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Citizen Voices is a blog about election politics, written by people like you. Six San Diegans give their personal take on the issues, candidates and propositions.
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The ABCs of California Education
A California appeals court last week has ruled that parents without teaching licenses cannot home school their children. Wait a second. What? That decision becomes
Binding on the courts and counties that comprise the Second Appellate District, which are Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, on March 28. The other five District Courts of Appeals in
California don’t have to view the
Decision as binding if they have “good cause” to reject its opinion. Do they have “good cause”? This Court of Appeal ruling has shocked the home school community because in one sweeping decision it
Effectively outlaws how over 166,000 children receive their education in this state. But I don’t home school my kids, so what does this mean to me? Are you hot and bothered about this? Should we be? YES! Don’t we live in America where
Freedom is supposed to give us the right to make certain decisions, like how parents choose to educate their own children? It now appears that California children will be required to have a
Government-issued education. If it’s the same government that responded to
Hurricane Katrina, then are any of you a bit worried?
I confess that my own children attend public school. I teach Spanish at a private high school in Encinitas. I would probably send them to private school if I could
Just afford it. I am extremely involved in my kids’ schools and try to contribute what I can to the school’s offerings. I also try to supplement at home what my children aren’t being taught in school. My
Kids often complain about their lazy teachers, while other times they enjoy programs that I simply could not duplicate at home. It takes a huge time and dollar commitment to home school your own children. Most parents do an excellent job, while a few are completely unsuited for the role, such as the parents who were the cause for this new ruling. In every state, except California, parents can
Legally home school their children if they file an affidavit that establishes themselves as a private school or if they sign up under an umbrella school or and ISP (Independent Study Program).
My concern about this court case is that the government is taking away a parent’s right to choose what he decides is best for his own child. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently said “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. Every California child deserves a
Quality education and parents should have the
Right to decide what’s best for their children.” I think each
State should set standards for education, but not mandate what kind of school a parent chooses for his child. There should definitely be regulations regarding testing, attendance, and minimum education requirements. Not all children learn the same way and offering different formats can make all of the difference in success for a student. Kids can
Thrive under different kinds of schooling, not just
Under the public school system that the government offers. Some parents choose to home school their child because he is falling between the cracks in public school where underpaid teachers don’t have the time or tools to address his specific needs. Other parents choose alternative education for religious concerns or to offer a more flexible situation for their child who travels extensively for athletic competitions or who wants to pursue performance endeavors. To
View the ruling by the Second Court of Appeal, go to www.links.sfgate.com/ZCQR
What do YOU think is the government’s role in educating our children? What about the First Amendment? Does it guarantee freedom for parents to choose how they will educate their children based on religious reasons?
Xylology may or may not be included in the home school curriculum, but is it the parent’s right to decide or the government’s? Yeah, I knew
You were wondering what I was going to do to fit that letter of the alphabet in this list. Is it just me, or does it seem that every time I look around the government has just
Zapped away another one of my freedoms?
- Citizen Voices blogger Trina Boice is an author and mother of four who lives in Carlsbad.
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The actual affect on home schoolers is less that it first seems… those that home school under the umbrella of a charter school are perfectly legal.. and those that form their own “private” school are ok..
Yes.. be very upset.. but 99.99999% of home schoolers shouldn’t be affected by this.. So don’t panic.
Be vocal.. but don’t panic.
As I understand it, the Court did not say that parents couldn’t home school their children. What it said is that parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children, which is a very different thing. Just because you don’t have a constitutional right to do something doesn’t mean that you are prohibited from doing it.. .
I believe parents should have the right to home school; however, David J. Dick makes an excellent point. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. As a parent, I will always decide what is best for my child. Period. Our NCLB government has little clue as to what is best for children.
On that note, I find it eye-rollingly interesting that Gov. Schwarzenegger, a member of the party---your party---that claims to have the market cornered on family values, spouts what everyone wants to hear, that “...[e]very California child deserves a quality education...” and yet! And yet...his proposed budget is going to slash millions from an already anemic, pathetic, sorry-ass public school system here in California. Clearly, “deserving” and actually “receiving” are two entirely different things to our illustrious governor.
Of course Arnold is going to support parents right to home school since the schools are hardly in a position to educate the masses. And the fall-through-the-crack kids needn’t worry under this administration that claims they deserve quality education (shame on Dem legislators that are supporting the budget): There will be plenty of overcrowded but well funded prisons for them to call home later on.
Priorities, people. Priorities.
I agree with the comments made by aaryn b., and from what I read of the ruling, though parents may have the right to home school their children, in order to do so the parent must also be a licensed teacher.
The whole arrangement sounds good on its face; education by someone qualified is good for kids right? But the problem is, as Trina and others point out, licensed teachers in public schools are ironically not valued in California (as seen by repeated lay-offs and budget cuts).
Personally, I do not think the ruling applies only to “elitist” parents (the way this LA Times Opinion article indicates http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oew-shaffer13mar13,0,5787994.story)
If there were a way to work from home, while teaching the kids, and still afford to live in California, you’re already juggling enough responsibility to make me assume you’re competent to pass along structure and practical knowledge. There have to be other ways to ensure quality education than requiring a license.
silly little rules.... (right Chuck?)
Parents can home school their kids under the umbrella of a public or private school.. all of these have different amounts of direct involvement..
This ruling does not address (or affect) legality of non-classroom based education in public schools (charter and non-charter) that is done according to the Education Code and appllicalble implementing regulations.
most home schoolers have some sort of contact with someone.. and there are lots of public school programs to hook into.. this case was a child abuse case that turned into a home schooling case..
The ruling says… if you home school your kid you must file a private school afidavit.. or be an accredited teacher… those that are enrolled in a charter school where they are taught at home aren’t actually home schooled.. they are in the California public schools system in a school that has an off-campus education component.
Yes.. scarey that they say we don’t have a Constitutional right through California’s constitution to home school.. and certainly the ruling will have to be refined.. it came about because these kids were only seen 4 times a year by any school type person.. and their Mom/teacher had dropped out of High School.. sounds like there was a lot involved.. ..kinda like getting Al Capone on a tax law…
They’ll refine this.. no need to panic.. the panic should be focused on getting money back in the budget for schools.. Arnie’s lost it.
Fantastic list, well done. I’m definitely going to pass on to a few folks