A
California appeals court last week has ruled that parents without teaching licenses cannot home school their children. Wait a second. What? That decision becomes
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inding on the courts and counties that comprise the Second Appellate District, which are Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, on March 28. The other five District Courts of Appeals in
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alifornia don’t have to view the
Davesnot
from Oceanside
March 13, 2008 at 06:19 PM
The actual affect on home schoolers is less that it first seems... those that home school under the umbrella of a charter school are perfectly legal.. and those that form their own "private" school are ok..
Yes.. be very upset.. but 99.99999% of home schoolers shouldn't be affected by this.. So don't panic.
Be vocal.. but don't panic.
David J. Dick from Escondido
March 13, 2008 at 07:02 PM
As I understand it, the Court did not say that parents couldn't home school their children. What it said is that parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children, which is a very different thing. Just because you don't have a constitutional right to do something doesn't mean that you are prohibited from doing it.. .
aaryn b.
from a parallel universe
March 13, 2008 at 07:43 PM
I believe parents should have the right to home school; however, David J. Dick makes an excellent point. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. As a parent, I will always decide what is best for my child. Period. Our NCLB government has little clue as to what is best for children.
On that note, I find it eye-rollingly interesting that Gov. Schwarzenegger, a member of the party---your party---that claims to have the market cornered on family values, spouts what everyone wants to hear, that "...[e]very California child deserves a quality education..." and yet! And yet...his proposed budget is going to slash millions from an already anemic, pathetic, sorry-ass public school system here in California. Clearly, "deserving" and actually "receiving" are two entirely different things to our illustrious governor.
Of course Arnold is going to support parents right to home school since the schools are hardly in a position to educate the masses. And the fall-through-the-crack kids needn't worry under this administration that claims they deserve quality education (shame on Dem legislators that are supporting the budget): There will be plenty of overcrowded but well funded prisons for them to call home later on.
Priorities, people. Priorities.
Alma
March 16, 2008 at 12:50 AM
I agree with the comments made by aaryn b., and from what I read of the ruling, though parents may have the right to home school their children, in order to do so the parent must also be a licensed teacher.
The whole arrangement sounds good on its face; education by someone qualified is good for kids right? But the problem is, as Trina and others point out, licensed teachers in public schools are ironically not valued in California (as seen by repeated lay-offs and budget cuts).
Personally, I do not think the ruling applies only to "elitist" parents (the way this LA Times Opinion article indicates http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-shaffer13mar13,0,5787994.story)
If there were a way to work from home, while teaching the kids, and still afford to live in California, you're already juggling enough responsibility to make me assume you're competent to pass along structure and practical knowledge. There have to be other ways to ensure quality education than requiring a license.
silly little rules.... (right Chuck?)
Davesnot
from Oceanside
March 16, 2008 at 02:05 AM
Parents can home school their kids under the umbrella of a public or private school.. all of these have different amounts of direct involvement..
This ruling does not address (or affect) legality of non-classroom based education in public schools (charter and non-charter) that is done according to the Education Code and appllicalble implementing regulations.
most home schoolers have some sort of contact with someone.. and there are lots of public school programs to hook into.. this case was a child abuse case that turned into a home schooling case..
The ruling says... if you home school your kid you must file a private school afidavit.. or be an accredited teacher... those that are enrolled in a charter school where they are taught at home aren't actually home schooled.. they are in the California public schools system in a school that has an off-campus education component.
Yes.. scarey that they say we don't have a Constitutional right through California's constitution to home school.. and certainly the ruling will have to be refined.. it came about because these kids were only seen 4 times a year by any school type person.. and their Mom/teacher had dropped out of High School.. sounds like there was a lot involved.. ..kinda like getting Al Capone on a tax law...
They'll refine this.. no need to panic.. the panic should be focused on getting money back in the budget for schools.. Arnie's lost it.
Sanford Brown
August 29, 2008 at 02:52 AM
Fantastic list, well done. I'm definitely going to pass on to a few folks :-)
