This
page was last updated on May 6, 2008
On February
28th, the court document In re Rachel L. was published. On March
25th, that ruling was vacated, and the California Court of Appeal
granted a rehearing, scheduled for June. Homeschooling by using
one of the alternatives to public school currently available
under California law remains legal.
CHN
was very concerned about the initial ruling, and is hopeful
that at the rehearing, the court will recognize that the interpretation
of Califorinia law, as understood by homeschoolers for decades,
is correct, and that no change in California law regarding the
teaching of children privately at home is needed. CHN, HSC,
CHEA, Private and Home Educators of California, and HSLDA have
published a Joint
Statement stating that we are united in the goal
of protecting the right of parents to teach their children privately
at home.
Credentialed
Teachers Show Support!
Credentialed
teachers, here is a way to have your voice heard. Please sign
our new petition
to show your support of homeschooling. As
teachers are signing the petition, they are leaving some great
comments! Check out the comments
here!
April 4, 2008
CHN, CHEA, and HSC (the California groups) have agreed to
file a joint amicus brief. It is our hope that the unified
voice of California homeschoolers will be heard by the court.
Each organization is represented by law firms who are working
together on this joint brief. CHN is represented by Baker
and McKenzie.
April
2, 2008
CHN announced a petition
for credentialed teachers in support of homeschooling.
March
26, 2008
Court of Appeals Grants Rehearing
On March 25, the court of appeals vacated the In
re Rachel ruling
and will be rehearing the case. This means that the February
28, 2008 In re Rachel ruling will not apply to any homeschoolers.
We will post further information on this to this site as it
becomes available. Court
document 3/25/2008
March
26, 2008
California homeschool organizations unite to protect our right to homeschool.
View our joint
statement.
March
24, 2008
A statement from the California Office of the Secretary of Education
"My feeling is very much in line with the
governor in that it is a parental choice as to how they will
educate their children," said Chris Bertelli, assistant secretary
of education. "To require a credential for a parent that is
home-schooling is ludicrous." "No other state in the country
requires a credential," Bertelli said. "It would be nearly
impossible to enforce and would do so much more damage than
good."
A statement from the LA County Department of Education
"As long as they are a private school registered with the state
then as far as we are concerned they are a legal home school,"
said Victor Thompson, director of student support service for
the L.A. County Department of Education.
Both quotes from: Homeschoolers Give Courts Bad Marks http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_8666180
March
17, 2008
"Did you know that the
sky is not falling in California? Homeschooling is still “legal”
there, believe it or not." Read an opinion written by a homeschooling
attorney - http://www.nheld.com/BTN60.htm
March 12, 2008
Assembly
Member Joel Anderson offers Homeschool Resolution and Petition
http://www.supporthomeschools.org/
March
11, 2008
CHN's
Letter of Support to Assembly Member Joel Anderson
March 11, 2008
SCHOOLS
CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL ISSUES STATEMENT REGARDING HOME SCHOOLING
IN CALIFORNIA
"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."
The entire statement can be viewed here.
To
read more about this case,
consider the following resources:
Press
Releases
Press
Release from Supt. Jack O'Connell's office
Press
Release from Assemblyman Guy Houston's office
Governor
Schwarzenneger's Press Release supporting homeschooling
Selected
News Stories
CHN Press Page And News Feed
The
San
Francisco Chronicle article -1200 responses and
counting!
NPR
All Things Considered Radio Show
Home is Where the School is
States must preserve home-schooling option
Some
common questions:
What
can we do to help?
Write
letters to your editor about homeschooling and also make sure
your legislator knows that homeschoolers do not want homeschooling
legislation. Keep up to date on the information being provided
by reliable sources and please consider joining CHN or renewing
your membership so that we may continue to have the resources
to monitor this type of activity.
Should
we continue to stand behind the legal option we are currently
using?
Absolutely.
CHN maintains that California law allows several viable alternatives
to enrollment in a public school. One of these options is
to enroll in a private school. Private schools are not required
by California law to employ teachers holding a state credential,
and there is no restriction in the law specifying that a private
school must be of a certain size or that parents may not operate
a private school in which their own children are enrolled.
Who
might be affected by this decision?
Independent
homeschoolers who have established their own private school,
charter schools, public independent study programs, and private
independent study programs, as well as traditional private site-based
schools that don't have homeschoolers enrolled.
How
many homeschoolers are there in California?
You
may find estimates on various web sites of the number of homeschoolers
in this state, but we don't believe they are accurate. The
legal options are so varied in California, and the term "homeschooler"
so broadly defined, that an estimate with any merit is not
possible. Many students who consider themselves homeschoolers
are part of the public school system; many are part of private
schools. It is often impossible to tell which public or private
schools offer independent study just by looking at public
records. The California Department of Education reports that
there are well over half a million students enrolled in California
private schools, and approaching that number enrolled in charter
schools. A large number of those are potentially homeschoolers.
LA Unified alone reports well over 10,000 students enrolled
in independent study. Homeschooling has reached the point
where just about everyone knows someone who homeschools. It's
commonplace these days, spoken of casually in movies and on
tv without having to define what homeschooling is because
it is so well known and accepted. The closest thing we can
give to an accurate estimate is that there are a lot of us,
and we're growing in numbers every year!
What
is CHN doing about this problem?
CHN's legal and legislative teams are working tirelessly on
this problem, and it has our full attention and dedication.
CHN has retained the law firm of Baker & McKenzie. CHN's media
team has been very active in responding to hundreds of media
requests (tv, radio, and print). CHN
is also working closely with the other state organizations,
HSC, CHEA, and FPM along with HSLDA in an unprecedented cooperative
effort to maintain homeschooling in California as it has been
for decades. CHN joins the other state groups in strongly opposing
homeschooling legislation.
Can
we donate $$$ to the CHN legal fund at the website?
Donations
may be sent to:
CHN Legal Defense Fund,
PO Box 402427
Hesperia, CA 92340-2427.
Make your
credit card donation online
or by phone.
(800) 327-5339
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