In a 3-0 decision last week, the California Court of Appeal for the 2nd Appellate District reversed its earlier ruling that would have required parents to be certified in order to home-school their children.
Michael Farris, co-founder and chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, was thrilled by the victory, which affects more than 166,000 home-schooled children in California.
"Let me be quick to say that when we answer the question of 'Why did we win?' the ultimate answer is found in the blessing and protection of God," he said.
Farris, a father of 10, has written several books and hosts the daily radio program Home School Heartbeat. He shared with CitizenLink his passion for defending the rights of home-schoolers.
1. Congratulations on your victory in California. What has been the response from home-schooling families?
There has been a combination of joy and relief. People want to do what is good for their children. When there is a prospect that the government will stop you from doing what is good and right, there is great frustration and a sense of bewilderment. When that threat is removed, there is a sense of relief but there is also a sense of wariness.
I believe home-schoolers are renewed in their commitment to vigilantly guard their liberties. This is the best response because there are always those who wish to curtail our freedoms. Indeed, in this very (case), the court urged the Legislature to take a look at new regulations of home schooling.
2. What is the Home School Legal Defense Association?
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a group of 85,000 home-schooling families who have banded together in the defense of the freedom of all families to home-school their children. Mike Smith and I founded HSLDA 25 years ago with the goal of making sure that all diligent parents who wanted to home-school would have their liberties protected.
3. Why did you decide to take on and defend the issue of home-schooling?
The idea for HSLDA came to me in a pretty straightforward manner. My wife and I started home schooling in 1982. Since I was a home-school dad and a lawyer with some experience in constitutional litigation, I was asked by several families to help them with their legal issues. I quickly saw that families were not going to be able to afford to fight for their rights unless we banded together to fight as a group. Like all really good ideas, I believe (it) was guided by the Lord.
4. I hear you have quite a large family. Do you home-school all of your children?
The Lord has blessed us with 10 children — something a little astonishing for a guy who won a college speech contest advocating zero population growth! And we have home-schooled them all. Seven have graduated from high school. Four are married, and two are in college. We are in our 26th year of home-schooling. My wife, Vickie, does the vast majority of the teaching, although I have taught some. We are seeing a real blessing as our married children have already begun home schooling our 10 — soon to be 11 — grandchildren.
5. Do you foresee other states facing the same issues as California?
The National Education Association (NEA) steadfastly contends that no parent should be allowed to home-school unless they are certified teachers. Of course, the NEA wants every certified teacher to be required to be a member of their union. The NEA is mostly about money and power, and the interests of learning are secondary to this union. But, they have allies in many state legislatures and regulatory agencies. Every year, we see some form of regulations proposed in a number of states.
An even more dangerous trend is the coming of international law concerning the rights of (home-schooled) children. The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child is not about giving children rights but about giving the government the power to override decisions of good parents when their choices differ from the paths favored by the progressive Left.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
In his Stoplight video commentary, Stuart Shepard explains why a California court may leave home-schoolers' heads spinning.
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