California Court Rules Homeschooling Illegal

LifeSiteNews.com ^ | 3-4-08 | edcoil

[edcoil]

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".

[r9etb]

You didn’t read the actual opinion, did you?

[SoftballMominVA]

My experience is that WND, like every other news source, is not interesting is accurate reporting, but in increasing revenue through evidence of readership. More hits = more exposure = higher costs for advertisements = more $$ for owners. Accuracy is the proverbial blind pig finding his daily acorn. Accuracy happens, it just isn’t always planned.

[Antoninus]

You didn’t read the actual opinion, did you?

I read enough of it. Any decision that says that the government has the final say in how parents educate their kids is unjust and should be overturned.

[Dark Wing]

This is going to make the life of your California educators miserable.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Maybe we should sell Cubafornia to Germany. The Germans banned homeschooling decades ago.

[r9etb]

In other words, you didn't read the opinion, but nevertheless reserve the right to be against whatever you think it might have said.

And you're proud of that?

[Antoninus]

In other words, you didn't read the opinion, but nevertheless reserve the right to be against whatever you think it might have said.

I said I read enough of it to know what it's about and what this judge is trying to achieve here.

The fact that you're on here attacking those who are criticizing this atrocity tells me all I need to know about where you stand.

[TruthConquers]

I believe I have.

Have you read all the cases that pertain to homeschooling in California?

If you say you have, perhaps we could have a real conversation.

[SwinneySwitch]

The state of Texas tried to regulate home schools back in 1986.

Thousands of parents stormed the state capital in what was called the “Austin TEA Party”!

Read: A Home School History Lesson

http://www.thsc.org/about_us/hs_history_lesson.asp

(Public schools should be made illegal!)

[r9etb]

The fact that you're on here attacking those who are criticizing this atrocity tells me all I need to know about where you stand.

You obviously don't know where I stand on the matter.

I was merely remarking on the legal reasoning in the opinion. Had you read it -- which you clearly have not -- you would have noticed that the court relied on a) the California constitution; b) California law; and c) two seminal rulings with regard to California law.

Your real argument is with the California statutes that govern the educational options for kids in that state. It's rather interesting that you should deride a judge for ruling on what appears to be a strict reading of the law as written.

[r9etb]

Are you saying that the court in this opinion is mis-stating California law?

[afnamvet]

A link to the ruling. I think that this article misrepresents it...

Thank you for providing the link to this ruling. I would propose that if other FReepers would actually read the ruling, it would minimize bashing outbursts and gnashing of teeth.

[Originalist]

Hey, all that fighting tyranny in Kalifornia has worked so far.

Keep at it, maybe you guys can export Swarzenegarian "Conservatism" to the rest of the Union.

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses...

[Originalist]

If it hits Arkansas, I'll move my family back to Texas.

I won't have to worry about it there...

[Originalist]

A wee bit melodramatic, aren’t we?

[JenB]

I read the opinion, and the “unpublished findings” that explain the situation. It sounded like pretty horrendous child abuse. However, the judge ruled that parents in California are not allowed to use the state’s laws for private school to cover homeschooling.

I believe that most homeschoolers in CA use the private school laws because A there are no homeschool laws per se and B it’s been settled in courts and such before that they should do that. This judge has now put pretty much every homeschool family in CA in danger.

[TruthConquers]

The judge in this case overlooked already settled case law that allows for homeschooling. The judge cherry picked which law to use in his opinion. He ignored other laws.

If you consider leaving out cases that, if included, would make your opinion worthless, yes.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Bump to the top because this may well be one MAJOR court decision.

[TruthConquers]

Yes, in California, most homeschoolers use the private school laws. So do the private schools! And the ISP’s are using the private school laws as well. Any homeschooler is using the private school laws. The ISP’s file the R-4 for the entire school. I file by myself in October every year and have done so from the beginning. The private school laws are what any homeschooler is using to homeschool. But so are the private schools as well.

[Antoninus]

You obviously don't know where I stand on the matter.

I know your type all too well. You're so smart that you feel it's your personal responsibility to tell everyone that they're wrong--thereby demonstrating to the world your superior intellect.

Well guess what? The current California law was and is wrong. And this judgement does in fact seem to break new ground as it appears to undermine some of the work-arounds that CA homeschooling parents have had in place so that they could continue to exercise their God-given right to educate their children absent interference from the government.

Here's my take--any ruling, legislation, or bureaucratic meddling which undermines the God-given right of parents to educate their own kids as they best see fit is fair game for attack. All such laws and rulings should be overturned. The state and federal governments have shown themselves so derelict when it comes to moral issues and education that ANY attempt they make to weaken parental rights must be resisited to the full.

Get it? Or does the simplicity of this statement offend your massive legal intellect?