A three judge panel in a California Second District appeals court ruled parent run homeschooling unconstitutional if the parent does not have teaching credentials. Thousands of families in California home school their children, and they could be prosecuted if this ruling stands. Parents all over California are protesting this ruling and it's gotten the attention of many groups including the Home School Legal Defense Association and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out against this ruling.

Though homeschooling has grown in popularity over the last 10 years, parents who choose to educate their children outside public or private schools must prepared to defend their choice at any time. None of the home school advocate groups expected this ruling to come at this time. Watch as large numbers of people rally together to get this ruling over turned.

Parents on the Kansas side, are you aware of educational changes that may impact your rights to decide your child's education? Next Wednesday there will be a hearing in the Kansas House for Senate Bill 399. It lowers the age of compulsory attendance to six, and makes kindergarten mandatory. One advocate is a teacher who complained of lapses in attendance for kindergarteners. She has been frustrated that the school had no legal right to force children to attend her class. The Senate also was looking into mandating full day kindergarten. Other future plans are afoot for preschool programs. Virtual Schools have been discussed in the Senate this session also.

If you are interested in what the Kansas Legislature is doing in Education, you can look it up for yourself at www.kslegislature.org. The schedule of bills to be discussed is listed for each day, as well as full texts of bills. No matter what you believe about education or other issues, it doesn't hurt to be informed as to what your representatives are doing in Topeka. Here are the links for the Missouri House and Senate also...
http://www.house.mo.gov/
http://www.senate.mo.gov/

— Dawn Meisenheimer Lewis, Midwest Voices 2007