Hold on folks - this decision is nothing to be upset about.
(My credientials: I homeschool my children. I am a lawyer.)
The Supreme COurt of California actually issued two holdings:
1) there is no constitutional right to homeschool in CA (no court has ever found that to be true in CA and there is no legal basis to make the argument that such a right exists)
2) the parents in this case did not even attempt to follow the minimal requirements CA has for homeschool parents (which require parents to sign up as an independent school and sign an affidavit saying you are capable of teaching your kids English and other subjects).
Here is the money quote from the actual court opinion:
“The trial court’s reason for declining to order public or private schooling for the children was its belief that parents have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home. However, California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children. Thus, while the petition for extraordinary writ asserts that the trial court’s refusal to order attendance in a public or private school was an abuse of discretion, we find the refusal was actually an error of law. It is clear to us that enrollment and attendance in a public full-time day school is required by California law for minor children unless (1) the child is enrolled in a private full-time day school and actually attends that private school, (2) the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught, or (3) one of the other few statutory
exemptions to compulsory public school attendance (Ed. Code, § 48220 et seq.) ***[[Editor’s note: the low-hurdle homeschool provisions]]*** applies to the child. Because the parents in this case have not demonstrated that any of these exemptions apply to their children, we will grant the petition for extraordinary writ.”
Woops - it was a lower court.