California Homeschoolers Wait for Judgment

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

24 Jun 2008 08:13 AM

Yesterday was a big day for homeschoolers in California. It is the day the Oral arguments in the Los Angeles 2nd District Court of Appeals were heard regarding the right of homeschoolers to continue teaching kids at home.

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All reports show that the ruling is up in the air. HSLDA is not showing its usual smug confidence that homeschoolers will walk away victorious. Anti homeschool advocates are remaining strangely quiet. What they are saying is that judges asked tough questions and it was hard to figure out how each judge felt about homeshooling based on their questions and follow-up questions.

Michael Farris, the Chairman and Co-founder of the HSLDA reported on one question in particular.

The judges asked why they should permit homeschooling when California changed the law to withdraw it from the statutes in the early 1900s. Attorneys advocating homeschooling argued that when California in 1967 added the singular word "person" to the list of those that can operate a legitimate private school, it opened the door for homeschooling. "If a person can provide education, if one person can operate a school," argued the attorneys, "then why not a parent? (WorldNetDaily website)

I received a first hand report from Debbie Schwarzer in my email box this morning from one of my homeschool networks that further describes the atmosphere of the hearing. She reported that

The arguments were long (two and a half hours in a hot courtroom) and thorough. The judges asked lots of questions, with some consistent themes. As soon as you thought you had one judge pegged as to how he or she was thinking, he or she would ask another question that made you wonder about your prior conclusion. They were reasonably generous about letting people finish their presentations or points even if they ran over a little on time.

She added that

It is absolutely impossible to predict how the court will rule on this --whether it will be narrow, sweeping, or something entirely different, and we don't want to feed any rumor mill. It's just too hard to read those tea leaves, although I am sure some people will try.

So where does this leave us?

The judges have up to 90 days to make a ruling. It is possible that we will hear something soon. It is more probable that we will hear something in late September (after school has started and both public, private, and homeschoolers are well into their academic year). Californian's are encouraged to continue homeschooling as before, but to also be diligent, put forth a positive image, and stay informed.

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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Tristi Pinkston (10839) 24 Jun 2008 08:49 AM

I'm definitely keeping an eye on this, wondering what kind of precedent it will set for other states.