Home-school ban in Sweden forces families to mull leaving

By Michal Elseth
Sunday, July 18, 2010

A small change in Sweden's schooling law is about to make a big difference for Swedish home-schooling families, potentially causing them to flee to other countries or bring cases to international courts to protect religious and parental rights in the socialist country.

The Swedish Liberal Party pushed a new 1,500-page schooling law through last month one paragraph of which will make home schooling as an expression of religion or philosophy effectively impossible for Swedish families, other than in "exceptional circumstances" such as health issues or distance from a public school. The law also severely restricts religious practice in Sweden's "confessional" schools.

Sweden's officials defend the home-school ban, which takes effect next July, saying home schooling is unnecessary since the state provides a "comprehensive and objective" education.

This is exactly the problem, said Christopher Barnekov, director of Scandinavia House in Fort Wayne, Ind., an assistance program for Swedish Lutheran pastors studying in the U.S. the rest