In the Interest of B.B.

LAVORATO, Justice.

At issue here is whether a mildly mentally retarded child should be adjudged a child in need of assistance within the meaning of Iowa Code chapter 232 because of his parents’ refusal to send him to school. The juvenile court referee dismissed a CHINA petition, holding that the child was not in need of assistance and that the compulsory education statutes provided the State’s only remedy. The district court affirmed the referee’s decision. We reverse and remand with directions.

I. Barry, the child, is an eleven-year-old Native American who lives with his family at the…