[Rhodes22-list] Mo Gubmint - Politics & Education

[Brad Haslett]

Home schooling is not my thing but a good number of my co-workers home
school.  Some do it for religious reasons but most do it because they're fed
up with the public school monopoly and don't want to spend $10,000+ per
child for private schools.  Most of their kids have performed well on
standardized tests and get into good colleges. That won't be a choice if
California gets their way.  What is it that makes people want a government
that controls every aspect of their lives?  I just don't get it!  What is so
special about a teaching credential?  Most education textbooks are pure BS.
Note that the LA Times goes heavy into the religion aspect.  That's not the
primary issue with most of the people I know who home school.  Brad



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Ruling seen as a threat to many home-schooling families State appellate
court says those who teach children in private must have a credential.
By Seema Mehta and Mitchell Landsberg
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

March 6, 2008

Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home,
according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear
through California's home schooling families.

Advocates for the families vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme
Court. Enforcement until then appears unlikely, but if the ruling stands,
home-schooling supporters say California will have the most regressive law
in the nation.

"This decision is a direct hit against every home schooler in California,"
said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which
represents the Sunland Christian School, which specializes in religious home
schooling. "If the state Supreme Court does not reverse this . . . there
will be nothing to prevent home-school witch hunts from being implemented in
every corner of the state of California."

The institute estimates there are as many as 166,000 California students who
are home schooled. State Department of Education officials say there is no
way to know the true number.

Unlike at least 30 other states, home schooling is not specifically
addressed in California law. Under the state education code, students must
be enrolled in a public or private school, or can be taught at home by a
credentialed tutor.

The California Department of Education currently allows home schooling as
long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as
small private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in
independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public
school districts while still teaching at home.

California does little to enforce those provisions and insists it is the
local school districts' responsibility. In addition, state education
officials say some parents home school their children without the knowledge
of any entity.

Home schoolers and government officials have largely accepted this murky
arrangement.

"This works so well, I don't see any reason to change it," said J. Michael
Smith, president of the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Assn.

The appellate court ruling stems from a case involving Lynwood parents
Phillip and Mary Long, who were repeatedly referred to the Los Angeles
County Department of Children and Family Services over various allegations,
including claims of physical abuse, involving some of their eight children.

All of the children are currently or had been enrolled in Sunland Christian
School, where they would occasionally take tests, but were educated in their
home by their mother, Phillip Long said.

A lawyer appointed to represent two of the Long's young children requested
that the court require them to physically attend a public or private school
where adults could monitor their well-being. A trial court disagreed, but
the children's lawyer appealed to the 2nd District Court of Appeal, which
has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis
Obispo counties.

The appellate panel ruled that Sunland officials' occasional monitoring of
the Longs' home schooling -- with the children taking some tests at the
school -- is insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school.
Since Mary Long does not have a teaching credential, the family is violating
state laws, the ruling said.

"Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,"
wrote Justice H. Walter Croskey in a Feb. 28 opinion signed by the two other
members of the district court. "Parents who fail to [comply with school
enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found
guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order to
complete a parent education and counseling program."

Phillip Long said he believes the ruling stems from hostility against
Christians and vowed to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

"I have sincerely held religious beliefs," he said. "Public schools conflict
with that. I have to go with what my conscience requires me."

Public schools teach such topics as evolution, which Long said he doesn't
believe in. He said his wife spends six hours each day teaching their
children reading, writing, math, science, health, physical education, Bible
and social studies. Court papers say Mary Long's education ended at 11th
grade.

It's unclear if the ruling will be enforced, given the likely appeals.
Typically, these rulings take effect 30 days after they are issued.

Other organizations that plan to get involved include the Pacific Justice
Institute, Home School Legal Defense Assn. and the Home School Assn. of
California.

Meanwhile, state Department of Education's attorneys are reviewing the
ruling.

Teachers union officials will also be closely monitoring the appeal. A.J.
Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said he agrees with the
ruling.

"What's best for a child is to be taught by a credentialed teacher," he
said.

While many educators and officials remained unfamiliar with the ruling
Tuesday, news about it has been sweeping websites and blogs devoted to home
schooling. Organizations have been getting tense phone calls from parents
worried that they will be targeted.

Families who home school includethose whose religious beliefs conflict with
public schools and those whose children are in the entertainment industry or
have other time-consuming activities that require them to study at an
individualized pace.

Glenn and Kathleen, a Sacramento-area couple who requested that their last
name not be used for fear of prosecution, home school their 9-year-old son
Hunter because their Christian beliefs would be contradicted in a public
school setting, Glenn said. He is troubled by the idea that his son would be
exposed to teachings about evolution, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and
sex education .

"I want to have control over what goes in my son's head, not what's put in
there by people who might be on the far left who have their own ideas about
indoctrinating kids," he said.

If the ruling takes effect, Glenn vowed to move his family out of state. "If
I can't home school my son in California, we're going to have to end up
leaving California. That's how important it is to me."

seema.mehta at latimes.com