"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

This statement was issued by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding the recent Second District Court of Appeals ruling.

This California court case decision has definitely created a buzz in the homeschool world. The decision goes against everything I believe and I sincerely hope it is overturned by the Supreme Court. But does this case mean trouble for California homeschoolers? I am confident that it does not.

In California, we legally homeschool if we file an affidavit establishing ourselves as a private school or sign up under an umbrella school or an ISP (Independent Study Program). This court case seems to jeopardize that. But we have lots of support in California and there are four well-established organizations joining together to work on this issue.

Every homeschooler I run into asks me about this case. One homeschool group sent a notice to their members stating that everything will be okay, another sent a notice stating that at this time homeschooling in California is illegal. It is best if everyone remains calm, doesn't overreact and supports the recommendations by the groups that are working on the case.

It does seem odd to me that so much emphasis was put on why this family wants to homeschool their children. I don't think that should matter. I believe that parents should have the right to homeschool their children even without all the religious and moral issues involved. We have the right to choose the best method of educating our children. What do you think?

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, let's keep it that way.

• Court Opinion
• HSLDA
• Appellate Court Case, Please Remain Calm
• CHN - Legal Updates
• CHEA of California - Legislative Newsflash
• It’s Not Illegal to Homeschool