S. Res. 572 and H. Res. 1076 — Congressional pressure on the California appellate court

Search at Thomas, if interested.  At this point, any information about these resolutions seems to be of the order of “fyi.”  NewsComm is a day late and a dollar short in reporting this, but the NewsComm staff (me, 2 cats and the granddog) just didn’t catch it at the time.  Hat tip to Mary, whose staff is Mary and the spirit of her late-beloved pooch Reba.

House Resolution 1076 was introduced 3 April 2008 by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-California).  The resolution has 56 co-sponsors.  The actions have been:

• 4/3/2008: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
• 6/3/2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
• 6/3/2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Senate Resolution 572 was introduced May 21, 2008 by Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina), and co-sponsored by Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma).  So far, the resolution is still in committee:  “Latest Major Action: 5/21/2008 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.”

Both resolutions have near-identical language, with the only difference that I saw being that the Senate version calls specifically upon the Court of Appeal in California’s Second District, while the House version “calls upon the courts.”

The Senate version follows:

Title: A resolution calling upon the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District of California to uphold the fundamental and constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

RESOLUTION Calling upon the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District of California to uphold the fundamental and constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

Whereas the modern homeschool movement in the United States demonstrates that homeschooled children are a vital component of the United States education system;

Whereas homeschool graduates act responsibly as parents and as students in colleges and universities, are valuable in the workplace, and are productive citizens in society at large;

Whereas many studies confirm that children who are educated at home score considerably above the national average on nationally-normed achievement tests, and above the average on both the SAT and ACT college entrance exams;

Whereas homeschooled children, such as 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, are receiving national recognition for their victories in national competitions, such as national spelling bees and geography bees, and are being highly sought after by nationally-recognized colleges and universities;

Whereas homeschooling families contribute significantly to the cultural diversity important to a healthy society;

Whereas notable individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, Patrick Henry, Ansel Adams, Charles Dickens, and General Douglas MacArthur all received a high-quality education at home;

Whereas over 2,100,000 children are being homeschooled nationwide;

Whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental and constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, in the cases of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925), Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972);

Whereas on February 28, 2008, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District of California, in Los Angeles, California, issued an opinion in the case of In re Rachel L., 73 Cal. Rptr. 3d 77 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008), that homeschool parents who did not hold a teaching credential could not legally homeschool their children;

Whereas the initial decision by the Court of Appeal in that case would have had an adverse impact on approximately 166,000 children in California who are receiving a quality education at home; and

Whereas on March 25, 2008, the Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case, with respect to the decision that required parents to hold a teaching credential in order to legally homeschool their children: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate–

(1) commends the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District of California, in Los Angeles, California, for allowing a rehearing in the case of In re Rachel L., 73 Cal. Rptr. 3d 77 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008); and

(2) calls upon the court to uphold the Supreme Court’s opinion that parents have a fundamental and constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

Tags: California homeschooling, H. Res. 1076, in Re Rachel L., S. Res. 572

This entry was posted on July 4, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Federal News, Politics, Regulations, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.