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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.

Dr. Jones

Do not talk about fight club. Oops.

35 thoughts on “California Law Doesn’t Allow HomeSchooling?

  • Well, as a teacher myself, I often wonder what makes parents think they have any clue as to how to teach their child… It is a hard job for a teacher to teach engaging and meaningful lessons. How can a parent with no educational or developmental background even come close to doing what we do? Guess what? They can’t.

  • Jenny, seriously, don’t flatter yourself. Any rapist and criminal can be a teacher, and as I have documented, often are.

    While teachers are wandering around trying to get the slow children to understand simple arithmetic, parents can be teaching their children advanced spelling at home.

    Before there were public schools, parents did this duty gladly for thousands of years without teaching degrees.

  • Pat, Seriously, I will flatter myself, because we are the ones who have to pick up the pieces after parents have tried to disastrously home school their children. It leads to them being horribly behind in their studies, having little to no social skills, and the list goes on and on. I am a great teacher, I work early and late and during my weekends to make sure my students get what they need. I love my job and take it seriously. And yes there are teachers out there who LIKE or LOVE their jobs. Who want to go to work because it is rewarding. It is the ignorant masses like yourself that infuriate us.

    And Pat maybe you should check the Parent’s Behaving Badly website. Unfortunately the list their is MUCH longer and MUCH more devastating. You should try to think a whole lot more before you speak, because you come off sounding very ignorant.

    I also do take into account parents who want to teach their children religion, hence private religious schools. Even though they are also not held to the strict standards public schools are. Granted some public school are not great, but the way the standards keep being increases and increased, they are definitely getting there. The way to tell if a school is good? Do the school employees have their own children attending school there? If not, homeschooling isn’t your answer, school choice is.

    And Pat, no, not any rapist or criminal can be a teacher. You are finding a few cases here or there and true to “media” from sensationalizing the hell out of it so people will read your little column. We are fingerprinted, have to submit to drug testing whenever we are asked to, our names are run through the criminal data bases all over the country, etc. So you are wrong again.

  • Jenny, Your IP address suggests you are in Miami. You may think you are the world’s best teacher and that the kids love you and you deserve a freakin’ medal or something for doing a job and working long hours. Big deal. Most Americans work tough jobs and long hours and don’t get summers off.

    But according to the Department of education, only 1/3rd of Florida schools are making adequate yearly progress in their testing. Nationwide average is 70 percent.
    http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/progress/florida.pdf

    So does the state’s failure in their schools the fault of having so many home-schooled kids showing up for you to “pick up the pieces” of their education? No, I didn’t think so.

    I don’t have much problem with private schools at all. And with your supposedly impeccable resume, you should try to get a job at one.

  • Patty Dearest,

    I am not from Miami. If you kept up with the news you would also be aware that Florida has one of the most impossible to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” benchmarks. And Adequate Yearly Progress has little to do with testing. It has a lot to do with the entire school. You should know that, you consider yourself an expert on all things educational. Be more proactive!!! Come on!

    The other thing I need to address is the summers off thing: Yeah, yeah, you aren’t the first person to try and throw that in a teacher’s face… So try to be a little more creative. Do you think our teaching certificates re-certify themselves? Well, they don’t. We have to take classes and do all sorts of things you choose not to think about, because that would make us GOOD TEACHERS AND ROLE MODELS!
    And by the way, since you can actually read and write this column (however bigoted you are) you should thank the teachers that taught you over the years. Without them, you would be even less than you are…

  • BFD about the certifications. Most professionals have to be certified in their craft. Even construction workers. The fact that you think teachers are somehow heroic for doing what all other professionals and skilled laborers do is laughable. And like most liberals, you toss around words like racism and bigotry whenever you don’t like the opinions of others.

