Parents have the right to homeschool their children even without a teaching credential, a state appeals court ruled Friday to the applause of conservative groups.
The ruling, made by the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, reverses a decision the court made in February that required parents to have a teaching credential if educating children at home, potentially threatening an estimated 166,000 homeschoolers in California.
"This is a great victory for homeschool freedom," said Michael Farris, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association.
HSLDA was one of many homeschool advocates and religious groups that protested the February ruling, which some called an "assault" on the family.
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, had told thousands listening to his radio broadcast at the time to make their voices heard against what he considered an egregious decision.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also denounced the ruling and had vowed to ensure the right to homeschool.
Praising Friday's decision, the California governor said, "I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Parents in California have traditionally been allowed to homeschool their children as long as they filed paperwork establishing themselves as private schools, hired credentialed tutors, or enrolled their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts.
But when Phillip and Mary Long, whose children were or had been enrolled at Sunland Christian School and taught at home, were accused of mistreating some of their eight children, lawyers representing the two youngest Long children asked the court to require them to attend a public or private school.
The court ruled that the family was violating state laws since Mary Long did not have a teaching credential and that Sunland officials' occasional monitoring of the Longs' teaching methods were insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school.
The Long family, Sunland Christian School, and others appealed the decision and the ruling was revisited with arguments heard in June.
The court, in its new decision, concluded that homeschools may constitute private schools but it added that the right of homeschoolinng can be overridden if a child's safety is at issue.
"Tens of thousands of California parents teaching over 166,000 homeschooled children are now breathing easier this afternoon," said Farris.
RSS
andremarcus, our son who is 28 now was also homeschooled and like you and your siblings he always scored in the top percentiles on the various achievement tests and in fact his Mom said she learned more math teaching him then she did the whole time she was in the public school system. She used mainly the Saxon Math curriculum. Plus socially he had no problems whatsoever in not only relating well to his peers but with adults as well and was often complimented for the maturity he showed for his age.
I am in the 10th grade and my 2 brothers and I have alawys been homeschooled and have never been to any other school both public or private. My brothers and I have all been tested many times and have out scored many of the public and private school students.
My mom does a great job at teaching us and we all love it. I am very happy to hear that parents can teach their kids without the state or the government trying to force them to do other wise.
Thank you chicago24 for your last post. I appreciate that your interest in the topic led you to research for further information and to post again. My hat is off to. To correct my possible miscommunication, I did not mean to imply that all homeschool children test at the 90th percentile, I just meant that in our specific case, they do. Although academic achievement is an important component, it is not most crucial. What is most crucial is answering God's call to do this. Trust and faithfulness in that call is what we are most dedicated to. God has blessed that faithfulness by growing too wonderful people who call us Mom and Dad. It doesn't get any better than that!
chicago24...you make an interesting statement since most home schooled children proform better on tests such as the SAT. The proform better in college. The unfortunate conclusion is that public schools staffed with teaching degree holding teachers are not educating children as well as a bunch of uneducated parents....
Many public schools here that don't want to provide services to special needs children actually suggest to parents to homeschool the kids!
tamusys: I'll be the first to admit when I'm wrong. I did some research and I was indeed surprised to see how well home-school kids did in comparison to public school students. (However, I never saw any stats indicating the top 90th percentile).
I'll admit, I jumped the gun on my last comment.
Chicago24, I registered to specifically respond to your comments. They were unfortunate. My wife and I have chosen to educate our children at home. We are following God’s call to raise people who will stand with Him against the ever-shifting tide of cultural standards in society, of which one is the belief that only people with a “teaching degree†can properly educate children.
Although they know the Lord, don’t buy into the latest “cultural†trends, test in the 90th percentile of all students tested in the country, are well-adjusted, well-spoken and engaging individuals, I know you are absolutely right that a person with a “teaching degree†would have done a much better job.
I am unsure if you did this just to invoke a response or if you really believe what you wrote, but either way, I am hopeful other readers will see your comments for what they really are.
The U.S. lags so far behind other developed countries when it comes to education. The last thing we need are our youth being "taught" by unqualified individuals (parents).
If any parent is so adament about home-schooling their kids, they SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A TEACHING DEGREE FIRST.
"The court, in its new decision, concluded that homeschools may constitute private schools but it added that the right of homeschoolinng can be overridden if a child's safety is at issue."
Why didn't they say that in the first place? :D
They finally have done something right! Praise God!