ARTICLES

Don't Panic Yet

New State Assaults on Home Schooling

By Maria Elena Kennedy

A series of memos emanating from the California department of education this summer has been causing concern among home schooling families throughout the state. The memos, from a variety of offices with the department of education, state that the filing of a private school affidavit by a home schooling family does not bring home schooling within the private school exemption of the California education code and thus satisfy compulsory attendance law. Eastin's position, expressed in the department of education memos, is that private home schooling in California is illegal.

Perhaps hoping to scare home schoolers into the public schools, which are facing record budget deficits, Eastin has ordered her department to make the filing of the private school affidavit harder for families who home school their children. In past years, parents were able to get private school affidavits from their local county education offices. Many home schooling families file the affidavit to, in effect, create a private school and satisfy the compulsory education requirement. According to Eastin's press office, Joanne Mendoza, deputy superintendent of curriculum and instrumental leadership, promoted Eastin's position in a July 16 memo. In the memo, Mendoza outlines the changes the department of education will be making in how it issues the private school affidavit. The affidavit will be available on line in a read-only mode, and only those schools who have six or more pupils will be given a password in order to download the form. Those schools that have less than six students, which is the average home schooling family, will have to request a hard copy from the California department of education or else fill out a detailed form on line. For a limited time, the county offices of education will continue to issue the private school affidavit to the public. At the conclusion of her memo, Mendoza states that parents who file a private school affidavit are not complying with compulsory attendance law.

In what Assemblyman Tim Leslie (Republican, Lake Tahoe) says is a "crass" move, termed-out California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin sent a letter, dated August 27, to members of the California legislature asking for a bill to regulate private home schooling in California. In her letter to the legislature, Eastin notes that her department has "been characterized in some circles as being engaged in a campaign to harass home schoolers and to root out home schooling in California. My staff and I have received dozens of angry telephone calls. that unfairly assume the Department is misapplying the state's compulsory education law in derogation of the rights of parents and a handful of conservative publications have attacked our application of the law. None of these charges are [sic] true. but the amount of misinformation and passion, in these communications does. cry out for a legislative solution." In her letter, Eastin decries the fact that home schooling in California is unregulated. "There [are] potentially thousands of children in California whose education would not be subject to any supervision".

According to the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association, a legal opinion written by Eastin's legal department years ago, and attached to the August 27 letter, erroneously depends upon old cases that do not have any legal merit. "The department's reliance on an obscure lower-court decision from 1953 [State vs. Turner] is also groundless. Because it is not a California supreme court case, the legislature has never been bound by State vs. Turner," Home School Legal Defense president Mike Smith wrote in a rebuttal letter faxed to every member of the California legislature. Another court case cited by Eastin actually supports the private home schooling movement, according to Smith.

When asked if Eastin's call for legislation regulating home schooling had brought any offers from legislators to carry such a bill, her press office said that they did not have any information on the matter. "Call the governor's secretary of education," was the suggestion. A call to Ann Bancroft, Governor Gray Davis' secretary of education, was not returned.

Andrew Andreoli, the manager of the California department of education's policy and program coordination office, admitted that there is a funding element in the debate over private home schooling. According to Andreoli, the department of education has a database of all private schools that file a private school affidavit in the state of California. "We don't have the staffing to process all of the forms," he admitted. Andreoli added that private home schooling is a "loaded question." "Politically we can't satisfy all of the parties involved," he said. When asked who the parties were, Andreoli said that they included private schools, home schoolers and the teachers unions. "The legislature puts a limit on the amount of funding we get to maintain the database; last year we got 10 to 15 thousand documents with only one or two students; we had to pull people in on overtime to process them. We were working towards the March 1 deadline." Andreoli said that the database is maintained so the public schools "can offer private schools services that are available to them." When asked why private schools were not scrutinized, Andreoli admitted, "we don't have any regulatory power over private schools. What has happened is that people have misconstrued the private school affidavit process." Andreoli said that the public schools are concerned about home schoolers because "they are afraid of the competition." He noted positive stories on home schooling in media outlets such as the Sacramento Bee and in educational trade magazines. "We cannot follow up on every home school in the state," he said. Andreoli noted that the California department of education's position on home schooling is dependent on who is at the helm of the department. Under Eastin's predecessor "the position towards home schoolers was very hands off and the affidavit was freely issued." Andreoli noted that since Eastin is a lame duck because of term limits, "a new administration may have a different approach" next year.

Assemblyman Leslie said that "Delaine Eastin did a very terrible thing" by issuing her letter to the California legislature. "The fact that she waited until the last few days to issue a pronouncement like this is an abomination," he said. Assemblyman Leslie said that home schoolers should not panic "just yet." "Superintendent Eastin has been a captive of the teachers' union her entire political career. This is a crass payback for their support. Until we have a ninth circuit [court] decision or a United State Supreme Court decision, we should continue to home school" was his advice.

Home schooling mother Mary Schofield, who heads up the Private and Home Educators of California, said that home schoolers in California are "concerned but confident" regarding Eastin's pronouncement. Schofield characterized home schooling mothers as "being angry. We are getting ready to start school, we're looking at new math books and then we have to deal with this."

Regarding Eastin's contention that only parents who are certified school teachers can teach their own children at home, Mike Smith said that "parents have a fundamental right to educate their children at home. Certification is unreasonable. California would be the only state in the Union to require it."

Home schooling leaders are urging families to continue to file the private school affidavit and not be intimidated by Eastin's memos and letter asking for home schooling law. Noting that she has nothing to lose by alarming home schoolers, since she will be out of office by the end of December, home schoolers should continue to exercise their rights, all the while remaining vigilant about attacks on home schooling by the teachers' union.

Mike Smith summed up the predicament the public schools face in California, with the huge budget deficit facing the state at the moment. "When you have a 22 billion dollar deficit you have to get money back somehow."

TOP