  • So are you for real? All you are able to do is come up with BFD? Gee, that is real quick-witted and shows off your writing skills!!! You really should have stayed in school longer because your reading skills are very poor. NEVER once did I say the word RACIAL. NEVER once did I say teachers were HEROIC. I DID SAY that we were good role models… now Pat lets see, why would we be good role models to kids who often don’t make it through high school… Maybe because we not only have our Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, but we go even further than that, we take classes to further our knowledge, for the sake of doing it. We are in the business of education. We value education, obviously a whole lot more than you do.

    I called you a bigot because that is what you are. As defined by the Merriam Websters Dictionary: “a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices” Sounds an awful lot like you. SO NO, I AM NOT JUST TOSSING IT AROUND, I AM APLLYING IT DIRECTLY TO YOU!!! And you were NEVER able to defend yourself about the comment on how awfully parents, in fact, treat their very own children. You I am sure have visited the site “Parents Behaving Badly”, because on that website you will surely see the things that the parents do are just pure evil, and if you really want to do something to make a difference, rather than just sit there and complain a whole lot, you would be on their backsides. They actually KILL THEIR CHILDREN. But you are okay with all of that I bet, parents choice!!!

    And please don’t tell me you are putting down every individual now that has a certification and telling them that it means nothing. I gather that would make an awful lot of people real mad. They all do work hard for their certifications. I bet if you had to get a certification, and you were regulated half the hate you spew wouldn’t be typed up there on the screen. It is sad that you live such a hateful trolling life. Maybe the people in those private religious schools can pray for you… God Bless

    Look forward to our next conversation and hope it can be more positive!

  • You miss my point Jenny. Lots of people get certifications, and its normal. I’m not putting anyone down for getting one. Im just pointing out that you are no more special than a construction worker who went to special training and education for his certifications. You hear me? You aren’t special, Jenny, and its your elitist attitude that is bigoted here, not mine.

    I have lots of credentials and certifications. I just don’t go around patting myself on the back for it like you seem to enjoy doing. You seem to have a problem with someone else’s website, because this is the second time you brought it up. You are trying to make some kind of strawman argument and tie me to it- why I’m not sure.

  • No Pat maybe you need to go look up bigoted in your Dictionary and see who is the bigoted person here. Read through what you write. It is plain hateful. Just like yourself.
    I will say that I am special, I have worked very hard to become a teacher, I am a very good teacher. If your child were in the school where I teach, you would want your child to have me, because I look for new and innovative ways to get things across to my students.
    And these credentials you speak of, where are they listed and what are they? I would love to know, because from the writing you have posted, it seems that you have absolutely NONE. You have posted horribly rude comments about a woman with inoperable, terminal, and disfiguring cancer of the eye. Yes what a sweetheart you are. Saving Grace to Society. The more I think about it, the more and more I think you do belong with one of those “private religious schools” since you seem to think they are so much better than the rest. Because Lord knows a PRIEST HAS NEVER MOLESTED ANYONE!!!
    *And Yes I was raised Roman Catholic 😉

    Please do try to be more positive, it would help your overall appeal, you just come off as a boil on humanity’s butt. 🙁

  • Jenny you are so unspecial, you are below substandard looking up at standard, and special is way above that.

    Everyone who has a job has worked very hard to get that job and continues to be certified in new procedures and processes that improves their performance and standing in the profession. Quit boring me and the other readers with your egotism about your profession. Teachers are no better than the plumber or drywall hanger. The mechanic that fixes the brakes on your car has more certifications than you do.

    And you can’t name twenty priests that have had sex with students. Here is a list of 100 female teachers.
    http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53479

  • Guess this just goes to validate tht any illiterate fool can create a blog site. What does blogger and box of rocks have in common?

    Same gene pool?

