Parents Beware: It Could Be Against the Law to Teach Your Own Kids
Why Is Education the Business of the Government?
April 1, 2008 — -- The cat is finally out of the bag. A California appellate court, ruling that parents have no constitutional right to home school their children, pinned its decision on this ominous quotation from a 47-year-old case: "A primary purpose of the educational system is to train schoolchildren in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare."
There you have it; a primary purpose of government schools is to train schoolchildren "in loyalty to the state." Somehow, that protects "the public welfare" more than allowing parents to home school their children, even though home schooled kids routinely outperform government-schooled kids academically.
In 2006, home schooled students had an average ACT composite score of 22.4. The national average was 21.1.
Justice H. Walter Croskey said, "California courts have held that, under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children."
If that is the law in California, then Charles Dickens' Mr. Bumble is right: "the law is a ass, a idiot."
The California Constitution says, "A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement."
That doesn't appear to rule out home schooling, unless you read it as a grant of absolute power to politicians.
Admittedly, the education code is vague. It requires children to attend public school or a private school (where certified teachers are not required). But they can also be taught by state-credentialed tutors. Home schooling is not directly addressed. There's disagreement over what that means.
The court and the teachers' union claim home schooling is illegal unless the teaching parent has state credentials.
Home schooling parents, many of whom have declared their homes private schools, say what they do is legal. Up till now, that's been fine with the California Department of Education. And California reportedly has 166,000 home schoolers.
