Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?

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More than six million students attend the public schools in California. About one tenth that number attend private schools. No one knows exactly how many home school students there are (that lack of information is part of the problem). Home schooling advocates estimate 166,000. The Department of Education says the numbers are closer to 50,000. What is clear is that relatively few parents choose to go the route of home schooling. There are good reasons why.

Public schools are not perfect. In California, schools suffer from inadequate funding, and overcrowded classes, and these facts have an impact on our ability to deliver a quality public education for all. But even in the face of these problems, public schools continue to represent the best hope for a strong education for the vast majority of California children. Public schools are subject to stringent (some might say overly stringent) standards for instruction, assessment of students, and training and evaluation of teachers. These standards provide a transparency in public education that is often lacking in home schooling. We would like to see a similar transparency on the part of private and home schools.

The CFT supports the right of parents to follow their best judgment in the supremely important task of seeking education for their children. But we also know that our public schools need involved parents to help them work properly. We would prefer that highly motivated parents keep their kids in public school rather than place them in private schools or home school them. We need all of the community engaged so that we can assure all students receive a high quality, research- and standards-based education.

For more information, please visit our website at cft.org.

Marty Hittelman, a Los Angeles community college math teacher, is president of the California Federation of Teachers.