State v. Davis

In my view the convictions should be affirmed on one of two grounds: (1) that home instruction is an exception to compulsory school attendance under § 167.031; that it is not an essential part of the offense, and the burden of showing it should be on defendants; or (2) that even if home instruction is not an exception, the burden of showing that it was given should be on the parents as the state should not have to prove a negative averment peculiarly within defendants’ knowledge.

The emphasis § 167.031 and its companion sections put on school attendance convince me that any other type of…