Jim Mason | Ep. 038

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About this Episode

You’ll enjoy getting to know Jim Mason, President of HSLDA, in this two-part discussion with Zan. Jim joined HSLDA in 2001 to lead the litigation team after taking a fascinating and circuitous journey to becoming an attorney … from going to college to serving as an officer in the Navy, from stacking Christmas trees to working in construction while he and his wife Debbie started their family. The Masons homeschooled their seven children through high school.

Meet My Guest

Since joining HSLDA to lead the litigation team in 2001, Jim has represented homeschooling families in a wide range of challenging situations and has set precedents that have expanded freedom for the homeschool community. Under Jim’s leadership, HSLDA’s 4th Amendment litigation work has changed the way three states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico) approach social services investigations. In Wilson v Russo, HSLDA won a $700,000 settlement for our client, a single parent whose children were wrongfully seized by a rogue child protective services investigator. Jim was instrumental in litigating the 2008 California case Jonathan L., in which a state appellate court reversed its previous ruling that homeschooling was illegal. This put an end to years of controversy over the legal status of homeschooling in California and set a precedent that affects other states as well.

Jim became the president of HSLDA in 2022 after serving as vice president of litigation and development for seven years. In addition to penning many of the most popular articles in HSLDA’s Home School Court Report magazine, Jim has written columns for National Review, Newsmax, the Sacramento Bee, and the Press-Enterprise (Riverside, California). Jim also serves as the president of HSLDA Action and board chairman of ParentalRights.org and ParentalRightsFoundation.org. Before coming to HSLDA, Jim represented numerous right-to-life groups in campaign finance cases and clerked for an appellate court judge in Oregon. He graduated with highest honors from Regent University School of Law in 1996. Jim is a veteran of the US Navy and served on active duty in Operation Desert Storm.

Jim and his wife Debbie live in Stephenson, Virginia. They have seven children and five grandchildren. The Masons homeschooled all of their children through high school. In his spare time, Jim is an avid bird watcher.

https://hslda.org/homeschool-talks

Mentioned in this Episode

HSLDA, hslda.org

Podcast Sponsor

At BJU Press Homeschool, we’re committed to providing children an education from a biblical worldview that is academically sound and challenges them to advance, think critically, and live like Christ. This type of education is not often possible in public schools because of the number of children taught in a classroom, a difference in worldview, and peer and societal pressure to conform. Homeschooling allows parents to instruct and disciple their children without daily fighting messages from an opposing worldview taught in the classroom. And with tuition costs and fees for private schooling or tutoring, homeschooling may be the only option for parents who are concerned for their children’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
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