I'd heard quite a bit about this already. California has alway been wierd. What I find most interesting about this story is the final quote. This lady is actually saying that the state should be in the nanny business. Literally. With all of the real problems there are in the world, she thinks we should pro-actively make sure parents don't spend too much time with their children. Doh.
If the children are in fact mistreated, deal with that. On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 11:57 PM, Robert Munn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/07/MNJDVF0F1.DTL > > 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 homeschooling movement never saw the case coming. > > "At first, there was a sense of, 'No way,' " said homeschool parent Loren > Mavromati, a resident of Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) who is active > with a homeschool association. "Then there was a little bit of fear. I think > it has moved now into indignation." > > The ruling arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County > Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of > Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Mary Long is > their teacher, but holds no teaching credential. > > The parents said they also enrolled their children in Sunland Christian > School, a private religious academy in Sylmar (Los Angeles County), which > considers the Long children part of its independent study program and visits > the home about four times a year. > > 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. > > Some homeschoolers are affiliated with private or charter schools, like the > Longs, but others fly under the radar completely. Many homeschooling > families avoid truancy laws by registering with the state as a private > school and then enroll only their own children. > > 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. > > "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in > good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a > means of protecting the public welfare," the judge wrote, quoting from a > 1961 case on a similar issue. > Union pleased with ruling > > The ruling was applauded by a director for the state's largest teachers > union. > > "We're happy," said Lloyd Porter, who is on the California Teachers > Association board of directors. "We always think students should be taught > by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting." > > A spokesman for the state Department of Education said the agency is > reviewing the decision to determine its impact on current policies and > procedures. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell issued > a statement saying he supports "parental choice when it comes to > homeschooling." > > Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which agreed earlier > this week to represent Sunland Christian School and legally advise the Long > family on a likely appeal to the state Supreme Court, said the appellate > court ruling has set a precedent that can now be used to go after > homeschoolers. "With this case law, anyone in California who is > homeschooling without a teaching credential is subject to prosecution for > truancy violation, which could require community service, heavy fines and > possibly removal of their children under allegations of educational > neglect," Dacus said. > > Parents say they choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons, from > religious beliefs to disillusionment with the local public schools. > > Homeschooling parent Debbie Schwarzer of Los Altos said she's ready for a > fight. > > Schwarzer runs Oak Hill Academy out of her Santa Clara County home. It is a > state-registered private school with two students, she said, noting they are > her own children, ages 10 and 12. She does not have a teaching credential, > but she does have a law degree. > > "I'm kind of hoping some truancy officer shows up on my doorstep," she said. > "I'm ready. I have damn good arguments." > > She opted to teach her children at home to better meet their needs. > > The ruling, Schwarzer said, "stinks." > Began as child welfare case > > The Long family legal battle didn't start out as a test case on the validity > of homeschooling. It was a child welfare case. > > A juvenile court judge looking into one child's complaint of mistreatment by > Philip Long found that the children were being poorly educated but refused > to order two of the children, ages 7 and 9, to be enrolled in a full-time > school. He said parents in California have a right to educate their children > at home. > > The appeals court told the juvenile court judge to require the parents to > comply with the law by enrolling their children in a school, but excluded > the Sunland Christian School from enrolling the children because that > institution "was willing to participate in the deprivation of the children's > right to a legal education." > > The decision could also affect other kinds of homeschooled children, > including those enrolled in independent study or distance learning through > public charter schools - a setup similar to the one the Longs have, Dacus > said. > > Charter school advocates disagreed, saying Thursday that charter schools are > public and are required to employ only credentialed teachers to supervise > students - whether in class or through independent study. > Ruling will apply statewide > > Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said > the ruling would effectively ban homeschooling in the state. > > "California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast > majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own > children at home," he said in a statement. > > But Leslie Heimov, executive director of the Children's Law Center of Los > Angeles, which represented the Longs' two children in the case, said the > ruling did not change the law. > > "They just affirmed that the current California law, which has been > unchanged since the last time it was ruled on in the 1950s, is that children > have to be educated in a public school, an accredited private school, or > with an accredited tutor," she said. "If they want to send them to a private > Christian school, they can, but they have to actually go to the school and > be taught by teachers." > > Heimov said her organization's chief concern was not the quality of the > children's education, but their "being in a place daily where they would be > observed by people who had a duty to ensure their ongoing safety." > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:255947 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
