A Right to Home School?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-home12mar12,0,6591492.story
State Must Set Standards for Home Schooling
http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_8542735
Both editorials praise homeschooling in many ways, yet unaccountably conclude that more regulation of homeschooling is needed. That is where we beg to differ. Homeschooling is working now and does not need to be fixed, overseen, or regulated.
All of the groups have talked, and we all agree that what we need now is really a big PR push. The public needs to hear from homeschoolers and friends of homeschoolers. They need to know we're not fringe nut cases, that we're responsible, that WE have the best interests of our kids firmly at heart, even if some families that make it to the papers (and that's why they're in the juvenile court system and we're not) might be different.
We encourage as many of you as can to write letters to the editor of your local papers (look at their websites for rules on submitting letters, which can often be sent over the internet at their website) telling them that no such additional regulation is warranted.
It is best to be short and sweet. Be passionate but respectful, and don't denigrate anyone. State, for instance, who you are (e.g., "Our family homeschools in Anytown, California" or "My daughter teaches her three children at home") and then begin your points.
Jennifer Dees took the points that had been discussed yesterday on a conference call between leaders of HSC, CHN, CHEA, FPM and HSLDA and made a sample letter, which is printed below. We recommend that you don't use it in its entirety, but instead pick one or two points that really matter to you and use this as inspiration.
Short letters get printed. Long ones don't. So leave out most personal information (other than identifying your relationship to homeschooling). Don't bash teachers. They are not our enemies. And MOST IMPORTANT, don't say a word about regulation or legislation being acceptable. It isn't, and all of the groups are firmly committed to fighting it tooth and nail. If it comes, we'll deal with it, but as one of my colleagues who has fought legislative battles for 20 years says, "It's 10 to 20 times easier to stop a bad bill than to pass a good one."
This battle will be won by the contributions of hundreds. We all appreciate everything that you guys do. Please forward this to your local lists, too, or to friends anywhere.
Debbie Schwarzer
Co-chair Legal Team and Legislative Chair Homeschool Association of California
Sample letter:
-- Homeschoolers have proven themselves over time. Homeschooling has been mainstream for over 20 years, with many people knowing or knowing of a homeschooling family. It's not new and experimental, or a trend to watch carefully. Homeschooling is a popular educational option in all 50 states, and is here to stay.
-- Oversight of homeschoolers is not needed and is detrimental to student performance. Research shows that homeschoolers outperform public school students by every measure. Further, homeschoolers in states without oversight, such as California, outperform homeschoolers in states in which homeschooling is heavily regulated (e.g., Pennsylvania). [Research, HSLDA]
-- Additional regulation of homeschoolers would cost money -- money the state does not have available for its education needs at this time. Regulating homeschoolers would add an expensive layer of bureaucracy to our state education department. Wouldn't it be better to spend any available funds on the children in public schools, rather than on imposing additional regulations on homeschooling families when no evidence shows it is needed?
-- Homeschoolers are skeptical of being regulated by a state education system that is not doing a good job of its own mission. The state is in the process of drastically slashing its education budget. According to State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell, "This budget will not help us close the achievement gap that threatens the future of our students and our state." In January, Education Week's comprehensive report card gave California a grade of "D+" when it comes to funding our schools, a "C-" on the teaching profession, and a "D" on K-12 achievement. The California high school dropout rate of approximately one-third is similarly discouraging.
O'Connell announced today that the California Department of Education
has completed a legal review of the February 28 California Court of
Appeal ruling regarding home schooling. O'Connell issued the following
statement:
"I have reviewed this case, and I want to assure parents
that chose to home school that California Department of Education policy
will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still
have the right to home school in our state.
"Every child in our state has a legal right to get an education, and I
want every child to get an education that will prepare them for success
in college and the world of work in the challenging global economy.
"As the head of California's public school system, I hope that every
parent would want to send their children to public school. However,
traditional public schools may not be the best fit for every student.
Within the public school system there are a range of options available.
Students can take independent study classes, attend a charter school, or
participate in non-classroom- based programs. But some parents choose to
"I admire the dedication of parents who commit to oversee their
children's education through home schooling. But, no matter what
educational program a student participates in, it is critical that the
program prepares them for future success in the global economy. I urge
any parent who is considering or involved in home schooling their
children to take advantage of resources and support available through
their county or district offices of education."
wanted to get this information in front of you, and HSC's position on
it, right away. I have discussed this with Leslie Buchanan, HSC's
President, and she agrees with this message. She and I would like you
to forward this to any groups that might be helpful.
Assemblymember Joel Anderson, a conservative Republican whose children
are taught at home, has introduced a concurrent resolution in the
California Assembly. If it passes, it will go to the state Senate for
their vote.
