No school at all ?

Question

ok so a person i used to work with has 4 kids 11, 14,15,17

none of them have been to school at all she tells me that she home schools them but i know she dont she doesnt have the curriculum no books no papers showing that they r in any kind of school we live in ca is there laws about putting Ur kids in school i feel like its tooo late to have them go to school so what sould i do or sould i keep my nose out of it

also i know 3 of the kids are mad that they are not in school is there a law ?

Answer 1

There are "laws" but they are to require certain courses be taught and standards met.  

Home schooling is "legal" although there are certification issues.  The books and curriculum is supplied by the schools, I do not know if they have to pay for them.  The kids are supposed to be tested, I believe yearly, against the required curriculum to make sure they meet state education standards.  The issue on certification is recent in that the parent doing the teaching needs to be certified to teach in the state (California but I think the decision has national ramifications).  

If you know that she isn't working off a curriculum, then you can bring it up to the state or local board of education and force the issue.  You might lose a friend on this though. The first thing I think they would do is to test the kids to see if they are learning.   The point is that the kids are not benefiting from the education and, in the future, you might be paying for their welfare payments.

Answer 2

Yes all children must be enrolled in a recognized school by the age of 6 for kindergarten and attend school.  It can be homebased but must be state recognized homeschooling.  You can call CPS and they can look into it.  If mom has the right paperwork then she would qualify but they are getting more strict about homeschooling.  Yes they could still get a GED and go to college but the big colleges need proof of highschool with a good GPA.

Answer 3

California's compulsory education law requires everyone between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age to attend school, except 16 and 17 year-olds who have graduated from high school or passed the California High School Proficiency Exam.  

Regarding homeschooling, there's been a recent movement to uphold a law requiring homeschooling parents to have current teaching credentials to be considered legitimate, otherwise their children would be considered truant, and the parents could be cited.

This movement was brought about in response to a Lynwood family's homeschooling effort -- or lack thereof.  California Child & Family Services felt the children weren't being educated in anyway(similar to the kids you describe) -- but many legitimate homeschooling families took issue with the move saying that parents should have a choice in the education of their children.

In many ways it is a child welfare issue, but in other ways it's a family rights issue.

In short, there are laws requiring kids to be in school.  The law in being written and rewritten regarding what school is.