Posted on 03/05/2008 4:16:01 PM PST by wagglebee
LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Thousands of homeschoolers in California are left in legal limbo by an appeals court ruling that homeschooling is not a legal option in the state and that a family who has homeschooled all their children for years must enrol their two youngest in state or private schools. Justice H. Walter Croskey in a written opinion said, "California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children."
The sweeping February 29th ruling says that California law requires "persons between the ages of six and eighteen" to be in "public full-time day school," or a "private full-time day school" or "instructed by a tutor who holds a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught".
The two youngest of Phillip and Mary Long's eight children must be enrolled in a state approved school. Phillip Long told WorldNetDaily, "We just don't want them teaching our children. They teach things that are totally contrary to what we believe. They put questions in our children's minds we don't feel they're ready for."
Mr. Long cited the state curriculum's inclusion of sex education, including its promotion of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle. "When they are much more mature, they can deal with these issues, alternative lifestyles, and such, or whether they came from primordial slop. At the present time it's my job to teach them the correct way of thinking," he said.
The Los Angeles-area family was targeted by Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services after one of the children reported "physical and emotional mistreatment by the children's father," according to documents submitted to the court.
The 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles agreed with the trial court decision that had found, "keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where they could interact with people outside the family".
"There are people who could provide help if something is amiss in the children's lives, and they could develop emotionally in a broader world than the parents' 'cloistered' setting," the ruling said.
Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), said in a March 3 statement that the organization "strongly disputes this interpretation of California law" and is studying the decision.
The group called the ruling "a very bad decision" saying, "the opinion holds that homeschooling is not a legal option in California."
"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."
Smith added, "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."
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Back to School: Organization Gives Reasons to Consider Homeschooling
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082407.html
Home Schoolers Concerned Over New Ontario Compulsory Attendance Law
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/feb/06020301.html
Three More Families Appeal for Help as Germany Continues Crackdown on Homeschooling Families
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/apr/07041609.html
And BTW, McCain and his supporters are also radically to left. so were all of our candidates except for Congressman Hunter. The truth is that there are very few conservatives alive now. Iran continues to build nuclear weapons, while we appease it for the sake of products from our communist slaves in China and elsewhere (freight fuel prices, the dollar,...)—slaves who will probably pull the rug out from under us before long.
This was a state court...a federal appeal will overturn it quickly. Sounds like a judge in the pocket of the unions, again.
It was pointed out to you on another thread, and I will reiterate again for you.
If abuse is the problem, then deal with the abuse.
This judge’s ruling was entirely directed at HOMESCHOOLING and this is completely inappropriate.
In 1933 the Jews in Germany didn’t have the informational weapons available to us now.
If the DummKooks can Google-Earth the VP’s house, we can d@mned well do the same to their own minions and nobody but nobody gets to function in a vacumm anymore.
This is a crock. At the least if the govt requires your kids to attend a public or private school and no homeschooling, they should pay for it. Vouchers for those choosing to attend private schools equal to at least what it costs per student for public schools. Break the darn union.
How do you deal with the compulsory attendance laws?
This looks like it could be an update. If not, sorry for the extra ping but this situation is really worth keeping an eye on. I'd hate to miss something new.
This whole thing could be a red herring.
Don’t judges in Kalifornia have to run for election???
Organize and remember that revenge is a dish best served cold.
There is an option if this get upheld by the state Supreme Court- move away. A whole lot of former Californians have already done this.
Not if you want to indoctrinate children into the joys of communism.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
True, but we are not friendless, HSLDA, ACLU, PJI, etc.
I'd leave my state rather than put my boys back in public schools.
One HS mom I know isn’t a Christian and told me she didn’t belong to HSDLDA because she didn’t agree with their religious and socially conservative beliefs. I thought, but didn’t say, how short-sighted is that!!
I'm not sure quite why you're taking such a nasty tone. It seems we agree.
If you'll read my post again, I said
That said, it looks as though the court was worried about a lack of an external support system for these children in case of abuse, and has tarred all homeschoolers with the same brush.
Most people with decent reading comprehension would understand that I was saying that the judge, rather than acting to protect these specific children, instead acted against all homeschoolers.
Quite likely since the reporting isn't even accurate.
Great. Do you see this ruling as a threat to your current situation?
One of the strengths homeschoolers have is that most people who don't homeschool are unaware of how organized and networked homeschoolers are. An anti-homeschooling NJ assemblywoman got a nasty surprise when she tried to pull a fast one on the last day of the legislative session. Families overflowed the parking lot, swarmed over the statehouse . . . Her bill did not pass.
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