Schwarzenegger denounces 'outrageous' homeschooling ruling

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 3/7/2008 | Jill Tucker and Bob Egelko

[GVnana]

(03-07) 13:37 PST SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised today to ensure that parents have the right to homeschool their children, after a state appeals court ruling severely restricted the practice in California.

"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," the governor said in a statement. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

An estimated 166,000 children are homeschooled across the state.

The ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles said all children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full-time until graduation from high school or be tutored at home by a credentialed teacher.

The Southern California case stemmed from a child welfare dispute involving the children of Phillip and Mary Long of Lynwood (Los Angeles County). The couple's eight children have been home-schooled by Mary Long, who holds no teaching credential. The children were also enrolled in a private school through an independent study program, which included quarterly home visits. Although the case did not involve the question of the children's truancy, the court decision broadly addressed the legality of homeschooling in California while specifically ruling that the Long family's situation violated state law.

[lentulusgracchus]

Ah, now I see what this is all about: protecting the teachers' union.

That and, as someone pointed out by citing a sentence or two from the ruling about 320 posts ago, about monopolizing the values indoctrination of the students -- brainwashing them for purposes of the Hive Mind.

The next step would be to penalize parents for teaching, or attempting to teach, moral values at variance with those laid down by their children's liberal brainwashers.

[savedbygrace]

http://www.nheri.org/

[rockthecasbah]

There is an enormous amount of pressure from the public school establishment here in California to outlaw homeschooling. Public schools are funded based on a strict formula according to number of pupils and actual days of attendance. 166,000 homeschooled children represents a funding loss well in excess of $1 billion to the public system.

[warsaw44]

thanks! Looks like a great web site.

[demshateGod]

I’m either voting third party, staying home, or writing in. I’m not an idiot.

[MIT-Elephant]

“You don’t think its a good idea for someone to know something before they try to teach it?”

That’s the whole problem with teaching “credentials” - they don’t teach you anything you are going to teach.

[Mr. Silverback]

Wintertime, you are 100% correct. I jumped the gun big time. My apologies to you, Salty Joe.

[SaltyJoe]

If you’re anything like Will Smith’s parents, than you’re probably raising and/or influencing the next superstars of America via firm, but loving discipline.

[Mr. Silverback]

I sure hope so!

Thanks for your gracious response.

[MeanGreen2008]

Last time I looked, fiscal conservatives don't grow government at record rates, borrow their way to insolvency...

[calcowgirl]

Ummm... we were talking about Arnold and I see you failed to acknowledge the rest of my sentence.

At least with Reagan we got a strong defense. With Arnold, we have global warming regulation, vast new layers of bureaucratic oversight, taxpayer funded embryonic stem-cell research, a massive debt burden, more toll-roads, taxpayer subsidized solar roofs, and if he had his wish—universal healthcare with individual mandates. And that is just for starters!

Go ahead and slime Reagan if you must, but it still doesn’t make Arnold one bit a “fiscal conservative” as you claimed.

[GregH]

These idiots referred to are those conservatives relying on home schooling and who vote for third parties or stay home and contribute to the nominate of loony activist judges attacking home schooling and other court inspired decisions which are stupid and not rational.

[GregH]

Also it is not meant as a personal attack but more like a broad statement.

[Don Joe]

Liberal Arnie is supporting a conservative cause?? Whatz wid dat??

Whatz wid dat, is dat he's gonna give them the "gift" of a "regulatory framework" that will "tolerate" their practice, so long as they "demonstrate accountability" and "acceptable stewardship of our most valuable resource."

In short, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

Go ahead, call me cyincal. I am NOT loath to say I told you so...