California Home-Schooling Ruling Called 'Assault on Family'

CNSNews.com ^ | March 10, 2008 | Randy Hall

[Man50D]

A ruling by a California appeals court that parents "do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children" drew harsh criticism from religious conservatives on Friday, one of whom said the decision makes tens of thousands of parents into criminals - "the equivalent to drug dealers or pick-pockets."

"The court is guilty of an imperious assault on the rights of parents," James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, said in a press release responding to a three-judge panel from the 2nd District Court of Appeals, which ruled on Feb. 28 that parents without teaching credentials cannot home-school their children.

"How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents as criminals - the equivalent to drug dealers or pick-pockets - because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values?" Dobson asked.

At the center of the case is a Southern California couple, Phillip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who home-schooled their children through a program at the Sunland Christian School in Sylmar. The family came to the attention of Los Angeles County social workers when one of the children claimed the father was physically abusive.

The workers then learned that all eight children in the family were home-schooled, and an attorney representing the two youngest children asked the Juvenile Dependency Court to order that they be enrolled in public or private school to protect their well-being.

[wintertime]

Softballmom,

Homeschoolers far outshine those institutionalized in government schools. This is true for **every** area, including math! The U.S. Government own stats reveal this. The differences between black homeschoolers and black government schooled children is especially sad.

These stats are from 2001. I am willing to bet that the gap between homeschoolers and those institutionalized in government schools has increased.

Wintertime
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

http://www.todays-learners.com/homeschool-facts.html

Minority Performance
Home school - average reading score (white) - 87 percentile; Public school - average reading score (white) - 61 percentile

Home school - average reading score (minority) - 87 percentile; Public school - average reading score (minority) -49 percent

Home school - average math score (white) - 82 percentile; Public school - average math score (white) - 60 percentile

Home school - average math score (minority) - 77 percentile; Public school - average math score (minority) - 50 percentile

For data above reference Brian D. Ray, PhD, Home Schooling on the Threshold (NHERI Publications, PO Box 13939, Salem, OR 97309), and HSLDA, Home Education Across the USA (HSLDA, 17333 Pickwick Dr., Purcellville, VA 20132), and HSLDA, Home Schooling Works, Pass it on! Rudner Report, (HSLDA, 17333 Pickwick Dr., Purcellville, VA 20132).

“The average SAT score for home schoolers in 2000 was 1100, compared with 1019 for the general population. And a large study by University of Maryland education researcher Lawrence Rudner showed that the average home schooler scored in the 75th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills; the 50th percentile marked the national average.”

These facts were excerpted from the United States Department of Education Study, summer 2001. http://nces.ed.gov/

[llmc1]

Thanks for the info.

[wintertime]

You are welcome.

I have placed this link in my favorites for the next time a government school defender refuses to accept the superiority of homeschooling achievement.

[shag377]

FYI:

I have looked all over the place and with the exception of the solitary link that so many are returning to, there is no empirical evidence that I can find supporting the homeschool vs public school issue.

Of course, there are some out there that will skew numbers to themselves to make something look better than what it is, but that is what you get when you play the statistics game.

And I have a feeling that even if I found evidence, that is not enough proof or would consequently be ignored.

Oh well. I have work to do.