Another ‘save California’ petition site is online. The “Reverse The Ruling” petition is not from a California organization, but rather from ELRN, the company that runs the Grace Academy, the Jubilee Academy, Morningstar Academy, and the “Southern Baptist” Academy, as well as others.
The problems with the “Reverse The Ruling” site that I can see are as follows:
- Sign the Petition
“We, the undersigned, petition the Supreme Court of California to reverse the Court of Appeal opinion …”
Supreme Courts don’t pay attention to petitions. Yes, one does petition the government for redress, but one does not send petitions to courts. The judiciary redresses grievances whenever it determines that constitutional or other legal rights have been infringed upon, and then attempts to remedy the situation.
- Spread the word
The addresses given by the Reverse The Ruling site are for members of Congress in Washington, D.C., although the people who need to be approached are in the California state legislature.
Assembly Resolution ACR 115, By Debbie Schwarzer, HSC Legal Team Co-Chair
To avoid another firestorm like we had with the HSLDA petition, I wanted to get this information in front of you, and HSC’s position on it, right away.
…
This is one case where I do encourage members of HSC and all other homeschoolers in the state to contact their representatives (currently, just the Assemblymembers, as it is not pending before the [California] Senate and will just confuse your Senator’s office if you call now)
- Need more info?
site has linked videos from:
Trinity Law School: Bad Facts Make Bad Law
Pat Roberson on Homeschooling and the N.W.O
Lew Rockwell This Week in Liberty
Tim Hawkins – A Homeschool Family
Law News: No Constitutional Right to Homeschool
Homeschoolers Under Attack in Germany/Human Rights Violation
BBC Home-Education Debate 2
Not one of the linked videos are from California homeschooling organizations, and some of the videos are nonsense. Why is the “A Homeschool Family” song included? It is a remake of “The Addams Family” song.
Then there’s the “homeschoolers under attack in Germany” video. For one, it’s just another musical remake, this time Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” which is a catchy tune, and has a sympathetic theme, but it bypasses logic using music and entertaining graphics. (See Neil Postman’s 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves to Death for details) Both songs are cute, but they are irrelevant.
And secondly, that video is supposed to be about the status of homeschooling in Germany.
Yes, I’ve seen the various texts about how the California judge is importing legal interpretations about homeschooling from Germany, but that opinion is speculation. The judge’s decision makes no mention of Germany. If legal decisions or legislation have restrictive connotations, respond in a logical manner demonstrating the flaws. Throwing in a token German ‘threat’ makes no sense, and it weakens the argument by allowing the people to whom you are responding to dismiss your points as ill-founded.
Some actions by both parties, Germany and California, may be superficially similar to each other, but correlation does not imply causation.
For accurate, timely information, please see one of the California homeschooling websites.
- HomeSchool Association of California
- California Homeschool Network
- Christian Home Educators Association of California
Pass along those URLs, not ones from outside organizations that have installed clickable panic buttons on their websites.
posted by Valerie
HEM
Helen
Tracy
mark
marynix
ann-lahrson-fisher
valerie
sandi
david
Thank you for mentioning our website http://www.ReverseTheRuling.com on your News & Commentary Page. Even though Learning By Grace is not a California corporation, our online homeschool Academies serve thousands of children in California. As a world-wide provider of online education for homeschoolers, we care deeply not only about our students but also about the rights of all of families.
You claim that “Supreme Courts don’t pay attention to petitions.†The Supreme Court does have to accept our petition if it is filed in accordance with the regulations, which ofcourse it will be. We believe it is imperative to send a strong message to all involved in this case, especially the new Justices who we hope will be reversing it, that it is not satisfactory to limit family rights.
Under Spread the Word, we provide both California legislators and national representatives because this a national issue which could affect every homeschooler in America. Many homeschoolers have adopted the wonderful, loving spirit of “If one of us is oppressed, all of us are oppressed.â€
ReverseTheRuling.com shows all the videos we could find on the issue. We threw in the humorous Tim Hawkins – A Homeschool Family video because it made me laugh and I think everyone needs to laugh at least once an hour.
Valerie, what are you doing to help overturn this outrageous and egregious ruling besides condemning the work of others?
Michael Davidson
wwwReverseTheRuling.com
Thank you for commenting at Home Education Magazine’s (HEM) News and Commentary blog. Although HEM is not a California company, the magazine has many readers in California. As a world-wide homeschooling publication now in its 25th year, HEM cares deeply about the parents and children of homeschooling families.
Supreme courts may have to accept petitions, but the judges do not have to abide by the wishes contained in petitions, but rather by the law. Also, the definition of “petition” may be why we are talking at cross-purposes. My understanding of petitioning the court means that persons with standing before the court may ask that certain actions be taken by the court. What I see as your use of the word, ‘petition,’ is the form that ELRN has provided at your website. I am using a verb, you appear (but may not be) using a noun.
Sign the Petition
I don’t know that online readers of your site have standing before the California courts.
I’m also concerned about the unsecured nature of the petition site, and that the “subscribe” button is permanently checked. And yes, the email address I provided is now “subscribed.”
The “spread the word” page has banners and buttons for the Reverse the Ruling website.
I saw no ‘lock’ icons to indicate that the information you collect is encrypted, so that people who provide their names, addresses and emails will have that information transmitted in the clear.
From your reply above:
So far, this is not a national issue. It may have piqued national interest, but so far it is a California issue. The ‘all for one, and one for all’ attitude is admirable, but at the moment, I don’t know that it is legally viable. Online signers of a petition, no matter how sympathetic they are to the situation in California, do not have standing before a California court concerning a California matter.
Again from your comment:
I understand the use of humor, I use it myself. However, on a page that is supposed to be factual concerning a serious subject, I found the video using the Addams Family music to be distracting. I thought the link contained relevant information, but it didn’t. The link to it says, “Need more info,” but that video is not informative.
Then there is the red herring of “Another Brick in the Wall.” But, I see you’ve taken down both of the videos, so the point is moot.
In light of the changes to your site, Michael, apparently I’m working pro bono as a web design consultant.
Otherwise, if you haven’t read other posts on California on this blog, well, all I can do is point you to the main page and advise you to scroll.