Why is California getting away with passing a law saying a parent has to be a certified teacher...?

Question

in order to home school?

Answer 1

They're not. Nothing has changed. No new law has been passed.

Answer 2

cause they want the money they get when kids are in school and their tryin to scare people into putting their kids back in school. when i was home schooled it was actually illegal i believe or at least the schiools tried to make us think it was

Answer 3

Please stop spreading rumors.  California has passed no such law.  An appeals court made a very narrow ruling on one case, one which the Superintendent of Public Instruction is not going to enforce.

Answer 4

Hmmm - I sure do have a lot of negative responses.

HS Mom is correct, homeschooling is alive and well in CA and will continue to be.  My concern is that this court is so blatantly hostile to home schooling; and that the nature of the laws (currently on the books) allow it to be attacked this way.

Try this. Go to the California government  web site and find the Education Code. Search for the terms ‘home school” or “homeschooling” or anything like that. You will not find a single code written about homeschooling. There are no existing statutes in the state of CA covering home schooling. As I said, everyone was under the assumption that home schools were ”private schools, ” so the legislature never had any need to write any code about it.

Let me clear - I do not support what the court said. I am only trying to explain what it did and why; and why the media is making such a fuss about it.

Let’s try this. Everything following in quotes are the exact words of the court - everything else is my comment:

“In this dependency case we consider the question whether parents can legally “home school” their children.” This what we lawyers call the issue before the court - the actual question that the case is about. Notice it did NOT say this family. They opened it up to all home schooling - that is why this case is disconcerting.

“However, California courts have held that under provisions in the

Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children.” Okay, well, there is no constitutional right to an abortion either, but it is still perfectly legal because the right lies in the right to be free from government interference in medical decisions, i.e. privacy rights.

“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..”  Well, home schooled kids do attend a full-time school (at home) and many are umbrellaed under private schools, so what is the problem?

“The parents in this case assert that when the mother gives the children

educational instruction at home, the parents are acting within the law because mother operates through Sunland Christian School where the children are “enrolled.” However, the parents have not demonstrated that mother has a teaching credential such that the children can be said to be receiving an education from a credentialed tutor. It is clear that the education of the children at their home, whatever the quality of that education, does not qualify for the private full-time day school or credentialed tutor exemptions from compulsory education in a public full-time day school.”  What is wrong with Sunland Christian School?

“Aside from the fact that Sunland Christian School cannot be a charter school unless it is, among other things, part of California’s public school system and nonsectarian, the parents present no authority to the effect that a charter school can excuse the statutory requirement that tutors be credentialed if their students are to come within the tutor exemption to compulsory public school education.”  And this is the problem - why the heck does the court say this? Only nonsectarian schools can be “private charter schools”?!! Since when?!

And if you do not think this court is openly hostile to home schooling, try this little jewel from the case. The judge calls home schooling a “ruse” to avoid the compulsory education laws: “Such representation does not constitute

a statement that the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education knowingly gave their stamp of approval to children being deprived of an education in a public or private full-time day school setting, or by a credentialed tutor, through the ruse of enrolling them in a private school and then letting them stay home and be taught by a non-credentialed parent.”

In the court’s own words, only going to a brick and mortar school or being taught by a “credentialed” tutor is what the CA Constitution allows. Read the case for yourself or someone else’s legal analysis if you do not believe me.

But, it WILL NOT STAND. Home schooling will continue to be a valid option in CA. The hostility of the court is very bothersome, however. No doubt because this family got into the legal system due to abuse allegations and they were fishing for a way NOT to let this mother home school.

Answer 5

I don't know. I'm not very pleased with this. I home school and my kids are doing just fine.They are way above grade level. :) It's the governments way of trying to take complete control over all my parental rights. Next, they will be attacking the Private Christian Schools.

I just want to be able to teach my kids and not have to worry about sending them off to the public schools ever day. My daughter actually goes to a Charter based home school group once a week and the sad thing is that her Language teacher sent me an email and it had so many grammatical errors I was shocked! That's an accredited teacher for you!

