Is It Time for California Homeschoolers to Panic?

    /24-7PressRelease/ - TONASKET, WA, March 13, 2008 - Since Friday morning, Home Education Magazine has been contacted by readers and the media wanting to know if the fearful headlines growing out of California Friday were true. I have been following the California situation since I first saw it come across my newsfeeds in a February 29th World Net Daily article, titled "Judge orders homeschoolers into government education."

Shortly after I read that article, a gentleman emailed me a copy of the California Appellate Court decision, " In re Rachel L" that had been issued on February 28, 2008. I blogged a little about it on March 4th, stating that there were D.C. and CA issues to watch, but I did not see any type of panic from California homeschoolers that indicated that homeschooling was now illegal. There was certainly cause for concern, but reports indicated the CA homeschool groups were hard at work on this issue.

However, on Wednesday, March 6th, an alert was sent out by the HSLDA Director of Media Relations announcing that the Focus on the Family daily radio broadcast with Dr. James Dobson would feature "California's Threat to Homeschooling Families." This announcement was sent all over the country and it included an invitation from HSLDA to sign a Petition to Request Depublishing of California Court Case In re Rachel L.

As soon as the alert was sent out, the petition started being posted across the Internet, but I had not seen a call from the California groups requesting this kind of help. When I read that the Homeeschool Association of California (HSC) supported depublishing the California Court Case as well, I contacted California homeschoolers and HSC to find out their story.

The broadcast and the petition were causing a panic all across the internet and the country. Thankfully, Debbie Schwarzer, homeschool mom, attorney and HSC Legal Team Co-chair, issued this statement: Appellate Court Case, Please Remain Calm. Here is a quote from what she wrote:

A t the present time, it is recommended that California homeschoolers not change anything they are doing, just remain informed, support the groups who are handling this, and don't panic. When and if the time comes that public support needs to be rallied, we'll let you know. We specifically request that no one contact any members of the legislature to suggest that a legislative solution be found. It is quite possible that we can reach a result that limits the impact of this case and makes legislation unnecessary.

Debbie Schwarzer was kind enough to speak to me in an interview about the situation. You can listen to her thoughts on the situation via a March 8th phone interview at the Home Education Magazine site

Please visit the Home Education Magazine website for more resources concerning this important situation.

by Mary Nix

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