Decision on proposed California ban could mean no more homeschooling

After a recent ruling that banned non-credentialed parents from homeschooling in the state of California, many Texans expressed relief that the court ruling has been temporarily vacated after deep concern that the effects of such a landmark decision could trickle through the rest of the nation.

Some remain skeptical because the court has asked a teachers’ union to provide its opinion, and the resulting decision will impact parents’ ability to choose how their children will be educated.

Ken Lynn is a board member at the Christian Home Education Association of Central Texas.

He believes the ruling should still have Texans concerned because it is indicative of how state governments sometimes attempt to usurp parents’ rights.

“Although it is true that a California state court does not directly impact Texas residents, it does reflect how parental rights and authority are constantly under attack,” he said. “We are concerned that this ruling makes it appear that parents are unqualified to teach their children or that by choosing to homeschool we should be suspect of neglect or subversion of a child’s need for a quality education.”

The Feb. 28 judgment was issued by Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles after a child filed a complaint of abuse and neglect with the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services.

According to his ruling, children ages 6 to 18 must be taught in public or private schools or at home by credentialed teachers.

Croskey wrote that instructors who continue to teach without credentials would be subject to criminal action and the children declared truant.

The decision sparked nationwide uproar, prompted numerous petitions to “depublish” Croskey’s opinion and convinced the Second District Court of Appeals to re-hear the case, with a new round of briefings due in late April.

It could take the court several months to schedule oral argument and issue another decision.

The National Home Education Research Institute reports, “There were an estimated 1.9 to 2.4 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during 2005-2006 in the United States.”

Texas is estimated to have had 105,000 homeschooled students—the second highest figure behind California with 166,000.

Dr. Marlene Zipperlen, dean of the College of Education, said the judges must consider what 14th Amendment rights citizens enjoy in the state setting.

“I am not sure the judge violated any rights,” she said. “I believe Judge Croskey’s ruling is based on persuasive evidence that was introduced in the case. I would like to believe that the judge was acting in the best interests of all children as opposed to believing he was singling out the homeschooled students.”

Leslie Buchanan is president of the board of directors at the Homeschool Association of California. She expressed outrage at Croskey’s decision.

“He overstepped with this ruling,” she said. “This case was a child welfare case, not an issue of truancy. Homeschooling should never have been an issue with the court.”

However, Buchanan says California homeschoolers are hoping that the reach of the ruling will be shortened after the case is revisited by the teachers’ union, and they believe other states will not experience similar decisions against parents who homeschool without credentials.

Senior management major Thomas Umstattd was homeschooled for 11 years and is a member of the Facebook group Save homeschooling in California.

He said Texans should pay attention to the recent situation because the state often sets the tone for legislation around the country, and citizens everywhere should speak up against violation of parents’ rights.

“It is easy for those who don’t homeschool to look the other way on this issue,” he said. “But, as Dr. Martin Luther King said, ‘A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ If we are to stay competitive as a nation, we need a well-educated population. If homeschooling is doing a good job educating students, it should be encouraged, not outlawed.”

In a public statement, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger 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.”

Likewise, then Texas Gov. William Clements demonstrated his support for homeschoolers as early as 1989 by signing a proclamation declaring a statewide Home Education Week in March.

Successive governors followed suit, and it has since become a Texas tradition.