I'm not copying and pasting the entire resolution because I am not
certain that what I was sent was the final version that he submitted
to Legislative Counsel. His office tells me that you should be able
to find it tonight by going to www.leginfo.ca.gov and doing one of two
The resolution basically states as follows: that homeschooled children
perform well at college and in life, that there is a rich history of
homeschooling, that an estimated 200,000 children in California and
2,000,000 children in the U.S. are taught at home, that the U.S.
Constitution recognizes the fundamental right of parents to have their
children educated outside of state schools, that the appellate
decision is misguided, and that the Supreme Court should reverse the
decision.
The call for the Supreme Court to reverse is in the second to last
paragraph of the version I have seen. Obviously, this goes against
what I have been asking people to do the last week (leave the Supreme
Court alone lest we make them mad). However, I believe this
resolution is intended to serve much the same function as the HSLDA
petition, which is to give a group (here the legislature) the
opportunity to do something concrete before the Court completes its
review. I believe many in the legislature understand that it is
premature to try to introduce legislation until that review is
complete and we know what the Court believes the law in California
should be based on the statutes we currently have in place.
Given the purpose of the resolution, and that the Court will ignore
anything the legislature says, I think the resolution serves one other
very important purpose. It will help identify who in the Assembly and
who in the Senate is our friend, and who isn't. We all know that
there are members of both houses who are beholden to the CTA and to
unions, and we can expect them to vote against the resolution. But if
there are members who support the resolution, especially Democrats, it
is in our interest to know who they are, as we will need to work with
them should legislation be unavoidable.
This is one case where I do encourage members of HSC and all other
homeschoolers in the state to contact their representatives
(currently, just the Assemblymembers, as it is not pending before the
Senate and will just confuse your Senator's office if you call now)
and encourage them to vote in favor of ACR 115. You can find your
Assemblymember and his or her contact information by going to
www.leginfo.ca.gov, clicking on the blue box entitled "Your
Legislature", and entering your zip code.
Calls are fine, but letters faxed to the office are even better, as
they then retain tangible evidence of their constituents' positions.
Emails are often ignored, so please call or fax if possible. It is
best to give your name, the city and/or Assembly District you live in
and the name of the resolution (ACR 115), to state that you educate
your children at home (or support those who do) and wish the right of
California families to continue to have that option with minimal
government intervention, and to state your desire that Assemblymember
______ vote in favor of ACR 115 by Joel Anderson.
If you have any interesting discussions with staff about this
resolution, either a strong indication of probable support or
opposition, or any other feedback the legal and legislative folks
should know about, please tell me about it at drschwarzer@comcast.net.
What's The Difference Between A Resolution And A Bill
resolution and a bill?"
It's easy. Resolutions are essentially meaningless. They allow the
legislature to recognize people, events, groups, issues without
actually making law. We pass a resolution declaring that next Tuesday
is Butterfly Day. We pass a resolution to recognize the contribution
of worms to the health of California soil. We pass a resolution
honoring the sacrifices of armed service members in this or that
conflict (I made all those up). We don't make any laws protecting
butterflies, or worms, or providing services to the soldiers, by
passing a resolution; it's just a feel-good measure.
They don't have the force of law. If passed, they certainly tell the
public (and the other members of the legislature) which way the wind
is blowing (although, since it's quite possible that a lot of members
might be absent when the vote is taken, or don't pay a whole lot of
attention, you can't rely on what the roll call says).
Bills are how law is made. They have to be written and sponsored by
someone, and they then have to pass both houses after full debate and
public hearing before they can be sent to the governor for his
signature (and governors often veto bills). This resolution isn't a
bill. It doesn't mean that there will be a bill. It doesn't signal
what any future bill would look like. All it does is help us get a
sense of which legislators are friends of homeschooling, and which
aren't, and it has great value in that. We especially hope that those
of you who vote Democrat or live in districts with Democtratic
Assemblymembers will light up your members' fax machines and phones,
since those are the folks whose position on homeschooling we do not
currently know, and whose support will be crucial, if legislation is
inevitable, in passing the least restrictive bill possible.
Debbie Schwarzer
Co-chair Legal Team and Legislative Chair of HSC
-- Write a letter to the editor to your regional paper .
-- Write an opinion essay on the controversy for publication somewhere.
-- Be proactive in communicating with your friends, family and
colleagues; make sure they hear the pro-homeschooling story FIRST.
-- Make a donation to one or more of the legal teams preparing the
official strategic action.
-- Make a proud, flaunting display of your homeschooler status, like a
bumper sticker, tshirts, etc.
