The constitution for the state of Rhode Island provided that all children under the age of 16 were required to attend school until such time as they had mastered specific skills as determined by the Rhode Island state legislature. John and Carrie were members of a religious organization that did not permit the children of its members to attend school in the traditional classroom setting. Instead education under their religious beliefs consisted of studying nature and understanding human interaction through observation. When local officials discovered that John and Carrie were not sending their eight-year-old son, Duncan, to any recognized public or private school, they brought an action against John and Carrie seeking a court order compelling them to send Duncan to any state-approved school. The trial court rules in favor of the local officials and issues an order compelling John and Carrie to enroll Duncan in a state-approved school.John and Carrie appealed the order to the highest Rhode Island appellate court claiming that the court order violated the First Amendment of the Rhode Island state constitution and United States Constitution that both protected freedom of religion. In its opinion, the Rhode Island Supreme Court stated “the right of the people to practice their religious beliefs is one of the fundamental rights implicit in the nature of a free society. However, that right must be balanced against the rights of society to insure that all of its children are given a fair opportunity to achieve their potential. When we read the cases interpreting our own state constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion and the federal cases interpreting the freedom of religion guarantee under the federal constitution we must find for the appellants.”

The state of Rhode Island appeals the decision to the appropriate federal court. Will the case be heard?