Answer 6

Again! According to HSLDA their are 4 options to home school under 1+3 say you need to be capable of teaching, 2 says you need a certificate but it involves the touter needing the certificate not the parent. Number 4 is public school at home and there are no certifications. THIS HAS NOT CHANGED!!! Please look up the ruling and read it. Also look up what the superintendent and the governor have stated.

Ca isn't going to get away with this there are too many people who home school in Ca and the rest of the nation that we won't let it happen with out a lot of kicking and screaming!!!!!

Even if they do make it illegal what are they going to do to enforce it? Put every HS child into the foster care system and all the parents in jail? Come on they can't do that there's not enough room. How would the school board absorb 160000 plus kids? They can't the funding isn't enough to do it!

One judge thought he would try to write the law instead of intreprt it. Guess what he over reached and FAILED!!!!

Answer 7

Good old common sense. Too many "Teaching" that have NO clue. They SHOULD have a credential. The blind leading the blind sure doesn't work.

Answer 8

idk but CALI ROX!!!!!!!

Answer 9

This was a ruling and it was to parents that weren't following the homeschool law in California.  So no law was passed just a ruling in one case.

Answer 10

Too many uneducated people teaching their children to be uneducated.

Answer 11

Nothing has changed.  There have always only been 2 options in CA - hold a certification or register as (or with) a private school.  They've lately added doing public school at home, but that's pretty different than the other options.

Edit - I agree with shadoaks.  The statement that children need to be taught be a credentialed teacher isn't what's dangerous in this case - it's the fact that the court took one case of alleged negligence or abuse and turned it into a ruling that determined that homeschooling, as an educational option, is unconstitutional across the board.

Quite frankly, if I was absolutely required to take the credentialing test in order to teach my son, I suppose I'd do it.  I'd consider it a complete waste of time, but if it would get the system off my back, I'd do it.  (I don't agree with it by any means, but there are a lot of things in life I don't agree with.)  However, the statement that I need a state-credentialed nanny to make sure that I'm raising my son properly is just plain insulting, not to mention UNconstitutional.  Our constitution was originally written to be a foundation of a government that could effectively govern while allowing its citizens personal freedoms.  The people who wrote and ratified the constitution were, by and large, homeschooled for crying out loud!

Homeschooling is alive and well in CA, but this case includes some pretty dangerous language - not just dangerous to homeschooling, but to parental rights and choices.  It needs to be overturned and/or depublished, which is in the works as we type.  Both the governor and the state superintendent have stated that it won't stand, and we as citizens can do our part to make sure of that.

Answer 12

As others stated, they have not passed a law, and thankfully our governor is very pro parent's rights...

Now, as far as "unqualified" parents teaching their children and we should require teaching credentials to all those who wish to homeschool I would like to suggest looking at how well our current public school system is working, what with all those "credentialled" teachers "teaching" our students...

Homeschooling is the most natural, educational way for a child to learn. If you actually look at facts, you will see that in terms of percentage, homeschool kids excell while our publically "educated" children and falling further and further behind-but that is simply a coincidence I'm sure...

Teaching is not about structured, segmented textbooks and being a "math whiz"-it's about teaching real life experiences, teaching the educational/informational elements (alot of which you can draw from real life experiences), and allowing each INDIVIDUAL child to learn at their own pace, while still challenging them, but never expecting them to have to read, learn specific forms of math, and other outrageous standards until they are READY... we are foolish to expect our current educational system here to work. There are too many children being expected to learn far beyond their years because one teacher cannot properly focus on each child indivually and create leasons designed for each child. That is what homeschooling allows-you choose what to teach, when to teach it, and how to present it to best suit your child... what a HORRIBLE thought!

Answer 13

They DID NOT PASS A LAW against HS'ing or say a HS'ing parent has to have certification.  The media have twisted the facts in the case and are fear mongering.

Search the archives from the past week and you'll find *plenty* of discussion about it.

It was ONE case in ONE court involving a family who have abused their children for two decades.  Governor Swartzenegger and the State Board of Ed director said NO CHANGES will happen to HS'ing in CA.  In fact, there is no homeschool legislation in CA.  Homeschools register as private schools, just like many other states.