California Homeschool
Legal Challenge
Homefires Legal News
Here are the latest news stories provided by sources other than Homefires to help
you stay up-to-date on this important case that challenges the legality of homeschooling
in California.
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Homeschooling - pro and con
Of the more than 1,200 comments that had poured onto SFGate by Friday afternoon, the vast majority echoed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's view of the state appeals court ruling.
There were numerous voices of skepticism about homeschooling, but what also came through was what many perceive as the failures of public education.
by Reader's Platform
Loss of Parental Rights in California...Can it Happen Here?
A three judge panel in a California Second District appeals court ruled parent run homeschooling unconstitutional if the parent does not have teaching credentials.
Thousands of families in California home school their children, and they could be prosecuted if this ruling stands. Parents all over California are protesting this ruling and it's gotten the attention of many groups including the Home School Legal Defense Association and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out against this ruling.
by Dawn Meisenheimer Lewis
Governor vows to protect homeschooling
Schwarzenegger denounced a state appeals court ruling that severely restricts homeschooling and promised Friday to change the law if necessary to guarantee that parents are able to educate their children at home.
"Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," Schwarzenegger said in response to the ruling, which said children educated at home must be taught by a credentialed teacher.
by Jill Tucker and Bob Egelko
NHELD addresses In Re Rachael L. | California Appellate Court Ruling
In this case, a California court did offer an opinion about the rights of a family to homeschool. In this indepth article, Attorney Deborah Stevenson takes us step-by-step through the court process, the ruling and what it means to homeschoolers.
There is no specific language in the United States Constitution that provides parents with a fundamental "right" to the upbringing and education of their children. The U.S. Constitution is a document limiting the powers of the federal government. It does not grant rights to individuals.
by Attorney Deborah Stevenson
Home-schooling parents say court case goes too far
TAMARA MARKWICK believes in Marin's schools. She's proud of the education she received, from her first day at Coleman Elementary School in San Rafael to her graduation from Dominican University.
And yet Markwick says she would rather leave the county - or even the state of California - than give up the right to educate her children at home. "We're passionate about what we do," said Markwick, moderator of Marin Homeschool Families.
by Rob Rogers
The facts about homeschoolers
A study titled "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America" found that, on average, homeschooled children scored 30 to 37 points higher than public school students. The study consisted of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families.
Recent statistics indicate that public schools spend an average of $8,701 per student. If half of that money comes from the federal and state governments, then a school misses out on $4,305.50, per child, when a kid is taught at home. In the case of California's estimated 166,000 homeschooled population that comes to $7,221,000. That, my friends, is a significant chunk of government change.
by Kelly Boggs
"Parents may legally teach their own children"
Response to state appellate court decision declaring homeschooling unlawful
(The following letter was sent via email to members of the Home School Legal Defense Association on March 6.) HSLDA will file an amicus brief on behalf of our 13,500 member families in California.
by J. Michael Smith
Homeschoolers' setback sends shock waves through state
"At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " said homeschool parent Loren Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active with a homeschool association.
"Then there was a little bit of fear. I think it has moved now into indignation." ...Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
by Bob Egelko and Jill Tucker
Calif. Court Cracks Down on Homeschoolers
Justice H. Walter Croskey is a Nazi... his decision has NO basis in substance and flies in the face of liberty.
"The issue is that this Judge has crossed the line in his administration of his sworn duties as a Justice. He has abused his power. Justice Walter Croskey needs to be held accountable by disbarment and impeachment..."
Calif. home schoolers advised to ignore court ruling ... for now
Conservative activist Randy Thomasson is urging a home-schooling family in California not to appeal a state appellate court ruling that declares home schooling illegal.
At the same time, he is urging home-schooling families in the Golden State to ignore the ruling. "This is a fire-breathing dragon, a roaring lion -- but you know what? It doesn't have to be paid attention to," Thomasson remarks.
by Jim Brown
Homeschooling targeted in California
In a blow to homeschooling families in California, a state appeals court ruled Feb. 28 that parents without teaching credentials do not have a "constitutional right" to home-school their children.
The ruling resulted from a social-service investigation involving a homeschooling family in Los Angeles County. While it doesn't appear enforcement of the decree will be widespread or imminent-and an appeal is already in the works-the surprise ruling has still rattled the homeschooling community.
by Kristin Chapman
Educational Freedom Under Attack
As many PowerBlog readers will be aware, homeschooling is an educational choice that increasing numbers of parents are making.
