A state appeals court has ruled that homeschooling is illegal in California unless the parent has a teaching credential.
A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution. ...Yet the appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California's compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child's grade level.
"California courts have held that ... parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. "Parents have a legal duty to see to their children's schooling under the provisions of these laws."
Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
"A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare," the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue.
Setting aside some thousands of years of common law and custom on the matter, I've known plenty of homeschooled kids in California -- this law has never been enforced. I'll be surprised if this ruling is allowed to stand without intervention by the state Legislature, even in California.
The usual parasites are naturally pleased:
The ruling was applauded by a director for the state's largest teachers union."We're happy," said Lloyd Porter, who is on the California Teachers Association board of directors. "We always think students should be taught by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting."
And I think no one without a degree in computer science should be allowed to program a computer!
There's a lot of cross-talk in the blogosphere over what exactly this ruling means. My best impression is that this is mostly a false alarm: The case was unusual and the judge stated California law correctly. The California constitution doesn't grant a right to home school. Strict construction isn't only for the federal constitution.
Still, there's some symbolic value here. I'm all in favor of opting out of public schools, especially for boys. So if this rather mundane ruling energizes homeschoolers to push for more rights, then great.