Parental Rights and State Education

Wisconsin v. Yoder has injected new vitality into a complaint that has been smouldering for decades, that the balance between state control and parental control over the education of children has tipped too far in favor of the state. The thesis of this article is that this control is being returned to parents, but with one crucial difference: While the older cases found parental prerogatives in the interstices of statutes or in their purposeful interpretation, the re-establishment of these same prerogatives is being manifested on a constitutional basis, in the face of clearly drawn statutes. The article will examine several areas where this has occurred, a few where its occurrence is ripe, and will pause to reflect on the rights of the children as the state and the parents struggle for control over children and their education.