Once a fringe activity operating under the radar of the law, over the course of the last 30 years it has practically gone mainstream. No one has precise numbers (the government can't track them!), but everyone agrees that the number of homeschooled children in the US has long passed the one million mark.
by Kevin Schmiesing
Soviet Republic of California: Teaching Credential Required to Home School Children
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denounced a state appeals court ruling that severely restricts homeschooling and promised Friday to change the law if necessary to guarantee that parents are able to educate their children at home.
"Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education," Schwarzenegger said. "This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."
California Schools: A Tough Nut To Crack | The News is NowPublic.com
What's most shocking about the California state appellate court ruling that says parents that homeschool their children must have teaching credentials is the wording that goes with the decision.
Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote in a Feb. 28 opinion signed by the two other members of the district court: "Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children." What the heck? It's amazing how liberals are so opposed to big-brotherism, yet often have rulings and ideas that would lead to nothing but such.
by Alexander
Schwarzenegger denounces 'outrageous' homeschooling ruling
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised today to ensure that parents have the right to homeschool their children, after a state appeals court ruling severely restricted the practice in California.
"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," the governor said in a statement. "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."
by Jill Tucker and Bob Egelko
Uproar over rule on home schools
Judge's requirement of a teaching credential doesn't affect many valley families
"We don't see this ruling as having any impact on any type of public school," said Gary Larson, spokesman for the California Charter Schools Association. Charter schools are public schools. But the Feb. 28 ruling from the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles is sending shock waves through many families of the nearly 250,000 home-schooled students throughout California.
by Garth Stapley
Home-school ruling has little effect here
A state court ruling that parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children won't affect such instruction in the Yuba-Sutter area, parents and educators here say.
"We haven't heard anything that would say we need to change what we're currently doing," Gay Todd, superintendent of the Marysville Joint Unified School District, said Thursday.
by Ryan McCarthy
Sunland Christian School administrator weighs in on CA home-school ruling
The administrator of a Christian school in California says it's time for concerned parents to stand against judicial activism before parental rights are irreparably damaged.
Terry Neven, Sunland Christian School administrator, says an appeal is in the works. And although he does not believe the ruling will stand, Neven says the implications could be widespread."
by Allie Martin
A Bolt From the Blue -- A Homeschooling Decision in California
Like a bolt from the blue, a California appeals court has ruled that the state's parents have no constitutional right to homeschool their own children.
In a flash, a child welfare case that no one had noticed has become a flash point of controversy in the nation. Will homeschooling be ruled illegal in California?
by Albert Mohler
Criminalizing Home Schoolers
A child-abuse lawsuit ruling may have created a horde of truants in California, affecting as many as 200,000 children
"It's kind of scary," says Julie Beth Lamb, an Oakdale, California, parent who, with no teaching credentials, has taught her four children for 15 years. "If that ruling is held up, this would make us one of the most restrictive states in the nation."
by Kristin Kloberdanz
CA Court Rules No Homeschooling
A California appeals court rules that only parents who hold teaching credentials can legally homeschool their children.
The appeals court said the state law on education has been clear since 1953, when another appellate court rejected a separate challenge by parents.
Home-schooling ruling could affect thousands
After treating patients for 15 years, Kathy Adams Morgan hung up her stethoscope to educate her daughter full time at their Point Loma home.
Eight years later, Morgan has no regrets. At 13, Jenny scores high on standardized tests and balances academics with organized sports. But according to a recent state appellate court ruling, it is illegal for Morgan - and the thousands of California parents who home-school their children.
by Maureen Magee
HSLDA: No reason for California homeschoolers to panic -- yet
An attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association says he's confident a California appeals court ruling -- declaring home schooling illegal in the state -- will be reversed.
Jim Mason, senior counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), says the ruling completely misinterprets the California statutory law under which home schoolers have been home schooling without incident for 40 years. And Mason says there is another viable alternative to appealing the ruling to the California Supreme Court.
by Jim Brown
Court says home-schoolers need teaching credentials
Henry Cate is a software engineer and blogger. And a teacher. His students? His three daughters. Their classroom is the family's Santa Clara home. And he and his co-teacher and wife, Janine, say it's worked out beautifully.
But if a new appellate court ruling sticks, the Cates will have to go back to school to get a teaching credential if they want to keep home-schooling Ellen, 7, Madelyn, 11, and Claire, 13. The ruling has angered and confused tens of thousands of parents who are part of the state's vast and diverse home-schooling community.
by Dana Hull and Sharon Noguchi
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complete chronological list of updates to this case click here.
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