March 8th Update on california Homeschool situation

March 8, 2008

Many of you have heard about the recent court ruling in California. Below is the statement issued by AFHE (Arizona Families for Home Education) earlier today.

PRAY: Please pray for homeschooling families in California and in particular the leaders of the California state homeschool organizations, HSLDA staff, and others who are pouring a lot of time and energy into this researching and responding to this issue. Pray for energy, health, peace, wisdom, discernment, and strength. Most of the leaders involved are homeschooling parents themselves who tirelessly serve the homeschool community in addition to teaching their own children at home.

SUPPORT THE PARENTAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT: In addition to prayer, you can encourage your friends and family - homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike - to support the Parental Rights Amendment. Go to www.parentalrights.org. The California court ruling is a prime example of the urgent need to get this amendment passed and also to stay vigilant concerning our freedom to teach our children at home. Your support of state organizations like AFHE and national organizations like HSLDA is crucial and much appreciated as we actively work to promote private home education and protect parents' rights to homeschool.

NOTE: For those of you that are not aware, in addition to running HERO, James and I serve on the board of directors for AFHE so we are directly involved at both a local level and state level in serving Arizona homeschooling families. We will be sure to keep HERO subscribers informed. The HSLDA web site will be the best place to get up-to-date information about this case. We encourage you to check there regularly.

Keep resting in Him!

Joyfully,
Nancy Manos
AFHE Statement re: California Court Ruling
March 8, 2008

As you might be aware, a California Court of Appeals case involving a homeschooling family has gained national attention because the ruling, if left unchanged, would make it illegal to homeschool unless performed by a tutor certified to teach in California. This would effectively eliminate the vast majority of parent-led home teaching. It would make homeschooling nearly impossible at the secondary level because to teach a high school curriculum the tutor would have to be certified in every subject area. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) was not aware of this case before the decision of the three-judge appellate court was published on February 28, 2008. HSLDA is mounting a response, and you can go to their website at www.hslda.org for more information.
Please visit the HSLDA web site to sign a Petition to Support Homeschool Freedom in California.
You might wonder what ramifications this may have to homeschooling in Arizona. California's courts do not determine the law in Arizona. Our right to homeschool as a legal, alternative way of meeting the compulsory education requirements of the State of Arizona is found in A.R.S. §15-802. The term "home school" is defined by statute and the practice is recognized by that name. Therefore, we are distinct in this regard from California where homeschooling has been allowed in practice under their private school statute. AFHE has always encouraged Arizona parents to carefully monitor their rights and freedoms. Our laws are made by our state legislature, and can be changed. This is why AFHE has built a reputation over the past 25 years of having a presence at the legislature in the form of a lobbyist and allied ourselves with other pro-family organizations who aid us in keeping ahead of proposed legislation that might affect our ability to homeschool.
AFHE will watch the developments in the California case closely, and we encourage our membership to do the same. Dr. James Dobson dedicated his program on Friday March 7, 2008 to this topic and we encourage you to go to the Focus on the Family website at www.family.org and listen to the broadcast. We join in his call to pray for this situation. The case that prompted the ruling is atypical of the majority of homeschooling families and presents some serious legal issues because of a 20 year history of contact with the child welfare system on the part of the family involved. But the broader question is whether one family's problems should impact the personal liberty and educational choice of everyone else through the vehicle of a court decision? We want to believe that those charged with leadership -both at the Supreme Court of California and the California legislature---can and will see the difference.
Visit www.cheaofca.org to read the statement issued by CHEA of California (Christian Home Educators of California, state homeschool organization)