  • 5)Abruzzese Joseph A. 1990 P Convicted Diocesan Placed on leave in 11/93. Pleaded no contest in 1994 to second-degree sexual assault for grabbing and fondling a 16 yr old boy in a local park. Sentenced to 5 yrs probation and counseling. Shown as Absent on Leave per 1995 – 2002 Official Catholic Directories. He is not listed after 2002. Current status unknown

    16)Ahearn Thomas Kieran 1964 P Convicted Franciscan Ahearn arrested Jan. 1993 and charged with molesting 14 yr old youth he picked up while on a skiing vacation. He was found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced to 2 yrs probation. Youth also filed a civil suit in 1995. Personnel produced to Court in 1999. Ahearn died in Dec. 1997.

    18)Ahumada
    Arturo D Convicted Diocesan Deacon. Convicted 2002. Sexual battery of 1 boy and providing pornographic material to 2 boys. Sentenced 1 ys in jail

    PAT~ here is a list of 20 priests who have been accused of sexual abuse, courtesy of BishopAccountability.org- enjoy. If you would like to refer back to that website, there are plenty more. Oh, and may God have mercy on your children, then mercy on we who have to educate them.

    This post edited to remove names of accused who have not had criminal charges against them.

  • Melissa, thanks for that info. I edited your comment to remove allegations that have never panned out in court. I used the same criteria that I use to post about abusive teachers- a confession to law enforcement or overwhelming evidence, but in all cases, it is in the hands of law enforcement.

    I will also note that many of the allegations go back dozens of years. The list of abusive female teachers, which is the top 100, are all within the last 10 years. And there are hundreds of new cases every year.

    The catholic church admitted they had a problem with abusive priests, even though the number of actual cases is really low compared to that of school teachers. But they admitted they had a problem and are working to address it.

    When will teachers admit that there is a problem with abusive teachers and move to address the issue? Teachers love to implement stupid zero tolerance policies at the drop of the hat. How about a zero tolerance policy on banging 14-year-olds?

  • I don’t think anyone is debating the prescence of adults in the education system who abuse their authority. However, that is true in any line of work, be it the manager at the 7-11 who sexually harrasses his 17 year old employee, or the nurse in the nursing home who beats or neglects the elderly. Thankfully these cases are still the excpetion and not the rule. But I must say, I take excpetion, being an educator, to your comment that I am no better than the plumber or drywall hanger. I strive every day to set an example for my students ( I teach Special Ed). I come in early and tutor, I teach through lunch, etc. I correct their grammar and try to mind my own in their prescence. I cry for my 5th grader who reads on a 1st grade level. She has slipped through the cracks, and here we are trying to get her up to speed. It breaks my heart that she must be retained, watching her friends go off to middle school while she stays behind. But it is for her own good. Somedays we are the only smiling face these kids will see. The only hug they will get, the only positive attention they will get- all day. I am teacher, mender of broken hearts, confidante,example to follow. I teach how to add unlike fractions, how to solve for x. I teach the phases of the moon and the rock cycle. The settling of Jamestown, the Civil Rights movement. I do NOT teach home training- saying please and thank you, not passing gasses during classes, how to be respectful of others. Or rather, I should NOT have to. Certain things start in the home, and I will NOT take the blame for parents who want to befriend their children, making them believe they are equals, therefore behaving like tyrants at school, constantly challenging authority.Soooo….again, I take excpetion to that comment.

  • I never said teaching was easy, and there is certainly a high degree of responsibility that goes with the job. And its one thing to be proud of what you do for a living. But its pure snobbery to believe that teaching is more important than any other job, or even more laborous. And if you think what you do is somehow magical or you are the salvation to lost souls, you are deluding yourself. I don’t say this to be mean.

    You can be an excellent teacher. It means you excel at your vocation. A great musician plays music well, and a carpenter that is a master makes great furniture that may become someone’s family heirloom. And great sewer engineers keep the shit flowing downhill.

    What is bad is there is an epidemic of teachers that can’t keep their genitalia off of the children they are charged to teach and the teaching profession sighs and says that there are problems in every job like at a 7-11. They refuse to admit there is a problem.

    And for teachers to denounce parents for practicing free speech in their private homes by teaching their own children is ludicrous.

