California Law Doesn’t Allow HomeSchooling?
Stupid judges in California have essentially made all homeschoolers in the state truants and their parents criminals in a recent ruling. It seems that all children must be taught by accredited teachers or tutors either at a public or a private school. No exceptions. Rather than being taught at home, kids are supposed to absorb learning in an environment such as the one in this video below.
The teachers union members are celebrating according to the article at the SFGate here:
A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution.
The ruling arose from a child welfare dispute between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Philip and Mary Long of Lynwood, who have been homeschooling their eight children. Mary Long is their teacher, but holds no teaching credential.
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. Many homeschooling families avoid truancy laws by registering with the state as a private school and then enroll only their own children.
“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.”
Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said.
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.”
So Lloyd Porter thinks that the 49 states where it is legal to homeschool your kids are doing it wrong.
I think this makes Lloyd Porter a bit of a dick.
OK, how can you leave a comment like that, and then criticize us teachers, when you yourself use the term “other people’s obnoxious kids”? BTW, the teacher in me wants to point out that people is already plural, therefore the plural possessive is “people’s”, not “peoples'”.
Pat no idea what you are talking about but you are a real idiot! Stay close to your subject and pull your head out of your ass!!!
Woudn’t want to report youfor internet stalking! You seem to have real problems…
Melissa,
I don’t have to do a job to know I wouldn’t like it. And as a teacher, you know better than I do that kids are obnoxious. You as much as said so yourself. Regardless, it has no bearing on the subject at hand, which is homeschooling.
And Jenny,
Match.com only has fat women and teachers on it. Lucky guess on my part, which was confirmed by your lame defense at calling me a stalker.
Pat, I must disagree. You support homeschooling ( I am assuming, but your vehement arguments). You don’t have to have a psychology degree to put that together. And heck ya I have said that other people’s children can be obnoxious. Generally that goes back to the whole home-training issue. Note that I said generally, not always. Sometimes you have a personality clash. My job, as a professional, is to show that little twit just as much love as I would any other child. Yup, I said twit!
That’s what makes you a professional. But its still a job to which I am not suited. I’m not sure why you are arguing this point. I think we can both agree to this.
I guess because your hostility unnerves me….Do you support homeschooling? If so is it for the right reason- because you think you can do a better job, or is it because you fear sexual predators? Will you homeschool your son or send him to public schools? I must agree with a lot of what Jenny says. There are indeed a lot of half-wits out there who homeschool. Then get tired of it and send us children who may know how to build a computer, or the right mix of soil/manure/humus to grow the perfect vegetable garden (which are good things to know) but can’t read a lick. My teenage daughter’s boyfriend has been homeschooled and is now in public HS with her. He simply cannot break the habit of finishing work “when he finishes it”. His mom, as nice and as intelligent as she may be, never gave him time limits. Even little things like that are important. I am not anti-homeschooling, I want to make that clear. I am, however, against, idiots homeschooling. Those who think that since they graduated high school, they know what it takes to give thier children the edge needed to be successful in this life. I remind my students that it is a sink or swim world, what are you going to do?
Yes, I support homeschooling for the right reasons, and especially want to preserve the right to pull my child out of a failing school. Its not just the sex predators- Its the bullying, the slow pace of lessons, the sheer boredom, and yes, bad teachers.
I am under no illusion about the difficulty it takes to do it yourself. I happen to be very fortunate in that there are tons of resources available to us in the region I live in. Right across the street are tutoring stores. Online support is better than ever and improving as the state of the art of homeschooling advances. There is a pool of resources of homeschooler parents to help in subjects at which they excel.
You got called a stalker because you seem to be making several attemps to find out where I live in person, even thopugh you are wrong on all counts! Such a bitter and hostle woman!!! You need to see more sunshine… Have more joy in your life, get out in the fresh air… Get of your silly computer!