An End to the California Homeschooling Controversy?

Originally posted at http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on July 23, 2008.

In cautiously welcomed news, it appears that the entire case in California where a court held that parents had no right to homeschool their children (originally discussed here, with a follow-up here) has been dropped.

While that sounds good, there is still one more step to go in order to completely right this wrong. According to this article on the matter,

Hausknecht believes one of the parties should ask the appellate court to dismiss the appeal completely as being moot. “And that should happen as a matter of course,” he notes. “But since this is California, no one quite knows for certain. So we can’t say with a hundred percent certainty that this case will go away, but we’re pretty sure it will.”

So, dropping the case is a great first step. The next step is to eliminate any and all recognition of the previous ruling. This means it cannot be used as precedent. This step was previously taken on a temporary basis while a re-hearing was scheduled, and it is now time to make that permanent with the case’s dismissal.

The best final step is legislation that takes this out of the hands of the courts entirely. As the article says:

Ideally, says the analyst, state lawmakers would enact a law protecting parents’ right to educate their children as they see fit. He says it looks as if home schooling has won, but Hausknecht believes it could be just a ceasefire “because the uncertainties that convinced the court of appeals…to outlaw home schooling still exist under California law.”

“And we hope that that law becomes solidified in the future rather than made more uncertain for families that home school,” he adds.

But given the liberal nature of the California legislature, Hausknecht does not expect that to happen. He thinks it is a good sign, however, that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out so strongly in support of home schooling.

Subway Excludes Homeschoolers From Essay Contest

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on May 25, 2008.

WorldNetDaily has this story on a new Subway contest.

The contest rules are shown there, with the following note:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted. emphasis mine

Now, keeping in mind that this is a Scholastic-directed contest where the winner gets equipment for their school (I assume this is why the exclusion is in there. As the linked article points out, anyone with a few brain cells could have figured out a way to include homeschoolers and have the donation go to a park or a school of their choice, perhaps with some little equipment/books reward for the homeschool or something. It’s not rocket science..) you will notice the incorrectly spelled “united.” The article also posts the grand prize winner’s take: a Scholastic gift “bastket.”

Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

Well, I just sent a little note of my own to Subway. I didn’t keep a copy of my text, but it went something like this:

“I just heard about your essay contest. I find it interesting that you chose to exclude homeschoolers. I would like to thank you for this decision. As a homeschooling father of 6 (soon to be 7) we have a lot of potential future customers. We have too many dining choices, and we are always looking for ways to narrow our choice down. Thank you for the opportunity to eliminate your business from our list. After all, I am assuming that since we are not welcome to participate in your little contest, then we are not welcome to patronize your business.

Oh, and pass on my best to your public relations/marketing personnel. They are doing a bang-up job. I’m sure they are all MBA’s.”

Geniuses.

UPDATE: While predictable that damage control was likely on the way, credit also needs to be given where it is due. At least one homeschooler received a pretty nice reply from Scholastic at this forum.. The company not only apologized, but promised to include homeschoolers in future promotions and offered to send some books to the family. Now, they may not make the same offer to everyone, but still this is a little meatier than a “oh, yeah… we’re sorry.” Take it for what you will. If and when I receive my own response I will post it.

Update #2: I had originally posted the update above as Subway responding. Thanks to a comment that corrected that, we are still on the official “Subway response” watch…

Update #3: Well, as with many things, what started out as a heated discussion on the blogosphere has now become a little bit more pronounced. I could list all the columnists who are picking up the mantle on this, but just in the last few hours I’ve also received two e-mails addressing it. One is from the American Family Association and the other from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. I’m sure that if I dig, I can find more. My purpose here isn’t to list every source, but to suggest that the response to Subway has only just begun. If I were a Subway P.R. guy, I’d be writing that this was a huge “gaff.”

Update #4:It would appear that Scholastic has talked to Subway management, because what was the Scholastic Apology has now been re-worded and, according to American Family Association’s Second Subway Action Alert, includes Subway in the apology. So, the two companies have now spoken and have officially recognized their error and have promised to not let it happen again. Take from that what you will, but it’s better than a hunkered-down snubbing. I’m sure it didn’t hurt matters that Scholastic has a lot to lose, and seemed prepared to throw Subway under the bus on this one.

An Update on the California Homeschool Controversy

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on March 28, 2008.

There have been a few stirrings on the California Homeschool front recently. The initial posting regarding the controversy is here.

As can be expected, there are a great deal of people, groups, and organizations that are concerned about the decision. As a response, there are a few different petitions that have been circulated. First, The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) started a petition for the purpose of asking the court to depublish its opinion. This would mean the opinion could not be cited as precedent in other rulings. The response was overwhelming with over 250,000 signatures in two weeks. HSLDA believes that the petition has served its purpose and is not currently asking for more signatures. Another petition can be found here. The petition is directed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has already expressed his support for home-schoolers. Another petition is found at Reverse The Ruling, a web site specifically dedicated to this court decision. Finally, there is a petition for parental rights found here, also based on this ruling. Those who wish to express their opinion have no shortage of avenues.

The Great California Homeschool Controversy

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on March 24, 2008.

Much has been abuzz in the homeschool community in reaction to a ruling last week by the Second District Court of Appeal in California. In a case that was not intended to be a referendum on the rights of parents to educate their children at home, but was expected to be an isolated ruling in an individual circumstance, the court used broad language that suddenly put the rights of parents to homeschool in peril.

A brief excerpt from the article presents the part of the decision that has created this concern:

“California courts have held that … parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children,” Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28. “Parents have a legal duty to see to their children’s schooling under the provisions of these laws.”

“A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare,” the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue.

I am not a resident of California, but my wife and I do homeschool our children. I am not posting to have the predictable debate about credentials, ability, socialization, and the like. This is really about the rights of parents to educate a child as they best see fit. I am not opposed to some basic and meaningful regulation in the matter, but at the same time homeschoolers are rightfully very skeptical about any government involvement in the matter. Quite simply, we can’t trust the bureaucrats. I would be incredibly reluctant to allow any “observer” into my home and provide any excuse for them to judge against my wishes. In today’s world, God only knows what they’d come up with.