  • I am not saying we should not practice free speech, by any means. I am all about it, believe me! But, and that’s a BIG BUT,no child is my equal. I do not believe in the old “children should be seen and not heard”, but I do believe that children should respect adults. That has absolutely nothing to do with free speech. That is called home training. On the flip side, however, I fully agree with what you are probably thinking- that’s how these perverted teachers get their claws on these poor children. I agree. Again- no one is debating the existance of disgusting staff members, but I will not let them give ME a bad name. I will not let anyone label me as such. The thought of being sexually stimulated by a child repulses me, makes me physically ill. As I said, I strive to be a good example for these kids, minding my own behaviors in their prescence!
    *Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

  • Guess, Pat, that you really aren’t all that intelligent, because you can never do anything but use your vile tounge to put anyone down. Try getting a higher education and learn to argue with people in a MEANINGFUL and TRUTHFUL way instead of you”repulican-esque” mud-slinging garb.

  • Melissa Check out the quote from Pat on another page of her so-called blog here:

    “pat said in September 27th, 2007 at 1:06 am Cassidhe,

    Welcome to the blog. I wouldn’t have blogged about this except there was ample evidence found on a computer and the kid told police about it. So, she’s guilty- we are just waiting on the court to do its thing.

    Regarding innocent until proven guilty, that is in a court of law. This is a blog. There’s a big difference.”

    Doesn’t sound like she is a very good blogger at all, she makes the rules fit her/his case however they work best.
    The most research she admittedly does is over a computer… We know how smart that is… She supports child molesting priest and child murdering parents, what do we really have to say to elaborate on her? She talks out of both sides of something there should only be one hole exiting out of?

  • OUCH!

  • Jenny, you can keep saying that I support parents hurting their kids, but it still won’t be true. I don’t support child molesting priests either, but I removed all of the portions of the text where law enforcement did not get involved.

    In the blog post you quoted, here http://www.belch.com/blog/2007/09/25/reason-111-to-homeschool-no-frenching-the-teacher/ the woman was araigned. That means a grand jury saw enough evidence to bring charges. That’s lots more than can be said about Melissa’s entries that I deleted. I applied the same standard.

    And I stand behind the quote of innocent until proven guilty as a tenet of a court of law. On a blog I can and do, speak my opinions freely.

    And Jenny, you should check out the “About” section of the blog so you can learn what I do for a living and get my gender correct when you refer to me.

    And regarding the child molesting teacher you just defended, she threatened the parents of her victim of ruining his chances at college if she told anyone about their affair.
    http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/100707/loc_teacher001.shtml

    And she was teacher of the year, an honor you can’t achieve. So who’s defending child molesters? Not me, its you.

  • I can say that you apply little to no standards in your pathetic writing, if that is what you wish to call it. I would call it rubbish, and if it was in printed for save it and use it … well for other purposes.

    By the way I never defended any child-molesting teacher, just pointed out the things that didn’t makes sense in your “methods”. I was defending no one, Pat, NO ONE!!! Dear, oh dear, you need to brush up on your horrid reading comprehension skills. I bet you were home schooled! Anyone with half a brain can see how evil you are, that you twist words, that you find things online from whatever tabloid you can and use them as fact. And that my friend hardly makes you worthy of being involved in the news or even representing that you are retelling the news. You are a liar and always will be.

    Anyway, Top of the morning to you. Spend some more time in the sunshine and less time online it has positively turned you into a shrew!!! I also think tj was right! I bet you have brown eyes, correct?

  • Keep showing what wonderful people teachers are, Jenny. BTW, have you updated your match.com profile lately?

  • So for clarification purposes, Pat, you aren’t a teacher OR a parent?

  • There is a whole category on the right called “babybelch.” That should clarify a few things. And I have held lots of jobs, some of which were pretty crummy. I’m definitely not cut out for being a teacher- at least not for other peoples’ obnoxious kids.

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