A fair correction -- I was paraphrasing from (poor) memory.
In my own mind, that's an extremely low standard to make. Other than folks who are just about comatose, just about anyone is capable of teaching to some degree or other. I think that the justices in this case looked past the plain meaning of the state's laws....
Actually, the judges in this case did not rely on their own opinions on that matter; but rather on the Turner case, which was presented as controlling precedent. (See the detailed discussion beginning on Page 7 of the ruling).
Note, BTW, that this ruling does not preclude home-schooling at all -- the parents could become qualified as "tutors" under California law.
As noted above, the real problem here is that folks in California have been trying to find ways around the clear language of the law, in order to do their home-schooling. And thus, when confronted by a ruling based on the letter of the law, they're left with no options.
The real solution is simple to state, if perhaps hard to achieve: change the law.
Part of the difficulty is that I can't find (although I haven't looked too hard) whether or not this family actually filled out the form to be a "private school" under California law. I suspect they didn't, and now the system is using that technical violation to get in the back door on the abuse case. The opinion from the "judges" of the appeals court suggests they didn't avail themselves of that option in the law. If that's a correct speculation, then it's possible that the court is not challenging the ability of homeschoolers to use the private school option that is spelled out in law.
But the ordinary method of dealing with someone who hasn't properly filled in a form needed to do something for which they have a legal right to do is for the state, upon discovering the lacuna, to provide a little assistance in getting it fixed. And, indeed, if parents have a right to homeschool their children (and they do), it would be difficult for the court to abrogate that right over a lack of a properly-filled out government form.
Thus, the "judges," illegitimately wishing to give the state better leverage in their abuse case, had to rule that there is no right of parents to homeschool.
They're evil slobs. One hopes they repent before they must pay for their crimes.
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