediate applications of this is in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (which the Clinton administration championed, but was unable to ratify at that time). Michael Smith noted in today's email:

An immediate concern to watch is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although we do not know what Barack Obama’s specific position on the treaty is, we know that future Vice President Joe Biden has publicly indicated that this UN Convention should be ratified by the United States.

It does appear that we will soon have the challenge of keeping the UN Convention from being ratified by the U.S. Senate, ratification requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.

Should the UN Convention be ratified, it would impose the United Nation’s view of children’s rights on America. Under the U.S. Constitution, treaties become the Supreme Law of the land, taking precedent over state laws and state supreme court decisions.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is not in the best interest of parents or children, as it would undermine the parental authority that our laws currently recognize. For further information on the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child visit ParentalRights.org.

To summarize, homeschoolers should not live in fear, but we do need to be wise, and we will need to be vigilant to protect parental rights and homeschooling freedoms in the future. We stand prepared, with your help, to do that as we’ve done for 25 years.

I urge each of you to become informed on the important issues of parental rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the significance of allowing international law to trump U.S. law. This is an issue that not only affects homeschoolers, but also should be of concern to any parent or citizen.

The UN Convention allows court decisions to trump parental decisions about what is in the "best interest of the child." Courts around the world are already using this "rule of law" to remove children from Christian schools, disallow punishments (such as grounding) for children experimenting with drugs or sex, and keep parents from requiring church attendance even for young children. I know it doesn't even seem believable -- please research it yourself.

Even if this administration succeeds in positively impacting our security or our economy, we will be lost without our freedom to self-govern and raise our children as our conscience dictates. It will take all of us, from both sides of the aisle, to successfully stand for freedom in this area. Please be involved.