Homeschooling is banned in California

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

Homeschooling Is Not Illegal In California!!!!!!

If by that you mean that the law against it has not yet been made effective, I agree. The law does ban homeschooling, but as I said in my original post, it is being strongly contested.

If you mean that the law itself can't harm homeschoolers in California, you're wrong.

Here's a quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger on this matter:

"Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," said Schwarzenegger. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights, then as elected officials, we will."

Is it your belief that our governor, and the lawyers who review his public statements before he makes them, were confused when they fashioned his statement that this law must be overturned, and that the ruling attacks parental rights?

Here's another statement from the governor's office about what the new law does. "All children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full-time until graduation from high school or be tutored at home by a credentialed teacher."

Do you disagree with the governor's office about what the law means for homeschoolers? If so, on what grounds?

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

And don't sign the petition.

The petition seeks to get a depublishing from the Supreme Court of the judge's opinion you mentioned. That will be a big step in removing the threat posed by this law.
QUOTE=sisterandcousinandaunt;606432]There was ONE judge's opinion in an appellate court that read the law a particular way. Besides the fact that every homeschooling group in the state has lawyers looking at this, the State Superintendent of Schools has made a statement on the issue.[/quote]
Yes, I said that this law is being strongly contested in my original post . Thanks for agreeing with me, though.

The current State Superintendent's statement is very supportive for homeschoolers. It does not eliminate the threat posed by this law, however. It would be wrong to allow ourselves to think that we need to do nothing, simply because we have legal defenders and people involved in the education system who are clashing with this thing.

You may consider HSLDA "pesky," but for my family and thousands of others in California, it is a crucial legal defense protecting us against lawsuits.

Originally Posted by HSLDA.org

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell comes to the defense of homeschool families. “The California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to homeschool in this state,” he said.

After the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles ruled on February 28 that parents had to be credentialed teachers to educate their own children, the statement from O’Connell is encouraging news for the homeschool community.

“O’Connell has it right,” said Michael Farris, Chairman of HSLDA. “But the court decision must still be overturned before homeschool freedom can be restored in California.”

The Court of Appeal ruling shocked the homeschool community because in one sweeping decision it effectively outlawed homeschooling.

“We hope the statement from O’Connell puts the brakes on any enforcement action,” said Farris.

HSLDA will be pursuing several legal options, including seeking review by the California Supreme Court and petitioning the same court to depublish the opinion in order to return California to being a state where a family can legally homeschool in California without fear.

“We have just started the legal battle to restore homeschool freedom in California,” said Farris.

Summary of Court of Appeal Ruling

On February 28, 2008, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles handed down a very bad decision regarding a case involving a homeschool family.

HSLDA was not involved with this case, and the family are not members.

The opinion holds that homeschooling is not a legal option in California. HSLDA strongly disputes this interpretation of California law. We believe that the court made a mistake when it relied on a decision from 1953 in order to show that homeschooling is not a legal option.

If the opinion is followed then California will have the most regressive law in the nation and homeschooling will be effectively banned because the only legal way to homeschool will be for the parent to hold a teaching certificate. Parents should not have to attend a four year college education program just to teach their own children.

California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home.

In response, HSLDA believes that the best course of action is to petition the California Supreme Court to depublish the opinion. If the opinion is depublished then this ruling can not be used against every homeschooling family in California.

Originally Posted by sisterandcousinandaunt

And the people IN this particular case (as I am continually constrained to point out) are probably really BAD people, whose behavior towards their children ought to be of concern to every citizen, involved in homeschooling or not. It's no wonder the court was unimpressed (and they didn't even appear).

I don't know enough about the family involved in this particular case. The little I have heard on the radio about them causes me to lean toward agreeing with you about them. The big problem is that the laws made regarding their case were extended to all homeschoolers in California.