A California District Court handed down a ruling this week declaring home schooling in the state to be unconstitutional. From the article:
“California courts have held that … parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children,” Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. “Parents have a legal duty to see to their children’s schooling under the provisions of these laws.”[…]
The ruling was applauded by a director for the state’s largest teachers union.
“We’re happy,” said Lloyd Porter, who is on the California Teachers Association board of directors. “We always think students should be taught by credentialed teachers, no matter what the setting.”
Of course, Lloyd.
Our three children have never been in a public school for classroom instruction. When our oldest was about nine, she was invited to be the guest of a neighbor child by doing the reading time for his class. The teacher was shocked at how well she did. Of course, she’d been reading the newspaper since she was 5.
Our middle child, Timothy, recently opted to try for the GED. On his evaluation test he scored as a high school graduate in each section. When we sat down with the instructor for the explanation, he began with the reading scores first saying, “I always start with the reading scores first. Unfortunately, we still have people go through high school who are functionally illiterate.” Astoundingly, functional illiteracy does not seem to be a problem with home schooled students.
Our youngest probably reads 300 books a year (no exaggeration), most of which have to do with some aspect of world and US history. She usually greets each new section of history with, “Oh yeah, I read about that in ______________.”
Like most kids, each of them have areas in which they have excelled and each of them have had areas where they have struggled. They weren’t (and aren’t) perfect as students, nor are we as teachers.
Though many homeschoolers can be virulent and even insolent about their position, most that I have encountered came to the decision after lots of thought and prayer. Most do not claim Deuteronomy 6 as their basis, but simply what is best for the family in a given situation or distinct period of time. Our original decision was made because we had two options for our kindergartener: drive 40 miles cumulative daily taking her ourselves or put her on a K-5 through 12th grade bus at 7:15 am and let her be dropped off at 5:00 pm. Neither situation was right for us, so we opted to homeschool.
Most homeschoolers do not get a tax break for purchasing their own textbooks, workbooks, study guides, tests, beakers, bunson burners, modeling clay and the rest. At the same time, most pay property taxes to furnish everyone else’s child with all the same equipment. We pay for the public system and yet receive no compensation for our homeschool expenses. It is an inequity that most willingly accept for the option of making sure their kids are not overwhelmed by a 180-day a year education that ignores or mocks the existence of the biblical God.
Another statement from the judge is equally as troublesome. Citing a 1961 case, Judge Proskey wrote:
“A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare.”
Uhm…educating children is not on the menu? The educational system in the United States of America, circa 2008, has absolutely nothing to do with “protecting the public welfare.” It has to do with getting the almighty tax dollars allocated to the various states and school districts via the No Child Left Behind legislation. The 1961 ruling could surely have been updated to reflect the new reality that “The primary purpose of the educational system is to brainwash school children in bad philosophy, materialism and subservience to the state and nation as a means of prolonging the public fealty.”
The U. S. government educational experiment has been (with some exceptions) a dismal failure and (as my Momma used to say), “Anyone with one eye and half-sense can see that.” I hope that California parents are successful in getting this ruling overturned either through lawsuit or legislation. I also hope that the U.S. supremes, if given the opportunity, leave it as an issue for the states to decide rather than pulling another Roe v Wade.
Ah, California. The state likely to let a parent kill a child, but will not let them educate it once it is born.
Many of the comments on that article are as disturbing as the article itself, if not more so. It’s troubling how people who are so ignorant of the homeschooling process(es) can take stands so strongly against them. People use a single negative experience with a lazy homeschooler as evidence against all home schooling, while ignoring how poorly our country’s public education stands up when compared to that of other nations. I do hope the people in California are able to do something about this ridiculous ruling.
Comment by Beth Duren — March 7, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
Marty, thanks so much for publishing this. I will be praying for the overturn of this intrusive piece of legislature. I am certain it will be dumped. selahV
Comment by selahV — March 8, 2008 @ 1:07 am
I’m an educator and don’t normally opt for pulling children out of the school system; although, it depends on each situation and location. Some schools and locations are better than others. I think children’s education is parent choice as to how and where they want to teach their children. Parents choose to homeschool for various reasons; some for educational preferences, others for religious preferences, others for the location in which they live at times; i.e. parents who work in different areas of the country and move frequently… sometimes it is better for the family to move together rather than the parent to be away from home 6 months to a year at a time. There are just as many reasons for homeschooling as there are for going to a school building. I’m hoping this California ruling doesn’t stick and certainly doesn’t spread across the country.
