Last week the three judges on the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles unanimously declared that parents who homeschool their children do not need to have formal teaching credentials.
This overturned the decision the judges made in February requiring homeschooling parents to possess credentials. In their decision, they stated, “It is important to recognize that it is not for us to consider, as a matter of policy, whether homeschooling should be permitted in California . That job is for the Legislature. It is not the duty of the courts to make the law; we endeavor to interpret it.”
The February decision outraged homeschoolers across the United States, and their response had prompted the California Teachers Asssociation to argue that “parents do not have an unfettered right to dictate the terms fo their children’s education.”
Over 166,000 children are estimated to be homeschooled in California, and because of the public pressure, the Second District Court of Appeal agreed to rehear the case.
The Los Angeles case-in-chief having to do with allegations of child abuse will still be heard, but the decision will be focused much more narrowly.