A mom took her kids from school after too many CPS reports. There's no law to prevent that. Michigan is one of 11 states that does not require any contact with state or local education officials during home schooling

Kara Berg | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption How to report child abuse According to most recent CDC statistics, an estimated 1 in 4 children in America experience maltreatment at some point in their lives. Here is what to do if you suspect child abuse and how to report it.

As the Child Protective Services complaints began to pile up, Sarah Conde decided she was done with public schools, according to court records.

The 28-year-old Lansing woman took her five young children out of school and began to home-school them instead, her husband, Yenier Conde, told CPS investigators as the court pondered whether to take their children away.

The children had no access to teachers, counselors or anyone else who would be a mandatory reporter of child abuse. Their parents locked them in what police described as a dungeon-like room for hours without food or water and beat them, charges allege. CPS investigators said the Condes stopped taking one child to see his cancer doctors.

Sarah and Yenier Conde, 32 of Lansing, were charged with 10 counts of each of first- and second-degree child abuse and one count of unlawful imprisonment.

The children, now ages 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11, were put into foster care after the full extent of the abuse was discovered in 2017. Joseph Brehler III, Sarah's attorney, declined to comment. Mark Kamar, Yenier's attorney, did not respond for comment.

If home schooling laws in the state had been stricter, the kids may have been able to get help earlier, said Bethany Patterson, a research volunteer with the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.

“It’s a fabulous way to educate kids, but we want to close the loopholes that allow kids to be abused,” Patterson said.

Michigan is one of 11 states that does not require any contact with state or local education officials during home schooling, according to the coalition. This allows families to pull their kids out of school without notifying anyone but their local district.

A parent or legal guardian can home-school a child as long as they teach the children reading, spelling, math, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar, according to Michigan law. There is not, however, any mandated reporting requirements, academic testing or check-ins to ensure children are learning what they need to.

“If there were yearly notifications, the kids wouldn’t disappear,” Patterson said.

A psychiatrist and psychologist who evaluated the Conde children said all five suffered serious psychological abuse and had thought and mood disorders, according to a CPS petition to terminate the Condes parental rights.

Although many home schooling families do a great job, there’s a lot of room for children to slip through the cracks, Patterson said.

“If there already are allegations of abuse, the likelihood of that home-schooled kid being abused is exponential,” Patterson said. “Home schooling is specifically an avenue to continue that.”

In 2015, Michigan home schooling laws came under scrutiny after two Detroit children were found dead in a freezer after they had been taken out of public school to be home-schooled.

Legislation proposed by state Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, would have required home-schooled children to meet twice a year with a physician, licensed social worker, school counselor or teacher or a variety of other outside parties who could evaluate the child’s health.

The bill also would have required parents to tell the school district each year that they planned to continue home schooling their child.

The bill never made it out of a House committee. And in the Senate, Republican Sen. Phil Pavlov, who chaired the Senate Education Committee, wrote an open letter suggesting that the children's tragic deaths were being used "to impose new regulations on loving, committed, and law-abiding Michigan families" who home school. At the time, Pavlov pledged that the bill would not get a hearing in his committee.

Since then, no legislation on home-school regulation has been proposed in Michigan, said Ellen Heinitz, Chang's legislative director. Chang was not available for comment Monday.

The Condes’ abuse and neglect is documented in Child Protective Services reports as far back as April 2009. CPS was called twice that year, once for improper supervision and once for physical neglect.

CPS was called on the family at least 10 more times before the children were removed from the Condes' care in 2017. In November 2013, CPS investigators found a "preponderance of evidence" that Sarah and Yenier Conde physically neglected the children, according to CPS records.

Families with an existing record of abuse allegations need extra monitoring, Patterson said. Only two states, Pennsylvania and Arkansas, place any regulations on home schooling if a household member has a criminal history involving sex assault, child abuse or several other violent offenses.

Although the Condes’ case is extreme, Patterson said she believes more regulation is needed across the board.

Regardless of the child’s situation, they should have to meet in person with an outside party who can evaluate the child’s education level and physical health.

“The abuse would have been visible, in this case,” Patterson said. “In a lot of abuse cases there is significant malnourishment. It would have been able to be seen.”

Sarah and Yenier Conde's case is still pending in Ingham County. The couple has a preliminary hearing scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Ingham County District Court.

Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.