Judge dismisses home-schooling credentials case
A controversial legal ruling that outlawed most forms of home schooling in California will face greater scrutiny because the underlying family court case was dismissed earlier this week.
News of the decision broke Friday as thousands of members of the Christian Home Educators Assn. of California met in Long Beach, where they opened with: "We pray God you deliver home-schoolers in California from the mouth of the lion. . . . Change the hearts of these judges, we pray."
The issue remains in legal limbo. On Thursday, the family court judge terminated its jurisdiction over two of the eight children of Phillip and Mary Long, who were accused of mistreating some of their children. All of the children are currently or had been enrolled at Sunland Christian School, where they would occasionally take tests, but they were educated in their Lynwood home by their mother.
Lawyers appointed to represent the two children had requested that the court require them to physically attend a public or private school where adults could monitor their well-being. The family court disagreed, but the children's lawyers appealed.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in February that Sunland officials' occasional monitoring of the Longs' home schooling was insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school.
Because Mary Long does not have a teaching credential, the family has violated state laws, the ruling said.
The Longs, the Sunland school and others appealed, and the appellate panel agreed to revisit the ruling. That panel heard arguments last month and is expected to rule by late summer on whether parents can legally educate their children without a credential.
Home-school advocates said Thursday's decision makes the appellate discussions moot.
"It should mean the whole thing goes away," said Michael Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Assn. "I'm very optimistic for the long haul. I don't see how in the world this case could be upheld. That [dismissal] absolutely bolsters my optimism greatly."
Edward Steinman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, said he does not believe that the family court dismissal undermines the ruling, but it could provide easy political cover if the appellate court wants to get out of the spotlight.
"I don't think it moots the case. I think it's two separate issues," he said. "The family court issue is the one that triggered [the ruling], but family court is not the one that made" the ruling.
