“Parents do not have a constitutional right to home-school their children,” Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote in a unanimous California appeals court ruling on Feb. 28. The case in question was about child mistreatment, not school methodology. But the justice’s precedent-setting words sent shock waves throughout the state and threaten to criminalize tens of thousands of parents in California who teach their children at home.

The opinion deserved and received an immediate legal challenge.

The unexpected decision also startled many home-schooling parents across the country — including me. My wife and I home-school our children. We believe that, apart from protecting children against abuse, it is not the government’s role to dictate how parents raise their families.

The court also said that parents who teach children at home must be credentialed. If not, those teaching will be subject to criminal action.

Religious conservatives were appropriately outraged.

“How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents criminals — the equivalent to drug dealers or pickpockets — because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values?” said James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, during a broadcast last week.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also raised concerns.

“Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children’s education,” Schwarzenegger said. “This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts. And if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights, then, as elected officials, we will.”

Mark May, president of the local Teaching Parents Association, estimates that 8,000 families home-school in Kansas. To do so in the state, families are required to register with the state as a private, denominational or parochial school. The teacher requirement is that the instructor be competent, and the amount of time spent schooling must be roughly equivalent to the amount required of public school students.

Nationwide there are more than 1 million students who are home-schooled. According to the National Household Education Surveys Program, the three top reasons people choose to educate their children at home are concerns about the environment of other schools, to provide religious or moral instruction, and because of dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools.

My wife and I like that we can customize our children’s education to their personality and interests.

Much research shows that students taught at home often excel academically. In 2004, an ACT profile report showed that the 7,858 home-schooled students taking the ACT scored an average of 22.6, compared with the national average of 20.9.

Home schooling isn’t for everyone, but it is a legitimate choice for many families. Most important, it’s a decision best made by parents, not by an overreaching court.

Source: The Wichita Eagle, KS
http://www.kansas.com/opinion/castillo/story/339678.html