discussion title:
CA and New Requirements for Home School
message #:
10444.3 in response to 10444.2
To me, this is pretty intrusive. People who choose to homeschool do so because some aspect of the public school system does not meet their needs. Maybe it is substance and maybe it is the quality of the teachers or the environment or some combination of these and many other factors. To require these parents to have the same credentials as public school teachers, which I presume is cost-prohibitive, is akin to outlawing homeschooling. Many homeschoolers are homeschooled because of deeply held religious beliefs that are offended and contradicted by what is taught in public schools. To essentially make homeschooling impossible is, to me, a violation of the separation of church and state.
On a more fundamental level, private school teachers don't have to have teaching degrees, so why should parents who homeschool? As Holly noted, I presume there are tests kids have to take, at the very least in order to obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma, so there is some accountability.
I am not a proponent of homeschooling (for my kids) nor am I a religious person but I do believe that people should be free to educate their kids how they want to. This, to me, is an end-around attempt at outlawing homeschooling and just the worst kind of judicial activism. If a state legislature believes it has some interest in kids who are homeschooled, it should take small steps to ensure parents are prepared. It's not the judiciary's job nor should this ruling be upheld.
JMO.
