Children & the Law Blog

It appears that the legality of home schooling in California may depend on the California Court of Appeals’ re-decision in the Rachel L. case.

According to the Concurring Opinions blog and the Yale Law Journal :

The recent decision of the California Court of Appeal in the Rachel L. case set off a storm of protest from the California “home school” community and drew nationwide media attention. It was understood by many as holding that it is illegal for parents without teaching credentials to teach their own children at home, thus exposing the children and parents to truancy and child dependency proceedings. In the wake of the public response, the Court of Appeal granted rehearing and solicited an amicus brief from the California Department of Education (CDE) and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. In the most recent edition of The Pocket Part , CDE General Counsel Michael E. Hersher argues that home-schooled children should not be declared truant if, in the opinion of local public school officials, the parents are providing an adequate education in compliance with the laws governing private schools.

Note: The two previous pieces published in The Yale Law Journal Pocket Part this summer are Agency Preemption Inputs in Riegel v. Medtronic by Christen Linke Young and Prisoners of Their Own War: Can Policymakers Look Beyond the “War on Drugs” to Drug Treatment Courts? by Jennifer Broxmeyer, both accessible from The Pocket Part homepage.