Students' Refusal To Take Tests Costs Parents Legal Custody

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Since 1997, George and Kim Bryant, of Waltham, have battled state officials over the legal ramifications of schooling their children at home.

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Parents Speak Out

NewsCenter 5's Jorge Quiroga reported that the dispute has reached a new level, with the Bryants refusing to allow their kids to take a standardized test, and the state declaring it has legal custody of the children.

"It does upset me, but I try not to think to much about it because I am still home," Nyssa Bryant, 13, said.

Nyssa knows her refusal to take standardized tests have cost her parents legal custody. Nyssa and her 15-year-old brother, George, are home-schooled, but the Waltham Public Schools and the Department of Social Services insist only a test can determine how much they know.

"They didn't give me a reason that was good enough for me to waste my time to take the tests," Nyssa said.

Her mother, Kim, agrees and insists her children's education is a private matter.

"We don't think we need approval to essentially rear our children as we have had since they were born," Kim Bryant said.

This legal battle is 6 years old. The Bryants insist standardized tests are unconstitutional. The tug of war led to a seven-hour standoff Thursday.

"I think I was threatened by DSS yesterday when the children refused to take the tests. She said she was very disappointed with them. She said parents should teach children to obey authority," Kim Bryant said.

DSS officials declined to comment beyond stating that although DSS has legal custody, the department is in no way looking to take the Bryant's children away from them.

All sides agree that the Bryants' children are in no way being abused mentally or physically but that the issue is being forced by the Waltham Public Schools. The superintendent also refused to comment.

"This is all about the law, about the Constitution of the commonwealth of Massachusetts and if that document is not law in this commonwealth, I don't know if I want to live here," Kim Bryant said.