In late 2011 Heather Moody became involved in a divorce case where her parental rights as a mother were essentially being ignored because she homeschooled her children.
Her estranged husband told Heather and her sister that his wealthy parents “owned the courthouse” in their small community in Milam County and that his legal team would rip Heather to pieces. During testimony, witnesses were brought forward to argue that Heather shouldn’t be allowed to keep her children because she chose to homeschool them.
Witnesses further alleged that the children were too naive for their age and that homeschooling had made the children become isolated. The judge issued temporary orders that effectively removed Heather’s children from her and placed them with her husband, whom the judge deemed was more “stable.” This action flew in the face of reason, since the father’s work removed him from the home for 2-3 weeks every month.
Just when it appeared that Heather’s chances of keeping her children were dismal at best, she contacted our team in the spring of 2012. Heather, along with her attorneys, explained her situation to us in great detail, and we took her case when we determined that homeschooling was the reason behind her opponent’s arguments and the judge’s decisions.
Almost immediately Heather’s fortunes began changing. A large number of other homeschoolers came to Heather’s next hearing to hold the judge accountable; emails and prayers went out throughout the state; and we began raising funds to help Heather with her legal expenses.
Our team opposed the judge in his November reelection and threw its full support behind his judicial opponent. Additionally, our team publicized the actions of the judge and the homeschool opponents through multiple media outlets, including radio, video, social media and blogs.
Finally, in November of 2012 Heather’s opponents could no longer take the pressure and agreed to come to terms and settle out of court. Heather and her estranged husband came to a custody arrangement that was agreeable to both of them, and today Heather can enjoy her parental rights as a fit mother.
Thanks to the support and prayers of many, our team was able to clearly establish in the community of Milam County that homeschooling is a viable educational alternative and that homeschooling can’t be construed as “evidence” of being an unfit parent.