Often politicians tend to focus on their lofty ideological philosophies, quite forgetting the effect those ideas would have back here on the ground. Such would seem to be the case in a bill by Constitution Party Rep. Rick Jore to abolish compulsory school attendance for Montana's children.

House Bill 404, heard in committee Monday, comes prefaced with a "whereas" list that fails to glance down from the clouds and check out the world as it really is.

The bill says that "the responsibility, both legally and before God, for the education of children lies with the parents and guardians, not with the state." It adds that there is no constitutional provision warranting compulsory attendance, and it asserts such attendance laws "are doubtful contributors" to the literacy rate anyway.

This collection of philosophical positions, high sounding as it may be, ignores the inconvenient fact that all too many parents are really bad at their job.

As Bud Williams, deputy superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction, told the House Education Committee, "the right to an education belongs to a child." When neglectful parents are too ignorant, too irresponsible, or just too drugged out to make sure their children show up for school in the morning, their kids are in danger of falling through the cracks. Who is going to catch them if not the schools?

Compulsory attendance, be it at public schools or in private or home-school settings, does not exist to tweak the ire of political extremists. It's there for the children, and thank God for that.