CAMANO ISLAND — Eric and Nicole Placzek can’t help fretting about a recent California court ruling they say could undermine home schooling in this state.
Some experts say the Camano Island couple have nothing to fear because Washington has a much stronger home-school law than in California. Others say their concern is justified.
The California 2nd District Court of Appeals grabbed national headlines in February when it concluded home schooling is illegal unless “the child is tutored by a person holding a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught.”
It also found that parents in that state don’t have a constitutional right to teach their own children.
Since its Feb. 28 ruling, the court has agreed to reconsider the case. The Placzeks and thousands of other families around the country are monitoring it closely.
“It really comes down to parental rights to direct our own children’s education,” Eric Placzek said. “There is a significant part of the population that doesn’t want that, and we are aware of that.”
The Placzek children, ages 1 to 14, gather around the kitchen in the morning. Each of the older children has their lessons to complete and chores to do.
For Jessica, the oldest, her lessons the other day included Bible study, memorizing scripture, spelling, writing, grammar, math, Latin roots and flute.
Her favorite subject has been history. One lesson included a four-month family adventure across the country with her father driving a converted 1962 Greyhound bus from Camano Island to Jamestown, Va., for the 400th anniversary of America’s first permanent English settlement.
“I enjoy learning about the providential hand of God in the founding of our nation,” she said.
Her brother Zachary, 12, said he likes everything about being taught at home.
“I like just having time to spend with my family,” he said.
That time together will include assembling two soapbox derby cars in the next few weeks for an upcoming competition.
Some argue the Placzeks shouldn’t be concerned with the California case.
In a message to its members, the Washington Homeschool Organization said this state has a stronger law than California. The Washington law clearly distinguishes between public, private and home education options.
“While a heightened discussion of home-school rights naturally follows the legal activities in California, it also highlights the built-in protection of the current Washington Home-Based Instruction Law,” the organization said.
Washington’s home-school law has more regulations than most states. Parents each year must declare their intentions and must meet annual testing and record-keeping requirements. To qualify, parents must meet one of the following requirements: have taken 45 college credits, attend a qualifying course, work with a certified teacher who meets with the student an average of an hour a week or get permission from the superintendent of the local school district.
The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has no plans to try to change what’s already in place, said Nathan Olson, a spokesman for the agency.
“In this state, we value the home-school choice and we do think it is a viable choice for parents who want to use it,” he said.
Members of another statewide organization, the Christian Homeschool Network, say the California case is a concern.
Laws can be changed and lawmakers in one state can follow the lead of lawmakers in another in weakening home-school rights, they argue.
“We founded the Christian Homeschool Network so that we would be able to contend and defend independent home education for our children and our children’s children,” said DiAnna Brannan, a founder of the grass-roots organization. “This sense that someone somewhere at some time will be able to shut us down is a little unnerving.”
The Washington Homeschool Organization and the Christian Homeschool Network are correct about the California case and its potential ripple effects, said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association.
“It doesn’t have any direct impact in Washington, but at the same time, if this ruling stands and home schooling undergoes a change in California, that should be of concern to home educators across the country because there are many entrenched interests who want to see home schooling regulated,” he said.
Brannan said many Washington home-schooling families have the same message for lawmakers: “Don’t touch our law. There are some things we don’t like (about it), but we don’t want our law touched because it works.”
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