Is home schooling illegal in California?
A quick debriefing on what's really happening.
Home schooling is in serious jeopardy in California—because a state appeals court recently decided it is illegal for parents in California to home school their children without a teaching certificate. However, the decision won’t go into effect yet because the court has agreed to rehear the case. Meanwhile, the fates of up to 200,000 home schooling students in California are hanging in limbo. The danger remains for them unless the court issues a new ruling that is favorable to home-schoolers’ rights—or legislation is passed to protect them.
Here’s a quick update on the latest developments in the case and a basic explanation of the issues involved:
What happened: The Second District Court of Appeal (based in Los Angeles) decided on Feb. 28, 2008 that it is illegal for parents in California to home school their children without a teaching certificate. The appellate court that made the ruling (In re Rachel L.) is only one step below the California Supreme Court. It was decided by a unanimous three-judge panel— Justice H. Walter Croskey, Justice Joan D. Klein and Justice Patti S. Kitching.
How the case came about: This began as a juvenile case involving one family. In short, a trial court refused to order the children at issue to be sent to a public or private school. But the appellate court reversed the trial court, saying it had made a legal error by concluding that parents have a legally protected right to school their children in their own home. The appellate court grossly overreached—it could have taken another, less harmful route, limiting its decision to apply only to this family while still upholding home schooling rights and freedoms.
Recent developments: In what many legal experts are calling an unusual move, on March 25, the appeals court announced that it would reconsider the case. While it’s not clear what the final outcome will be, home schooling advocates and support groups are hoping that the court will take a more thorough look at the issue this time, and restore the rights that it previously took away. According to Michael Farris, co-founder and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, California courts tend to have an effect on courts around the United States, so the outcome will have significant impact. Other recent actions include:
- Legal groups representing home-schoolers and defending parental rights also plan to appeal this decision to the California Supreme Court—if necessary, depending on the outcome of the rehearing.
- The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) also completed its petition drive. In just 10 days, HSLDA collected over 250,000 signatures supporting a petition to the California Supreme Court to limit this decision to the single family at issue in the case. Again, whether this is necessary, will depend on the outcome of the rehearing.
- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently called for legislation safeguarding the freedom to home-school: "Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will." (See 3/7/08 Press Release)
Why is this such a big deal? Some people have argued that home schooling hasn’t changed in California and that Focus on the Family is raising false alarms. But the truth is, home schooling in California is in serious jeopardy.
The reality is that home schooling parents all over the state now face a catch-22: Either pay for more college to get themselves credentialed, or spend unknown amounts of time and money necessary to cut through government red tape so they can qualify as a private school.
The problem is, the law is vague on how it defines a private school. This means that home schooling families are now at the mercy of public school districts to decide on a case-by-case basis who qualifies and who doesn’t – and these districts may not see home schooling as being in their best interest.
And recent state history proves this isn’t just speculation. To list just one example—a 2002 memo from California’s education department warned that “parents who home school their children are operating outside the law.” The memo also indicated it would be useless for home-schoolers to apply for qualification as a private school.
What’s more, the recent Rachel decision also threatened the right of home-schooling parents to use the "private school" option. (This option refers to current state law that allows individuals or organizations to file an affidavit in order to qualify as a private school.) The Court strongly hinted that, if asked to rule on this issue in the future, it might forbid home-schoolers from qualifying as a private school.
The current state superintendent, Jack O’Connell, has stated he will be friendlier to home-schoolers – but that is beside the point. The point is that parents would still be at the mercy of whims and temporary promises of whoever’s in charge at the moment.
The bottom line is, that the court system has revealed its willingness to take away parents’ options and back them into a corner—and parents should not have to get a bachelor’s degree in education just to teach their own children.
Other reasons to be concerned about this ruling:
Its tyrannical. The Court issued a sweeping statement that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children” and threatened “criminal” punishments against parents who don’t comply with compulsory education laws. Although this case was about one family, the appellate court framed the legal question generally—making a decision that affects home-schoolers across the state.
The ruling threatens religious freedoms. The Court said that home schooling for religious reasons does not automatically excuse parents from California’s compulsory education laws. That means the burden of proof is on the parents—if they want to home school they have to go to court to legally prove their religious rights are being violated by public schools.
This is terrible timing for parents who want to escape the government-enforced promotion of homosexuality mandated under recently passed laws like SB 777 (which basically turns schools into pro-gay indoctrination centers, forcing schools to give one-sided messages about homosexuality). Parents who home school should not be forced to put their children in government-run schools that don’t share their values or to find the money to send their children to private schools.
Parents should be the ones responsible for making educational choices for their children—not the government. This decision is yet a further erosion of those basic parental rights. Another example of that disturbing trend is the 2005 Fields v. Palmdale School District decision, in which the infamous Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals— with Justice Stephen Reinhardt writing the opinion—denied any relief to parents of 1st, 3rd and 5th grade elementary school students who were required to take a sex survey. Reinhardt wrote that "…they [parents] have no constitutional right … to prevent a public school from providing its students with whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise, when and as the school determines that it is appropriate to do so.”
So what now? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently called for legislation safeguarding the freedom to home school. That would be a good step. The some 200,000 home schooling students in California – who consistently get higher than average scores on standardized tests and are actively recruited by colleges—deserve more respect and equal protection under the law.
Candi Cushman is the Education Analyst for Focus on the Family's Government and Public Policy division.
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