Do parents who are not credentialed as teachers have the right to homeschool their children? On 3-7-08, a California appeals court said NO:
Homeschoolers' setback sends shock waves through state
3-7-08
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.....
The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home.
The ruling was the result of an mistreatment case brought against a homeschooling family charged with failing to provide proper education for their children. The state's homeschooling movement was not prepared for the ruling:
Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said the ruling would effectively ban homeschooling in the state.
Some sources say this ruling will not affect homeschooling, but that's not what the court said:
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.
The case will probably be appealed to the state Supreme Court. You can read the Second District Court of Appeals ruling here. I am not a lawyer, but the case seems quite significant to me.
Do parents have the right to homeschool their children, or should the government intervene to protect children from unqualified teachers such as their own parents? I've known homeschooled children who did well academically, but were seriously lacking in social skills because of their isolation from peers. Other children have excelled in all areas and been accepted to good colleges.
Other homeschooled children I have known have not fared as well. One homeschooling family I know has a son who since childhood has obviously been in need of intensive educational and counseling services for learning disabilities and antisocial behavior problems. However, the Christian parents have refused to let "the world" get involved in their son's life, and in fact the local school system has remained unaware of this young man's severe problems. He just "graduated" from the homeschooling program this past year, and at age 18 is unable to read and can barely sign his name.
Where is the balance between parental rights and the rights of a child to a quality education? What are your thoughts about this California law? My own feelings are mixed. I hate to see government interference in family matters, yet the current systems for monitoring the quality of homeschool eduction are clearly inadequate. And children are suffering because of it.