What do most homeschooling instructors look like? Are they mothers, fathers, grandparents, or neighbors? And what is the state of homeschooling in California today?

In February 2008, the Second District California Court of Appealsruled that a homeschooling instructor must be properly credentialed in order to instruct school-age children at a home course of study. This ruling frightened many parents who had taught their children without needing to show proof of academic qualification.

Within two weeks, the California Department of Education rebuffed the ruling. In a March 11 statement from Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, O’Connell chose to “assure parents that choose to home school that California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to home school in our state.”

While encouraging all educators (at-home and in-school) to best prepare themselves to educate future leaders, O’Connell stayed firm on the idea that tighter home school regulation was off the table. “Some parents choose to send their children to private schools or to home school, and I respect that right.”

Two years later, little has changed. According to the CA