Comment by Brenna — March 8, 2008 @ 10:18 am
This whole fiasco is disturbing on so many levels. Admittedly, I’ve not been a big advocate of homeschooling for a variety of reasons. At the same time, I know that there are highly legitimate reasons for parents to choose this form of education for their children. It’s also my (most humble but accurate) opinion that parents for the most part are the ones responsible for the development and education of their children–not the state (or government of any stripe). With that in mind, I believe that it is the duty of the parents to provide for their child(ren) the best available schooling to them–be it home, private, or public schooling.
I don’t know why this issue has me so trumped up (I’ve commented–now–here and on other blogs) but this is scary. Big Brother on the move.
Comment by Benjie — March 8, 2008 @ 10:18 am
Brenna and Benjie-
As for me and my house…we be not rabid homeschoolers. I cannot imaging a situation any worse than a child enduring “teaching” at the hands of an ill-tempered, overbearing, perfectionist parent. You are correct that the key is parental involvement and parental rights. Kids can receive a good public school education with parent(s) and teachers working together. The abrogation of parental rights here is what makes this particularly odious.
Comment by Marty Duren — March 8, 2008 @ 10:48 am
Marty,
I’m glad to see someone else has written on this. I don’t agree with the “Exit” strategy by Mohler but let parents decide what is best for their children. For someone like me who still has two children in school for 4 1/2 and 7 1/2 years it is nice to read about successes like your children.
Comment by Kevin Bussey — March 8, 2008 @ 10:57 am
The ruling came from the Second District Court of Appeal not the Supreme Court.
And the decision did not declare that homeschooling to be unconstitutional in California as your post indicates. After actually reading the article, I found your first sentence to be incredibly misleading.
“The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home.”
Homeschooling is not unconstitutional. Instead the Court held that under Californai law homeschoolers must (like public and private schools) meet certain standards. Parents are allowed to homeschool their children as long as the tutors that they use are “credentialed.”
It seems that if a parent in California is willing to invest the time and energy into homeschool their kids, they should also be willing to go through the process of becoming a “credentialed tutor.” Is that too much to ask?
Public schools employ “credentialed teachers.” Private schools employ “credentialed teachers.” Why shouldn’t homeschoolers be required to meet those same standards as the law requires. Not all parents are fit to educate their kids.
Comment by Big Daddy Weave — March 8, 2008 @ 10:42 pm
Big Daddy,
Here’s a link to the requirements for becoming a “credentialed” teacher in California: http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/teach-elementary.html . Please look over that and tell me how most parents will have the time or money to complete such programs. This sort of requirement makes it impossible for parents to quickly withdraw their students from public school in order to home school. Parents who are withdrawing because of poor school districts, violence in schools, learning disabilities, or other time-sensitive reasons would have to take years and possibly spend thousands of dollars on a program that is utterly unnecessary. Many parents without college degrees or credentials can educate their children infinitely better than a learned, credentialed public school teacher who has a packed classroom and cannot give quality attention to each student.
Comment by Beth Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 12:05 am
Big Daddy-
Thanks for the correction on the District Court.
You ever had a pubic school teacher that was not fit to educate? I have. In my comment #5 I indicate that some parents are not fit to homeschool so I’m not sure what your point is there. The fact remains that most loving, uncertified parents are fully capable of educational instruction through the entire elementary school years and many through 12th grade. The fact also remains that by the 12th grade many homeschooled students are learning on their own and, thus, are as prepared for college as their public school counterparts.
You speak as if hiring a “credentialed tutor” is no big deal. I assume that you are aware of how much the average salary for a credentialed tutor in CA is? Could you share that? It must be cheap since you assume that every concerned family can afford one.
Comment by Marty Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 1:48 am
My post assumed that the parents themselves in most cases will serve as the “Credentialed tutor.”
How tough is the process for one to become a “Credentialed tutor” in the state of California? If the process is unreasonably burdensome, the state legislature can surely pass a law to make the process towards of becoming credentialed less difficult. With a lobby of over With over 160K kids homeschooled in CA, lobbying for such a bill (if its even needed) should not be a difficult task.
