don’t panic. don’t worry. the governator is on our side and we have a ton of lawyers working their little fingers to the bone to fix this little glitch. although people are really freaking out and i have to say that it seemed a little nauseating to me when my husband’s boss called him on his cell phone to tell him about the ruling while we were on our way out of town to an educational (read: homeschooling) adventure on a day he had requested off specifically for this. (we went to the jelly belly factory in fairfield, then headed to sacramento specifically for old sacramento and the train museum…and tried to also go to their discovery museum science center but it was, sadly, closed for the weekend.)
if you haven’t heard yet, you probably will soon. there was a ruling in california recently that basically said that all children must be enrolled in school with credentialed teacher. this is a huge issue for us homeschoolers, of course.
there’s a lot of things being discussed about this on the net. the online homeschool community is ABUZZ! and not just in california! i just received an email of a call to arms from the organization that writes the curriculum i purchased for maeven a couple years ago (which i no longer use much but am still on the emailing loop), enki education based out in new england somewhere i’m forgetting what state now…they want to help because they know that not only are we comrades, but also a ruling like this against homeschooling in one state can affect all.
we’re pretty strong here in california (us homeschoolers)–we have the homeschool legal defense fund (HSDLA), california homeschool network (CHN), homeschool association of california (HSC), and christian home educators of california (CHEA). so from the gitgo i’ve really not been worried. we make things happen here. but it is definitely rattling to see that there’s a case against us!
now, from what i’m reading on the net…and you can read all about it at the organizations above, they all have info on their homepages about it all…apparently there was a homeschooling family here in california in a legal battle due to some 20yrs of abuse and the lawyer was at whit’s end to do something to save the youngest kids from further abuse…and supposedly this ruling was a last ditch effort to save those kids, not realizing in the process the ramifications could shake up the worlds of the rest of our homeschooled kids.
but there’s no need to fear! the homeschoolers of california are well armed with a plethora of lawyers and an entire state and its governor on our side! it’s only a matter of time before this ugly situation is sorted out. they are currently in the works towards removing the offensive writing from the ruling.
so don’t listen to the media…since they so often get these sorts of things wrong anyway (when it comes to non-mainstream issues, they are often just plain stupid) and stay tuned to the 4 california homeschool organizations and they will call us to do something if and when they need us to do something.
its interesting to think about what this ruling would do for the private schools of california…methinks the judge seriously wasn’t thinking when he made his decision! if he is saying that all children need credentialed teachers then that’s gonna screw not only the homeschoolers, but also all the private schools that currently have non-credentialed teachers. and many do, since its not required of private schools…larger, nonhomeschool private schools, are under the same rules as those of us that homeschool as a private school…so he’s really throwing a wrench into their system as well!
anyway, its all very interesting to see it all play out…but i was really delighted to see the governor is behind us, and i have confidence that it will all get sorted out. for now they are telling us all to not panic, and that no laws have been changed and we are still legal to homeschool in california.
stay tuned! 🙂
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