An old lawyer’s adage says that hard cases make bad law. Last week, the accuracy of this statement was demonstrated by a California appeals court, which handed down a shocking decision stating that homeschooling is illegal in the state, unless the parent has a teaching certificate. The case, Rachel L. v. Superior Court, began as a child welfare proceeding. A lower court held that no matter what the family’s problems may have been, the court could not and would not order that the children be enrolled in a full-time “public or private” school because the parents had a constitutional right to home school their children. On appeal, the court for the Second Appellate Division disagreed. It interpreted the California statutes as requiring that students be educated in either public school, full time private school, or else, if in the home, only by a credentialed tutor. Homeschooling, it said, was illegal.

Banning Home Education is Unconstitutional, Contrary to Statute, and a Violation of the Moral Law of God Which May Not Be Amended by Courts or Acts of Congress

This court decision is a frontal assault on the rights of parents to homeschool in the state of California. The decision is wrong for many reasons, three of which follow: First, it is a complete rewriting of the California statutes, which for years have been understood to allow home education with only a simple notification/registration requirement. (See a summary of current California law here.) Second, and more importantly, even if the novel interpretation recently advanced by the court was proper, any prohibition on home education of this nature violates a parent’s constitutional rights in the education of their children. Finally, it is contrary to the transcendent moral law of God which can not be amended by statute or judicial decision. Courts many not deprive a parent of their right to obey the moral commands of Scripture, one example of which is the application of the Greatest Commandment (“to love God”) through a daily parent to child, walk-along, talk-along (e.g. Deuteronomy 6) approach to education and discipleship which many Christians seek to honor and emulate through home education.

The case is being appealed, to the California Supreme Court. The original case was argued and decided almost without anyone knowing about it. Now that it’s out in the open, the Pacific Justice Institute is handling the appeal, and HSLDA is filing a brief.

Jim Dobson and Mike Farris Defend Home Educators
Dr. James Dobson was joined by HSLDA founder Mike Farris, for a special edition radio broadcast to address the attack on parental rights. Commenting on the case on his radio show today, Dr. Dobson stated: “The court is guilty of an imperious assault on the rights of parents. 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?” Click here to listen to today’s important broadcast

Besides complete reversal of the outrageous lower court decision, the California Supreme Court has another option as well: the court opinion can be “depublished.” This means that, even if the California Supreme Court believes that the order should stand as applied to this particular family, the opinion is taken off the books and loses its value as precedent. It will not apply to any other family, and will do nothing to affect the legality of homeschooling in California. (HSLDA is collecting signatures on a petition to depublish here.)