Parents may home-school children without teaching credential, California court says

Parents may legally home-school their children in California even if they lack a teaching credential, a state appellate court ruled today. The decision is a reversal of the court's earlier position, which effectively prohibited home schooling in the state and sent shock waves of fear throughout the state's estimated 166,000 home-schoolers.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had vowed to allow home schooling through legislation if the court did not act, praised the ruling.

"This is a victory for California's students, parents and education community. This decision confirms the right every California child has to a quality education and the right parents have to decide what is best for their children," he said. "I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights."

In February, in a child-protection hearing, the 2nd District Court of Appeal said parents must have a teaching credential to home-school their children. The decision caused nationwide uproar among home-schoolers, evangelists and others, and the court agreed to reconsider its decision.

Today the court ruled that California law allowed home schooling but that the right of parents to home-school their children can be overridden if a child is in danger.

Unlike in at least 30 other states, home schooling is not specifically addressed in California law. Today's ruling essentially upheld the position of the state Department of Education, which has traditionally allowed home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts.

California does little to enforce those provisions and insists that it is the local school districts' responsibility. In addition, state education officials say some parents home-school their children without the knowledge of any entity, making them virtually impossible to locate.

Home-schoolers and government officials have largely accepted this murky arrangement, but the court faulted it.

"It is important to recognize that it is not for us to consider, as a matter of policy, whether home schooling should be permitted in California. That job is for the Legislature. It is not the duty of the courts to make the law; we endeavor to interpret it," the panel wrote. "Our first task, interpreting the law of California, is made more difficult in this case by legislative inaction."

seema.mehta@latimes.com