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This
page was last updated on August 27, 2008
Court Ruling: California statutes permit homeschooling!
CHN would like to thank Jerry Salcido and his team of attorneys
at Baker & McKenzie LLP for the outstanding job they performed
in representing the members of California Homeschool Network.
They worked for months with the attorneys from HSC and CHEA,
to defend our right to continue to homeschool legally in California.
August 8 update from CHN's attorney, Jerry
Salcido: The Cailfornia Court of Appeal, Second Appellate
District, Division Three issued its ruling in the In re Rachel
L. case.
In Feburary 2008 this same court issued an opinion that held
that California parents can homeschool their children only
if they hold a valid teaching credential. The court vacated
its February 2008 decision by agreeing to rehear the case.
In addition to hearing from the parties on rehearing, the
court also invited numerous friends-of-the-court, known as
"amicus curiae" to provide legal argument. The court heard
argument from the parties and the amicus curiae on June 2,
2008 for more than 2 hours.
Today's court ruling held that (1) California statutes permit
home schooling as a species of private school education; and
(2) the statutory permission to home school may constitutionally
be overridden in order to protect the safety of a child who
has been declared a dependent.
Homeschooling, therefore, remains a legal educational option
in California.
The entire 44 page document is here: Opinion on Rehearing,
filed 8/8/08
Schools
Chief Jack O'Connell Issues Statement On Court Ruling That
Home Schooling Is Allowed Under California Law.
Parents may home-school children without teaching credential, California court says: Gov. Schwarzenegger praises the reversal by the 2nd District Court of Appeal as a victory for students and parental rights.
California appeals court upholds home schooling by non-credentialed parents.
Court backs off ruling that restricted home schooling.
Parents have the right to home school, state court says.
Court Reverses Itself, California Parents Can Homeschool Without Teaching Credentials.
Appeals court backs home schooling by noncredentialed parents.
State court reverses home school vote.
Court Says Homeschooling OK in California.
Harman backs 'right' to home school children.
Homeschooling a Constitutional Right, Americans Tell LifeWay Research.
Time Magazine:
A Homeschooling Win in California.
Home-school victory.
The Wall Street Journal:
Homeschool Victory.
Court ruled correctly about home schooling.
On February
28th, the court document In re Rachel L. was published. On March
25th, that ruling was vacated, and the California Court of Appeal
granted a rehearing, scheduled for June 23, 2008. Counsel for
the three state groups, CHN, CHEA, and HSC, were present at
the hearing, and were granted time to speak.
CHN
was very concerned about the initial ruling, and is hopeful
that the court will recognize that the interpretation of Califorinia
law, as understood by homeschoolers for decades, is correct,
and that no change in California law regarding the teaching
of children privately at home is needed. Homeschooling by using
one of the alternatives to public school currently available
under California law remains legal.
After the hearing, CHN Trustee Karen Taylor described her experience
at the hearing to the members of CHN's two largest email lists:
"The court of appeals rehearing was today, in Los Angeles.
We were expecting this to be a closed hearing, but it was open,
and members of the press were there. The line was long, waiting
to get in the courtroom, and there was some concern that we
would not all get in. Those from the state homeschooling groups
were really glad when they kept on counting past us, meaning
we were going to be allowed to observe the proceeding.
CHN, CHEA, and HSC had many attorneys present, and they travelled
quite a distance to be there. I think it was good that so many of
them were able to hear the arguments.
The hearing began at 10:00 am and it was supposed to go for 2
hours. Instead, it went on for an additional 45 minutes, and that
was at the discretion of the three judges. There were 12 attorneys
who spoke and each had an agreed upon time limit. But, the judges
were very involved and often stopped them and asked questions. It
was very interactive, and the judges were attentive. They also made
references to some of the amicus briefs, and were very knowledgeable.
Our state groups had an attorney present to speak on behalf of
California homeschoolers. She spoke for 15 minutes, which was longer
than the court expected for her, but when it was noted that she had
gone over (because so many questions were asked), one of the judges
asked if she had anything else to add because "Your argument has been
excellent so far." That was very nice to hear! I think her points
were some of the best received of the day.
I know everyone who was present will take something different
from the day. For me, it seemed that the judges are trying to
do what they feel is best. At one point, one of them said "Keep
in mind this court has an obligation to interpret the intent
of the legislature, and it is a huge burden." Right before they
left the courtroom, one of them thanked those in the courtroom
for appearing and being diligent in providing information, and
said that the issues are monumental. It appears that they have
an understanding of the significance of their decision. Homeschoolers
in California as well as the nation hope that they'll reach
a favorable decision."
Credentialed
Teachers Show Support!
Credentialed
teachers, here is a way to have your voice heard. Please sign
our new petition
to show your support of homeschooling. As
teachers are signing the petition, they are leaving some great
comments! Check out the comments
here!
Statement of the
California Association of Private School Organizations
on the In re RACHEL L Decision
May 20, 2008
The Appellate Court has accepted the brief filed by California's three statewide membership groups, CHN, CHEA and HSC. CHN issued this press release.
May 19, 2008
California Attorney General Jerry Brown files an amicus curiae brief
on behalf of Governor Schwarzenegger supporting the rights of California parents to teach their
children at home.
May 19, 2008
Liberty Counsel files brief
on behalf of nineteen members of the United States Congress.
May 14, 2008
The Daily Breeze published a letter to the editor from Assemblyman Ted Lieu in support of homeschooling. The letter is available on the Daily Breeze web site under Opinions, Letters to the Editor dated Wednesday May 14th.
April 4, 2008
CHN, CHEA, and HSC (the California groups) have agreed to
file a joint amicus brief. It is our hope that the unified
voice of California homeschoolers will be heard by the court.