Please rest assured about a number of things. First, the law, other than this court's interpretation, hasn't changed. Parents involved in a truancy prosecution might face criminal charges, but only after a rather lengthy series of hearings and court orders, and only if the parents failed to comply with the orders. It would be a criminal contempt charge, which isn't nothing but doesn't land you in Pelican Bay.
We have never known conscientious parents ever to be prosecuted under truancy laws to the point of contempt charges. It's highly unlikely.
The media also appear to be saying that no one can teach their children without a credential. I am not certain that the holding is that broad, and I also doubt it would survive legal challenge.
The holding really applied to private ISPs (there are persistent mistatements, that began with fact statements in the case, that the family was enrolled in a charter. Obviously a school with the name "Christian" in it wouldn't be a public charter. It was a private ISP). It could be read by someone reading broadly as applying to any situation where the child is not continuously in the presence of a credentialed teacher.
The court started on a very slippery path of appearing to think that some situations were OK and others weren't, effectively trying to enact an entire code of regulations for governing this situation from the bench. He hasn't been given the constitutional authority, of course, to do this.
How do we get rid of this case?
There are a number of paths. One is seeking actual review by the Supreme Court. HSC and at least several of the other major groups' legal teams aren't in favor of that. Even if you could get the court to accept your petition (they only take 3-5% of cases), the chances that it will be decided the way you want aren't real good. It's a very dangerous road to take, because if the Supreme Court were to affirm the appellate court ruling on either of the main points (constitutional or statutory), there aren't many options left. The constitutional argument, of course, could be appealed to the US Supreme Court, but the statutory case about the proper interpretation of the California Education Code could not. California Supreme Court is the last stop on that road. If that happens, then you have two bad choices that I'll discuss below.
There is another much easier choice, and it's the one we want, as well as the one being trumpeted in the HSLDA petition. You ask the California Supreme Court to depublish the opinion, or, in other words, have them say that while this might have been the right result in this particular case involving this particular set of facts, the court finds that the reach of the opinion is overbroad and should not become law for the entire state. That is the choice we all (meaning HSC and, I believe, the other groups) want.
You get this by filing a letter with the Supreme Court in compliance with the applicable rules of court. While anyone can file one by stating their interest, we DO NOT think it is an appropriate use of grassroots activism. We DO NOT want every HSC member or HSLDA member or grandmother or irate citizen dashing off their letters to the Supreme Court. There are sober, measured, legal arguments to make about why depublication is appropriate, and those arguments are made after researching the applicable standards, etc. The Supreme Court will not be swayed positively by public outcry. In fact, it could backfire, and backfire badly.
If the Supreme Court affirms on the statutory points, then the two bad choices are to either seek legislation or to do nothing and hope that a further case is brought that can involve a better set of facts and better explanation of the issues (and reaching a better result). Both are very dangerous. Legislation isn't the answer because of the extraordinary strength of the teachers' union. It is unlikely we will see any legislation ultimately pass that gives us the freedom we have today. And the second choice is dangerous. I know lots of families that would make terrific test case defendants -- they're conscientious, they actually get their kids educated, they follow the laws. But we don't get to pick who the family is. As a friend of mine said, we couldn't have gotten a worse set of facts for this case if we had a contest.
We are trying to get one or more of the fanciest law firms in the state to help us on taking the fangs out of this case. We know what we're doing. Please let us do our jobs.
I would be personally, professionally, and, as a representative of HSC, globally grateful if everyone on this list would calm down and ask others to calm down. Specifically, I would ask people:
a. Not to write to the Supreme Court or any court.
b. Not to talk to their legislators or make any public statements about a need for legislation.
c. Tell their neighbors, friends, lists, groups both of the above and to educate them about the choices available and about how panic isn't necessary, marches on Sacramento aren't necessary, etc.
I wish this were the type of situation where we could put the fury, passion and energy of the members of this list to good use. Trust me, if we end up having to go the legislative route, we will have that situation at some points. But this isn't that type of situation, and too many folks stirring things up hurts instead of helps.
Thanks for listening.
Debbie Schwarzer
HSC Legal Team Co-chair
The interpretation essentially said that the only types of schooling that were legal in CA were full-time attendance in a brick & mortar institution or being taught full time somewhere (home, wherever) by a full-time credentialed tutor. This means that ALL educational alternatives could be construed as illegal, from homeschooling to distance learning to private satellite programs and possibly even public charter home study programs.
As you can all imagine, the homeschooling community is alarmed. The major state advocacy groups (HSC, CHN, CHEA, FPM), together with HSLDA, have been working on strategies to address this matter. We have also been in contact with representatives of some of the major third party homeschooling programs to let them know that this could impact them and to ask them to coordinate any response with HSC.