MrWonder's Bible Chat

Appellate court says a credential is needed to teach children
By Maureen Magee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 7, 2008

K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune
Kathy Adams Morgan helped her daughter Jenny, 13, with school work yesterday at their Point Loma home. About 4,000 students are home-schooled in the county.
Overview

Background: Estimates on the number of home-schooled children in California range from 100,000 to 200,000. Parents can teach their children at home by filing a private school affidavit, hiring a credentialed tutor or enrolling them in an independent study program run by an established school.

What's changing: A state appellate court ruled that it is illegal for parents to teach their children without a teaching credential.

The future: There are no plans to enforce the ruling. An appeal is in the works.
After treating patients for 15 years, Kathy Adams Morgan hung up her stethoscope to educate her daughter full time at their Point Loma home.

Eight years later, Morgan has no regrets. It's easy to see why.

At 13, Jenny scores high on standardized tests and balances academics with organized sports, Girl Scouts, dance �?and the ever-important teenage social life.

But according to a recent state appellate court ruling, it is illegal for Morgan �?and the thousands of California parents who home-school their children �?to teach without credentials.

“Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,�?wrote Justice H. Walter Croskey in a Feb. 28 opinion signed by the two other members of the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

The ruling has rattled home-school families in San Diego County and throughout California. It is the subject of much speculation on the blogs, Web sites and networks that link thousands of home-schoolers statewide.

However, many parents, educators and even lawyers are unsure exactly what the decision means. No one predicts an imminent change for home-schoolers.

“We all take our liberties for granted,�?Morgan said. “I couldn't imagine not being able to have the option of home schooling.�?BR>
It's unclear how many children are home-schooled in California, but estimates range from 100,000 to 200,000. In San Diego County, educators and home-school networks surmise that as many as 4,000 students get their educations at home.

Many of them are enrolled in independent study programs through school districts, charter schools or private schools. For instance, Jenny Morgan takes some classes, including high school French, and exams at Mt. Everest Academy, a public school that supports home-schoolers in San Diego.

Other students are taught at home under the direction of a parent.

Home schooling in California has been permitted if parents exempt their child from from public school by filing a private school affidavit, which essentially establishes their home as a school; hires a credentialed tutor; or enrolls their child in an independent study program run by an established school while teaching at home.

Many parents like the flexibility of home schooling and fear that strict laws may come from the ruling.

“The law is vague, but that's to our benefit. I would hate to see that change,�?said Mary Beth Ring of National City, who home-schools her fifth-grade daughter and 12th-grade son. Her three older children were also home-schooled.

“You've got people who are going to do this no matter what,�?Ring said. “If it becomes illegal, then it's just going to become underground.�?BR>
The ruling came as a surprise to the home-schooling community because it was not part of an organized campaign targeting this nontraditional style of education. In fact, home schooling was the accidental target in a Los Angeles County social-service investigation.

After following up on a child's claim that his father was abusive, social workers discovered that eight siblings were being home-schooled by their mother through the Sunland Christian School. An attorney representing the two youngest children asked a judge to order them to attend a traditional school, saying the home education was deficient.

The judge agreed the education was “lousy,�?“meager�?and “bad,�?but he denied the request. He said families had a constitutional right to home-school their children.

The county appealed and the 2nd District court, based in Los Angeles, ordered the children to attend a school.

However, there do not appear to be plans for widespread enforcement or disruption to home-schoolers statewide.

Legal experts say the ruling is a long time coming, given that home schooling is virtually unregulated in California.

“What the court did say is that parents no longer have the right to home-school your kid any way you want, that it's legal for the state to regulate how you home-school your kid,�?said Shaun Martin, a law professor at the University of San Diego who has been following the case.

Martin said school districts and social workers have been reluctant to scrutinize suspect home schools for fear of lawsuits. The ruling, he expects, will make it easier for them to monitor parents who have neglected or under-educated children through home schooling.

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Education said staff lawyers are reviewing the case. Home-school advocates are rallying to protect their rights, and an appeal is already in the works.

“There are going to be a lot of parents forced to make some very difficult decisions if an appeal is not successful,�?said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative legal organization preparing to fight the ruling on behalf of Sunland Christian School.

Dacus said he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Once considered a practice of the ultra religious or nonconformists, home schooling has gained wider support in recent years. Along with charter schools and private schools, home schooling has become one of the standard alternatives to a traditional public education.

Many families keep their children at home to give them a custom-made education that is in sync with their morals or religious beliefs. Others do it in response to school violence. Some enroll their children in independent-study programs to accommodate intensive athletic training, acting or music careers.

“We don't home-school to hide away from the world; we do it because it is best for our kids,�?said Ring of National City. “It's hard work and it's not for everybody. But it works for a lot of us.�?