CA judge rules home schooling illegal

A 2nd District Court of Appeals judge ruled on Feb. 28 that home schooling is illegal in California if the parent-teacher does not have a teaching credential. For some reason, the decision did not come to light until today (March 6). Under the ruling, handed down by Justice H. Walter Croskey, parents who teach their kids at home without possessing teaching credentials would be subject to criminal complaints. I have not yet heard a good analysis of how this ruling may be implemented, nor how immediate of a threat it is to the dozens of home schooling families I know.

Under current laws, parents were supposed to jump through certain hoops in order to legally home school their children--such as hiring credentialed tutors or enrolling their kids in independent-study programs--but I understand those rules were rarely enforced. Whether or not this judge's ruling will be given the same treatment remains to be seen.

What also remains to be seen is whether it will actually see the light of day--in other words, several organizations that support the right of home schoolers to control their children's education are already lining up to oppose the ruling in some way. And I doubt that the state's law enforcement establishments are going to start rounding up otherwise law-abiding parents for a family decision that has otherwise been legal and does not pose a threat to anyone in society.

Nonetheless, it is obviously a disturbing and illogical blow to the ideals of family liberty.

In an Associated Press story on the matter, Justice Croskey was quoted as saying, "Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children." How he arrived at that conclusion is beyond me; I was not under the impression that the parents needed to consult the Constitution for permission to educate their children, nor do I think the Founding Fathers considered the document as a set of limitations on how parents may exercise their authority within their families.

As a college-educated man who was home schooled by a credentialed mother, I am outraged at this court decision. I encourage anyone who reads this post to get involved by calling your congressmen. Another good place to start would be at the Home School Legal Defense Association's Web site.

I will update this blog with any developments I hear regarding this court ruling and its consequences.