Home-schooling hid Calista's abuse

CENTREVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Calista Springer lay tethered to her bed by a dog collar while her siblings went off to school each morning.

For two years, Springer's parents claimed their eldest daughter was home-schooled, an assertion police now say was a ruse to hide child abuse.

That ruse came to a tragic end in February 2008, when fire swept through the Springer home, located across the street from the St. Joseph County Courthouse in downtown Centreville, a small town 35 miles south of Kalamazoo.

The 16-year-old died in the fire, unable to free herself from the strap that bound her to her bed.

"She could have looked out her bedroom window at the courtroom that could have saved her life," said a frustrated St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough. "She's a tragic example of how the system can be exploited."

Michigan has one of the most lenient home school laws in the nation, giving tens of thousands of families the freedom to teach their children in the manner they want without government interference. But timid and sporadic enforcement of the law's minimal requirements has been exploited by some unscrupulous parents hiding abuse or educational neglect.

Because the state is barred from collecting any data on home school students, it's impossible to know how many parents may be abusing the law or how well those students are doing academically.

"As long as home schooling is as lax as it is," said Charlotte Smith, a state Office of Children's Ombudsman intake officer, "it's an avenue for parents to hide abuse."

In 20 years, Michigan has moved from some of the most restrictive home school laws to among the most lenient. There are no instruction-time requirements, no curriculum standards, no minimum education level for the teachers and no testing.

That freedom has fueled an explosion of Michigan home schools, with an estimated 72,000 children now learning at home. No one knows the exact count, because state law bars officials from collecting records.

Home school advocates are quick to disassociate themselves from incidents like Calista's, saying those families were not home-schoolers if they weren't teaching their kids. They say such cases are extremely rare and shouldn't be used to alter home school laws.

"I'm not saying that one child's life isn't important, but you reach a point of diminishing returns," said Paulette Black, who taught her two children in their Kalamazoo County home. "Where is the effort and the dollars best spent to get the best results?"

Oakland Intermediate School District Superintendent Vickie Markavitch praises the majority of home-schoolers, but believes some claim to be home schooling to skirt legal actions. "It is possible for some unscrupulous parents to use home schooling to avoid truancy and disciplinary actions for their children,"
Markavitch said.

In the case of Calista, authorities believe home schooling was used as a way to avoid abuse complaints.

The Springer family moved to Centreville in 2003 when Calista was in fourth grade. School aides recall seeing bruises on the frail girl, who wore long-sleeve shirts and turtlenecks even in hot weather, according to testimony at the March preliminary examination of Calista's father, Anthony Springer, and stepmother, Marsha Springer. The couple is awaiting trial on charges of felony murder, first-degree child abuse and torture.

Aides kept a toothbrush, soap and shampoo at the school for Calista, who often wore the same clothes for a week at a time.

Several complaints were lodged against the Springers to Children's Protective Services. It's not known publicly whether Centreville school officials were the source of those complaints, because complainants are kept confidential.

What is known is school personnel, such as teachers, principals, counselors and nurses, are mandated by state law to report suspicions of abuse and neglect to the state agency. School officials turned in 13,287 complaints of suspected abuse and neglect statewide in 2007, the most recent year data is available.

Those complaints accounted for more than 30 percent of all complaints made to Children's Protective Services, more than from any other group.

After the Springers pulled Calista from public school in 2005, telling officials they were going to home school their daughter, the abuse complaints stopped.

The Springers didn't have to give a reason to pull Calista from school. Michigan is one of 10 states in which parents don't even have to tell the public schools that they're home schooling. Kids can study at a school desk one day and at their kitchen table the next.

Those children -- about one of every 25 school-age children in the state -- must be taught by their parent or legal guardian. The right of any parents to teach their children at home is a freedom guarded fiercely by home school advocates.

It is a benefit to thousands of people intensely invested in the education of their children, but also provides a shield for unscrupulous parents. No states bar parents from home schooling their children because of abuse or neglect investigations. In fact, only two states (Pennsylvania and Arkansas) bar convicted sex offenders from teaching their children at home.

Most states have other restrictions on home schools that likely would have prevented or halted Calista's home schooling. Eleven states require home schools to be taught by certified teachers; 40 states require a certain number of instruction hours per day; 22 require testing.

Pennsylvania requires in-home visits by home school inspectors, who talk to the children about their education.

A 2009 analysis of state home school policies conducted by Catherine Lugg, associate professor of education at Rutgers, and Andrea Rorrer, assistant professor of education at the University of Utah, found Michigan to have among the most permissive home school laws in the nation.

Those laws, while offering well-intentioned parents educational options for their children, "may unintentionally place (some) children at risk for poor educational outcomes, as well as endanger their well-being, in some instances," Lugg and Rorrer wrote.

One of the only requirements Michigan places on home schools is that children be provided "an organized educational program in the subject area of reading, spelling, math, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar."

That's an easy bar to pass for families actually providing an education to their children; the Michigan Department of Education and local school districts offer guidance to home-schoolers, and there are numerous online resources and support groups.

There were no school books or educational materials found in the Springer home after the fire, according to a source familiar with the criminal case against the parents.

"Home school played a role in Calista's death," said prosecutor McDonough. "They basically eliminated any person who could have reported abuse, and the justification was the home school law."

Legislators have not found a compromise to both protect those who might be abused and educational freedom.

"The Legislature should be able to reach some sort of middle ground, where everybody can agree (what) is in the best interest of the kids," McDonough said.

"We're not talking about parents who are educating their children -- we're talking about people taking advantage of the law to hide abuse."

Information from:

The Detroit News