California Court Robs Parents of Choice

Just as a new California law that would essentially indoctrinate children at school about homosexuality is being implemented and many parents are wondering how to protect their children's moral sense, a new wrinkle appears. The opportunity to pull a child out of government education to home school may be blocked in California.

A California Court of Appeals has ruled that unless they have a teaching certificate, parents have no legal right to home school their children. Parents may be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply. The ruling may impact California's 166,000 home schooled children and bar an avenue of choice for those who do not want their children's morality undermined at school.

Also sabotaged is parental rights and choice in choosing the education of their children.

The message is if you don't like what's happening at school and you are sick at heart about exposing your children to it-tough.

Shock waves are reverberating across the state.

The decision came from the 2^nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles in the case of Philip and Mary Long, and the Court said We find no reason to strike down the Legislature's evaluation of what constitutes an adequate education scheme sufficient to promote the 'general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence. We agree ... 'the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education.'"

Specifically, the appeals court said, the trial court had found that "keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where (1) they could interact with people outside the family, (2) there are people who could provide help if something is amiss in the children's lives, and (3) they could develop emotionally in a broader world than the parents' 'cloistered' setting."

Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said the ruling would effectively ban homeschooling in the state.

"California is now on the path to being the only state to deny the vast majority of homeschooling parents their fundamental right to teach their own children at home," he said in a statement.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the move by the courts "outrageous" and said that "parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children. "If the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

I'll post my opinion on this some time soon but wanted everyone to be aware of this issue.