But you speak as if the government should have absolutely no oversight over the education of those homeschooled. Yet, there is plenty of oversight (see “Credentialed” requirements) in both Public and Private Schools. States such as California have an interest in ensuring that its young citizenry receive a decent education. Your acknowledgment in comment #5 demonstrates that homeschoolers should be forced to meet specific government criteria for the sake of the children.
Comment by Big Daddy Weave — March 9, 2008 @ 2:23 am
Big Daddy-
“If the process is unreasonably burdensome, the state legislature can surely pass a law to make the process towards of becoming credentialed less difficult.” But in the mean time, it seems that parents are immediately required to enroll their student in their nearest government sponsored school. On overwhelming burden then falls to the parents to “fix” what the court has screwed up.
I have not indicated at all that the government should have no interest or oversight…it just doesn’t need as much oversight as it thinks it does to turn out properly educated, well adjusted citizens. We have always turned in all required paperwork and had our kids tested every three years just as GA law requires.
Two questions:
1. Do you think that, in most cases, kids are better off attending a public school than being homeschooled (with “better off” referring to both academic achievement and personal development)?
2. Does the government have a greater responsibility than the parent in a child’s education?
BTW, in our county it is not uncommon for a child to attend school for 7 hours a day and then have 3 hours of homework a night. Many parents end up “homeschooling” anyway.
Comment by Marty Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 2:34 am
Don’t forget time change, Mr. Night Owl.
Comment by Marty Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 2:34 am
No fear Pastor Marty, I made it to the 11am though Sunday School came too early this week!
On to my response.
I’m a product of public education, public Georgia education (Vidalia City Schools and then University of Georgia). For the most part, all my friends today came up through the public school system. My dad and his brother (who both found their way to SBTS for Ph.D.) were bussed from their white neighborhood to an inner-city school in Richmond. We all turned out alright.
I think this issue (public/private schools vs. homeschool) comes down to whether the parents do their job. Sure, public schools (and private) can serve to corrupt the youth. In a smaller public school like VHS (600-800), everyone knew everything about everybody. So, yea I knew who was dealing and who was loose. But I also knew who was Christian and who didn’t do drugs and who didn’t fool around. Good parents who are attentive will make sure that their kids don’t fall in with the wrong crowd. In most cases, I believe if parents will do their job – their kids will turn out A-OK.
You know, kids are just as likely to get exposed to drugs, booze and sex while at youth group on Sunday nights as they are during lunch period at your local public school. Every small youth group that I was ever involved with had at least a few who were drinking keg beer on Friday night and/or in the backseat of their extended cab on Saturday night.
There was a rather large homeschool population in Vidalia when I was growing up. Most were members of FBC Vidalia where Bucky Kennedy, President of the Georgia Baptist Convention, is the pastor. Most of the homeschooled kids were eventually integrated into the public school system by high school in order to play sports. I dated the daughter of a guidance counselor back in high school. She would always say (based on their test scores) that homeschooling put many of those kids at a disadvantage.
I know what your response is and that my observation may very well be the exception and not the norm. But, my point is that it takes an EXCEPTIONAL, ABOVE AVERAGE, COMMITTED Parent or Parents to homeschool their kid. Not every kid is an avid reader like yours. Unfortunately, my experience has taught me that most parents don’t fit that definition of EXCEPTIONAL.
Now, I don’t oppose homeschooling. I’ve seen it work well especially with kids who are very advanced. And if I lived in a crumby school district (i.e. Atlanta City Schools) AND sending my kid to a private school wasn’t a possibility (Atlanta area private schools are expensive!) then I’d seriously consider the homeschooling option. However, I support government oversight in the area of education. Are the “credentialed” regulations in California unreasonable? I don’t know. I haven’t seen the specifics.
So no, I don’t think the government has a greater responsibility than the parent in a child’s education. But the government most definitely has an interest in that child receiving a quality education. The public school system is not broken everywhere. But where it is broken, the government needs to “fix” it. Meanwhile, the government must also not allow private school and homeschooled kids to fly under the radar.
Comment by Big Daddy Weave — March 9, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
Big Daddy,
Please see my above comment for the specifics of the credentials. In fact, you might want to go back and read the whole comment since you seem to have missed it.
This ruling makes it nearly impossible for lower class and many middle class parents to home school their children. Affording this education and possibly taking time off work in order to get these credentials is absolutely NOT an option for many. This reeks of classism.
