BILL NUMBER: ACR 115	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 7, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 24, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Anderson
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Adams, Aghazarian, Beall, Benoit,
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines,
Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, La Malfa,
Lieu, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Parra, Plescia, Sharon?Runner, Silva,
Smyth, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Villines, and Walters)
   (Coauthors: Senators Ashburn, Battin, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Maldonado, Margett, McClintock, and
Runner)

                        MARCH 10, 2008

   Relative to home schooling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 115, as amended, 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   California courts
to denounce  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   and to acknowledge the right of parents
to teach their c   hildren at home, apart from any public
school program, and without a teaching credential  .
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Some 30 years of experience with the modern home
schooling movement in California demonstrates that home-school
graduates occupy responsible positions as parents, as students in and
graduates of colleges and universities, in the workplace, and as
citizens in society; 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   erroneous 
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   denounces the foregoing opinion as being
overly broad and poorly reasoned, and calls upon California courts to
acknowledge the right of parents to teach their children at home,
apart from any public school program, and without a teaching
credential  ; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.