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Mar 7, 2008 11:43 am US/Pacific
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Schwarzenegger: Home School Ruling 'Outrageous'
Governor Says Ruling Must Be Overturned
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) ―
Governor Schwarzenegger says the court ruling that says parents must have a teaching credential to home school their kids is 'outrageous'.
The governor issued the following stern statement today regarding the recent ruling by the state's Second District Court of Appeals.
"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."
The governor adds support to opponents of the ruling who have already said they appeal.
The court's opinion came down in February 28. In it, Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote, "Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children."
An estimated 166,000 students in California are home schooled, but it was unclear how many of them are taught solely by an uncredentialed parent.
To earn a five-year preliminary teaching credential in California, a person must obtain a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and complete multiple examinations.
Until now, California allowed home schooling if parents filed paperwork to establish themselves as small, private schools; hired a credentialed tutor; or enrolled their child in an independent study program run by an established school while teaching the child at home.
The state left enforcement up to local school districts, but there has been little oversight.
The ruling stems from a case involving Phillip and Mary Long, a Los Angeles-area couple whose eight children are enrolled or have been enrolled in Sunland Christian School in suburban Sylmar and occasionally have taken tests there.
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services intervened after the couple's eldest child "reported physical and emotional mistreatment" by the father, court papers said. The department conducted an investigation and found that despite the couple's assertion that their children were enrolled at Sunland, they were educated at home by their mother, who does not have a teaching credential.
An attorney appointed to represent two of the Longs' young children asked the court to order that the children physically attend a public or private school. A trial court disagreed, and the lawyer appealed.
Under California law, children are required to enroll in and attend public schools unless they attend a private school, or are tutored by a credentialed teacher. The appeals panel found that the Longs did not adequately demonstrate that the exemptions apply to their children.
Attorneys for the state Department of Education were reviewing the ruling, and home schooling organizations were lining up against it.
Phillip Long vowed to take the case to the state Supreme Court.
"I have sincerely held religious beliefs," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Public schools conflict with that. I have to go with what my conscience requires me."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)