I honestly do not understand what you mean when you say the requirements for credentials should be make less strict if it makes it difficult for many parents to get these credentials. First you say the requirements for home school parents should be the same as public school teachers, but then you say that if the requirements are too strict for home school parents, then the requirements should be made less strict! How about we let parents decide what is best for their own children and let the government stick to what it does best–FEMA trailers, overtaxation, and ignoring the Constitution.
Comment by Beth Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
I actually did miss your comment.
But like I said before, the state legislature can accommodate the home schools students by changing the certification guidelines in a way that is more sensible. However, the legislature can accommodate homeschoolers in a way that still allows reasonable government oversight. The state legislative branch often does this in response to many court decisions.
Nonetheless, I sense that you believe parents have a right to homeschool with little or no regulation by the state. What regulations would you even deem to be “utterly necessary” ?
And if you’ll reread what I wrote, you’ll notice that I never said that the requirements for homeschool parents should be the same as public school teachers. Instead, I conceded that I did not know the specifics as to what constitutes a “credentialed tutor.” But I clearly stated that parents who wish to homeschool their kids should be forced to meet reasonable requirements. You demonstrate no faith in the public school system. Yet you demonstrate an absurd amount of faith in the average parent to do what is best for their own children in the education arena. At least someone has faith in the capabilities and commitment of most parents, rich and poor! Not me.
Comment by Big Daddy Weave — March 9, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
Sorry if I misunderstood your comment, but you did say, “Public schools employ ‘credentialed teachers.’ Private schools employ ‘credentialed teachers.’Why shouldnâ??t homeschoolers be required to meet those same standards as the law requires.” That statements sounds as if you’re saying they should have the same standards.
In my state, there are already government standards in place that homeschoolers have to meet. They’re still tested every 2-3 years; grades, hours, and subjects studied have to be submitted to the county school admins; they have to pass the GED testing in order to get a HS diploma equivalent (the GED is supposedly more difficult than the exit testing of high schoolers); and they have to attend school for either 1 or 2 semesters before they are allowed to receive our state HOPE scholarship so that they can “prove” themselves to the govt. Each state’s standards are different, but I think the standards for my state are much more reasonable than making a parent go back to school in order to get the govt’s stamp of approval. Chances are good that CA already had reasonable standards in place, as do most all states.
My faith in the public school system varies on a case by case basis. A local county in GA just lost their accreditation, and they weren’t the first to do so. Some school systems are excellent. Some home school families are excellent. Let parents decide what is best for their kids.
Comment by Beth Duren — March 9, 2008 @ 9:04 pm
Big Daddy, you often breathe a lot of sense into discussions, and I appreciate that. I feel like you are out of your element here. You don’t have any children (or at least of school age if you do) and it almost seems like you are reacting to the “rabid” homeschooling attitude you eschew (with good reason) rather than engaging the issues. In the Kingdom parents really are the ones ultimately responsible for the kkids’ education and discipleship. Ultimately, discipleship of Jesus is the goal for Christians, not a worldly education, although the two aren’t incompatible. In fact, when we disciple ourkids in Kingdom principles and the Word of God… so much of the rest falls in to place.
Marty and Beth, thanks for a great post and discussion.
Comment by Bryan Riley — March 10, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
Oh, as for us, we have 3 kids, ages 9, 6, and 4. The 9 year old has spent a total of about 2 years in homeschool and about 2 years in public schools. The six year old has done about 1 and 1. The 4 year old has just done home stuff. Basically Tara homeschooled all of them for K-garten, they each entered public school for 1st grade and then we’ve been about on the mission field – sometimes in public and sometimes in homeschool. We simply ask God.
Comment by Bryan Riley — March 10, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
As a home school family I see more and more families moving towards home schooling for a wide variety of reasons. My hope has always been that the increase in home schooling would eventually create a positive challenge for change rather than the typical rhetoric against the movement.
Comment by brad brisco — March 10, 2008 @ 8:58 pm
Brad,
You make an excellent point. Why do people who don’t homeschool blast it. We don’t blast the public school system. There are fine schools and teachers I’m sure. I think people criticize what they don’t know about. I wasn’t a fan homeschooling until we started doing it. We take it year by year for various reasons. Why should someone else care about what my children do as long as we don’t abuse them?
Comment by Kevin Bussey — March 11, 2008 @ 9:05 am