Californians Petition Homeschool Ruling
CBN News
March 15, 2008
CBNNews.com - Many Californians are still outraged by a recent court decision requiring parents get credentials before homeschooling their children.
Last month, a California appeals court ruled that "parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children," but a "legal duty" to send them to public or private school.
However, the Alliance Defense Fund and some 230,000 think otherwise. Together, they are petitioning the decision in an effort to prevent the court's ruling from being used in other cases.
"Parents have a fundamental right to make educational choices for their children," said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. "This ruling impacts all Californians. That's one reason why we are asking the court to take a second look at this case. Its scope warrants another review in light of its sweeping nature."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also issued a statement criticizing the ruling.
"Parents still have the right to homeschool in our state," Schwarzenegger said. "If the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."
The ruling stemmed from a child welfare case against Philip and Mary Long who homeschooled their eight children without a credential.
Currently, 166,000 students are homeschooled in California and more than a million nationwide.
Statistics have proven homeschooling to be more effective than traditional learning environments.
Sources: CBN News, The Associated Press
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