The California Court of Appeals recently ruled that homeschooling parents in the state must be certified to teach their children. This motion was enstated to ensure that children, regardless of how they are educated, do not fall behind standards.

Agreeing with this ruling is Marty Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers and a Los Angeles community college math teacher.

"All parents have a right to be involved in the education of their own children... Home-schoolers should be required to deliver quality instruction, and their efforts should not result in students falling behind. Parents who do decide to home-school their children take on a huge responsibility. We [the California Federation of Teachers] believe there should be standards for all teachers," Hittelman said.

Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, disagrees with this ruling.

"The main reason states have moved toward home-school freedom is because research shows that home-schoolers on average score 20 to 30 percentile points above the national average on standardized achievement tests... These results have been achieved despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of these students are taught by parents who are not teacher certified," Smith said.

The original article appeared in the Costco Connection. For more information, visit the Time, the American Home School Association, or the Wikipedia web sites.

Personally, I think there should be standards for home-schoolers, but I think it should be up to the parents as to whether or they are certified. Parents do know what's best for their kids, but a little certification never hurt anyone.

Which side do you support? Should home-schoolers be required to take state-wide achievement tests? Who delivers the best education: certified or non-certified teachers? Should Washington follow in California's footsteps?

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