Were you aware that informing a school of your intent to homeschool and withdrawing your children from school is educational neglect? Neither was I, but that’s apparently the case in Moberly, Mo. Oh, and by the way, if your children are being intimidated, harassed, threatened, and physically attacked, it’s okay. As long as you leave your children in that environment to continue living this way, and don’t make a fuss about it continuing, you’re safe.
If I was Anita Nicoli I would have pulled my children out of the school sooner than she did as well as file charges, but I guess she was giving them the benefit of the doubt. Her children put up with this situation for two years. She continually went to the school about the incidents after her children told her about them, because the school never notified her of any of the happenings. Their response was always “There were no witnesses,” or “The witnesses don’t agree.” One vice principal went so far as to “accuse (her) daughter of putting the marks on herself” Some of the incidents included being slapped, kicked, punched, pushed, threatened, and another student using a buckle from a seat belt as a weapon and hitting her son with it. The final straw was when another student hit her daughter in the face with a locker door hard enough to leave a bruise, then punched her, slapped her, and threatened to “kick” her. Then the other student drew a picture of herself holding a gun, pointing it at Anita’s daughter then showed it to her as well as several other students before one told a teacher and the picture was taken away. When Anita asked for a copy of the picture so she could file a complaint she was told it was “lost.”
After the final straw Anita notified the school of her intent to homeschool and withdrew her children from school. Three days after she removed her children from school, a counselor filed a complaint against her for educational neglect. The letter basically said that Anita “couldn’t adequately teach” her own children. At least that is what she understood from the excepts read to her as they would not even allow her to read the letter for herself. Even though there are no grounds for the complaint, Anita has to defend herself against them. On the plus side, Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is helping Anita to defend herself. “They’re lashing out because they didn’t want to deal with the reason for this – what they were not doing for my children,” Nicoli said. “I told them, ‘My children have a right to a safe and proper education, and you’re not doing it so I’m pulling them out.'”
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