Homeschool Organizations Issue Joint Statement on Court Case
Private & Home Educators of California
Roy Hanson, Jr. - Director
PO Box 730 • Lincoln, CA 95648-0730 • (916) 786-3523 • FAX (916) 415-9470
contact@pheofca.org
(This article is available to download at www.pheofca.org for your use.)
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NEWSFLASH March 26, 2008
From: Roy Hanson’s Private and Home Educators of California
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For many years we have worked together with all of the statewide private homeschool organizations in California on homeschool issues. In the aftermath of the February 28th Appellate Court’s decision in southern California, we have stayed in close communications with these organizations. Our goal has been to share critical information with each other and find common ground on the best strategy to protect our right to continue home schooling under the private school option. Private and Home Educators of California is a program division of Family Protection Ministries. We continue with our full-time presence at the state Legislature in Sacramento, monitoring and advocating for private home school freedoms.
The leaders of the five statewide private homeschool organizations are issuing the following statement.
JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING HOMESCHOOLING IN CALIFORNIA
Download Joint Statement PDF
The following organizations, California Homeschool Network, Christian Home Educators Association of California, Private and Home Educators of California and HomeSchool Association of California, represent the major California-based organizations working on a statewide basis to support private homeschooling. They, together with the Home School Legal Defense Association, which also works in California to support private homeschooling and which has members in California, jointly issue the following statement:
1. We are united in the goal of protecting the right of parents to teach their children privately at home without additional governmental interference.
2. We believe that children deserve to learn in the environment that best meets their individual needs. We support the right of parents to direct their children's education including, if they desire, teaching their children privately at home apart from any public school program and without a teaching credential.
3. We believe that the opinion rendered by the Second District Court of Appeals in the case titled "In re Rachel L." on February 28, 2008 is excessively broad in its scope and incorrectly states the law as applied to home education in California.
4. We believe that the interpretation of California law, as understood by our organizations and by the California Department of Education prior to the issuance of this decision, is correct, that the interests of both the State of California in ensuring that children are educated adequately and of parents in directing their children's education are well met by this prior interpretation of law, and that no change in California law regarding the teaching of children privately at home is needed.
For further information, please contact these organizations as follows:
California Homeschool Network
P.O. Box 55485
Hayward, CA 94545
1-800-327-5339
http://californiahomeschool.net
Loren Mavromati, President
loren.mavromati@californiahomeschool.net
Christian Home Educators Association of California
P.O. Box 2009
Norwalk, CA 90651-2009
1-562-864-2432
http://www.cheaofca.org
Mary Schofield, Esq., Vice President
maryschofield@cheaofca.org
Private and Home Educators of California
P.O. Box 730
Lincoln, CA 95648-0730
1-916-786-3523
http://www.pheofca.org
Roy Hanson, Director
Jim Davis, Legislative Liaison
contact@pheofca.org
HomeSchool Association of California
P.O. Box 77873
Corona, CA 92877
1-888-472-4440
http://www.hsc.org
Debbie Schwarzer, Esq., Legislative Chair
hsc-legislative@hsc.org
Home School Legal Defense Association
P.O. Box 3000
Purcellville, VA 20134-9000
1-540-338-5600
http://www.hslda.org
J. Michael Smith, Esq.
media@hslda.org
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Permission is given to reprint this document or distribute it by email in its entirety without alteration. You are encouraged to link to this document on our website HYPERLINK "http://www.pheofca.org/"www.pheofca.org
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If you are in any kind of a leadership position supporting private homeschooling and received this email as a forward from someone else (rather than directly) and would like to find out how you can receive it directly, please visit our website HYPERLINK "http://www.pheofca.org" www.pheofca.org and click on “Leaders.”
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Roy Hanson's HELP Tree
HYPERLINK "http://www.pheofca.org/"Private and Home Educators of California
P.O. Box 730
Lincoln, CA 95648-0730
Fax: (916) 415-9470
HYPERLINK "mailto:contact@pheofca.org"contact@pheofca.org
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DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for the accuracy of copies printed, forwarded, or sent by any party other than directly from Private and Home Educators of California.
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