BILL NUMBER: ACR 115 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Anderson MARCH 10, 2008 Relative to home schooling. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 115, as introduced, Anderson. Home schooling. This measure would acknowledge the long and rich history of private home schooling in California and call upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles in the case of In re Rachel L. that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, Some 30 years of experience with the modern home schooling movement in California demonstrates that home-school graduates take up responsible positions as parents, as students in and graduates of colleges and universities, in the workplace, and as citizens in society at large; and WHEREAS, Home schooling by California families with diverse backgrounds has historically given children a quality education through proven, independent approaches that nurture valuable family bonds and support successful pupil development; and WHEREAS, Private home schooling has a long and rich history in the State of California, and is currently estimated as involving 200,000 pupils in the state and 2,000,000 pupils nationwide; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to direct the education and upbringing of their children (Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) 406 U.S. 205, Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) 268 U.S. 510, and Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) 262 U.S. 390); and WHEREAS, On February 28, 2008, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles issued an opinion in the case of In re Rachel L., 2008 Cal.App. Lexis 292 (Cal.App.2d Dist. Feb. 28, 2008) holding that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and WHEREAS, This misguided interpretation denies California parents their primary responsibility and right to determine the best place and manner of their own children's education; and WHEREAS, The fair opportunity of California families to educate their children should not be undermined; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby calls upon the California Supreme Court to reverse the opinion of the California Court of Appeal for the second Appellate District in the case of In re Rachel L., that home schooling without a teaching credential is not legal; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.