Suppose parent A stays home to home school not only the family's five children, but also, on three days a week, 25 children from other home schooling families with whom there is an exchange arrangement. [I'll leave the tax questions aside for now :-) ] Is there no recourse to prevent the traffic, which unlike the occasional party, becomes a regular, continuous, and substantial burden on the neighborhood? What if the association instead barred street parking during day hours, assuming its most significant impact would be an impediment to the ferrying of home schooled children from one home to another?
It's not that education is noxious. It's that the side effects can be. Ask any neighbor of a college campus, or people living in neighborhoods frequented by students. Or those living near the university stadium or basketball arena. I'm not so sure the court of public opinion always sides with education. Jim Maule >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1/3/2006 6:38:47 PM >>> The term "home school" was one of the great public relations successes of the last century. It flipped the impression from Yoder that these kids simply weren't going to school to the impression that of course they were going to school; it was just that the school is located in their home. Now everyone calls them home schoolers, and they are fully legitimate, even if thought a little odd in some quarters. This issue is the flip side of that success. If it's really a school, of course it can be banned in a residential neighborhood. (Both zoning law and restrictive covenant drafters are so paranoid about conflicting uses or anything that might generate traffic that "noxious" has nothing to do with it. All sorts of non-noxious uses are banned in residential-only zones.) Now its the parents saying it's just their own kids in their own home, no different from any other family occupying its home. And the homeowners' association is saying its a school, and that's not residential. Of course the context is different, and I expect the home schoolers to win this in the court of public opinion if not in the judiciary. But the reverse flip of the PR success is noteworthy. Douglas Laycock University of Texas Law School 727 E. Dean Keeton St. Austin, TX 78705 512-232-1341 (phone) 512-471-6988 (fax) ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed Darrell Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 5:29 PM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: RE: Home Schooling and Real Covenants I'd think that more advantage for homeschoolers could be obtained with judicial note of the idea that education is not a nuisance, but quite the opposite. Calling educational activities "noxious" surely runs counter to public policy in every state, doesn't it? Ed Darrell Dallas Alan Brownstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: The actions of Homeowner's Associations and Condo Boards raise interesting and problematic questions. I have heard both free exercise type and establishment clause type complaints --- ranging from concerns about sectarian religious displays sponsored by the Association to contentions that anti-sign and anti-display provisions are enforced in such a draconian way that families are prohibited from having a mezuzah on the side of their door. But I never thought that RLUIPA might apply to these cases. Alan Brownstein ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Duncan Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 1:45 PM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Home Schooling and Real Covenants Interesting case from HSLDA <http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/tx/200512192.asp> : Home Owners Association Threatens Homeschool The Covent family was astonished one day when they were told that their homeschool was a violation of their Home Owner's Association Covenant and that they were required to cease homeschooling immediately or ! face a lawsuit. The family had just started homeschooling for the 2005-6 school year and organized different group activities with fellow homeschooling families to supplement their program. A few homeschoolers met at the Covent home for chess, gymnastics, arts, and music. The activities were supervised by the various parents in the group. The family was accused by the Home Owner's Association (HOA)! of running a business or day care from the home, and engaging in noxious or offensive activities which constitute a nuisance. Home School Legal Defense Association Senior Counsel Chris Klicka wrote to the HOA and challenged the HOA's threat to file suit against the family for simply homeschooling their son and hosting social/educational activities for the furtherance of their son's education. It is difficult to imagine how a chess club could violate the rules. Also, children participating in gymnastics or music is not a noxious or offensive activity. After talking with the HOA's lawyer, HSLDA has convinced them to leave the family alone. The family did supply a notarized statement describing their educational activities and explained that they are not commercial. The Covent homeschool has not been disrupted and the family is continuing to homeschool and host the group activities. Would RLUIPA apply to judicial enforcement of such a covenant running with the land? Cheers, Rick Duncan Rick Duncan Welpton Professor of Law University of Nebraska College of Law Lincoln, NE 68583-0902 "Merry Christmas--It's ok to say it." --Alliance Defense Fund Slogan "When the Round Table is broken every man must follow either Galahad or Mordred: middle things are gone." C.S.Lewis, Grand Miracle "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered." --The Prisoner ________________________________ Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/footer/shopping/*http:/shopping.yahoo.co m/;_ylc=X3oDMTE2bzVzaHJtBF9TAzk1OTQ5NjM2BHNlYwNtYWlsdGFnBHNsawNob2xpZGF5 LTA1%20%0d%0a> _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please no! te that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others. _______________________________________________ To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