Each organization is represented by law firms who are working
together on this joint brief. CHN is represented by Baker
and McKenzie LLP.
April
2, 2008
CHN announced a petition
for credentialed teachers in support of homeschooling.
March
26, 2008
Court of Appeals Grants Rehearing
On March 25, the court of appeals vacated the In
re Rachel ruling
and will be rehearing the case. This means that the February
28, 2008 In re Rachel ruling will not apply to any homeschoolers.
Court
document 3/25/2008
March
26, 2008
California homeschool organizations unite to protect our right to homeschool.
View our joint
statement.
March 24, 2008
A statement from the California Office of the Secretary of Education
"My feeling is very much in line with the
governor in that it is a parental choice as to how they will
educate their children," said Chris Bertelli, assistant secretary
of education. "To require a credential for a parent that is
home-schooling is ludicrous." "No other state in the country
requires a credential," Bertelli said. "It would be nearly
impossible to enforce and would do so much more damage than
good."
A statement from the LA County Department of Education
"As long as they are a private school registered with the state
then as far as we are concerned they are a legal home school,"
said Victor Thompson, director of student support service for
the L.A. County Department of Education.
Both quotes from: Homeschoolers Give Courts Bad Marks http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_8666180
March
17, 2008
"Did you know that the
sky is not falling in California? Homeschooling is still “legal”
there, believe it or not." Read an opinion written by a homeschooling
attorney - http://www.nheld.com/BTN60.htm
March 12, 2008
Assembly
Member Joel Anderson offers Homeschool Resolution and Petition
http://www.supporthomeschools.org/
March
11, 2008
CHN's Letter of Support to Assembly Member Joel Anderson
March 11, 2008
SCHOOLS
CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HOME SCHOOLING
IN CALIFORNIA
"I have reviewed this case, and I want to assure parents that
chose to home school that California Department of Education
policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling.
Parents still have the right to home school in our state."
The entire statement can be viewed here.
To
read more about this case,
consider the following resources:
Press
Releases
Press
Release from Supt. Jack O'Connell's office
Press
Release from Assemblyman Guy Houston's office
Governor
Schwarzenneger's Press Release supporting homeschooling
Selected
News Stories
Parade Intelligence Report Poll: Should parents need teaching credentials to home-school their kids? 95% say no, with over 52,000 having voted. This poll is still open, and the number of "NO" votes continue to pour in!
Sacramento Bee Editorial June 4, 2008: Narrow ruling is best ruling in home school case
CHN
Press Page And News Feed
The
San
Francisco Chronicle article -1200 responses and counting!
NPR
All Things Considered Radio Show
Home
is Where the School is
States
must preserve home-schooling option
Some
common questions:
What
can we do to help?
Write
letters to your editor about homeschooling and also make sure
your legislator knows that homeschoolers do not want homeschooling
legislation. Keep up to date on the information being provided
by reliable sources and please consider joining CHN or renewing
your membership so that we may continue to have the resources
to monitor this type of activity.
Should
we continue to stand behind the legal option we are currently
using?
Absolutely.
CHN maintains that California law allows several viable alternatives
to enrollment in a public school. One of these options is to
enroll in a private school. Private schools are not required
by California law to employ teachers holding a state credential,
and there is no restriction in the law specifying that a private
school must be of a certain size or that parents may not operate
a private school in which their own children are enrolled.
Who
might be affected by this decision?
Independent
homeschoolers who have established their own private school,
charter schools, public independent study programs, and private
independent study programs, as well as traditional private site-based
schools that don't have homeschoolers enrolled.
How
many homeschoolers are there in California?
You
may find estimates on various web sites of the number of homeschoolers
in this state, but we don't believe they are accurate. The legal
options are so varied in California, and the term "homeschooler"
so broadly defined, that an estimate with any merit is not possible.
Many students who consider themselves homeschoolers are part
of the public school system; many are part of private schools.
It is often impossible to tell which public or private schools
offer independent study just by looking at public records. The
California Department of Education reports that there are well
over half a million students enrolled in California private
schools, and approaching that number enrolled in charter schools.
A large number of those are potentially homeschoolers. LA Unified
alone reports well over 10,000 students enrolled in independent
study. Homeschooling has reached the point where just about
everyone knows someone who homeschools. It's commonplace these
days, spoken of casually in movies and on tv without having
to define what homeschooling is because it is so well known
and accepted. The closest thing we can give to an accurate estimate
is that there are a lot of us, and we're growing in numbers
every year!
What
is CHN doing about this problem?
CHN's legal and legislative teams are working tirelessly on
this problem, and it has our full attention and dedication.
CHN has retained the law firm of Baker & McKenzie. CHN's media
team has been very active in responding to hundreds of media
requests (tv, radio, and print). CHN
is also working closely with the other state organizations,
HSC, CHEA, and FPM along with HSLDA in an unprecedented cooperative
effort to maintain homeschooling in California as it has been
for decades. CHN joins the other state groups in strongly opposing
homeschooling legislation.
Will
CHN be discussing this at the CHN
Family Expo in August?
Absolutely!
Legal and legislative matters always take priority with CHN.
A new session has been added to the schedule to discuss what
happened and how homeschoolers might preserve their freedoms
in the future. Look for it on Friday night;
it's a special session for the homeschoolers at the Expo.
Can we donate $$$ to the CHN legal fund at the website?
Donations
may be sent to:
CHN Legal Defense Fund,
PO Box 1061
Mira Loma, CA 91752
.
Make your
credit card donation online
or by phone.
(800) 327-5339
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