November 01, 2015 - 5:13 PM
EDMONTON - An Alberta home-schooling association has cancelled an appearance by a controversial reality TV couple at its annual convention next year.
Alberta Home Education Association president Paul van den Bosch says in a news release that recent feedback from members suggests the planned speeches by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar "would not be in the best interests of home educators."
The Duggars' show "19 Kids and Counting" chronicled the life of the American religious couple and their home-schooled children.
But the TLC program was pulled earlier this year after revelations that their oldest child had fondled four of his sisters and a family babysitter when he was a teenager.
The association says its members pointed out the Duggars would have been just a small part of the convention in Red Deer next April and that their philosophy is not representative of association as a whole.
It says a previously scheduled speaker, Chris Butler of the RCMP, will still be presenting his session on preventing child abuse.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015