Given the dire state of public education in California, it makes
no sense for courts or politicians to deny parents any option that
might improve their children’s educational prospects.
Given the dire state of public education in California, it makes no sense for courts or politicians to deny parents any option that might improve their children’s educational prospects.
And for that reason, all Californians can celebrate Friday’s Second District appellate court ruling that parents need not be credentialed teachers to home-school their children.
In its decision, a three-judge panel overturned a lower-court order in February. In that case, a judge far overstepped both his power and the question before him, and effectively barred home schooling as an option for the … California children who take advantage of it.
By tossing that ruling, the appellate court has restored some sanity and fairness to education in California.
One need only look at California test scores to see that a teaching credential is no guarantee of a quality education. Indeed, many of the state’s best private schools have few if any credentialed teachers. And home-schoolers are, by and large, some of the most successful students in the country.
Californians need all the quality educational options they should get. And in most cases, it is parents – not judges – who can best determine their children’s unique educational needs.
This editorial first appeared in the LA Daily News on Monday.
