Homeschooling a Constitutional Right, Americans Tell LifeWay Research

NASHVILLE, TN, Aug 11 (MARKET WIRE) --
Until last Friday, more than 8 in 10 Americans were at odds with a
California appeals court that ruled in February that "parents do not have
a constitutional right to homeschool their children," according to
just-released data from LifeWay Research.

In fact, 86 percent of those polled by LifeWay Research in an April
telephone survey agreed with the statement: "Parents have a constitutional
right to homeschool their children."

It seems the California appeals court now agrees. In a stunning move Aug.
8, the three-judge panel reversed itself, saying the state legislature has
implicitly accepted homeschooling as legal. "We ... conclude that
California statutes permit homeschooling as a species of private school
education," the justices wrote in their unanimous decision released on
Friday.

"The California appeals court shocked the nation with its ruling in
February," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. "We decided, as
part of a broad survey of more than 1,200 adult Americans, to get their
reaction and found that 61 percent strongly agreed that the Constitution
guarantees the right of parents to homeschool, and another 25 percent
agreed somewhat." Eight percent somewhat disagreed, five percent disagreed
strongly, and two percent did not know, according to Stetzer. "Americans
appear to believe that parents, not the government, should decide whether
or not they should homeschool."

At the same time, LifeWay Research found some possible agreement with the
widely quoted rationale behind the court's original ruling. The appeals
court cited socialization concerns in February, ruling, "A primary purpose
of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship,
patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of
protecting the public welfare." That was a main reason the court
prohibited homeschooling unless the parent had a "valid state teaching
credential for the grade being taught."

Many have expressed concern that homeschooling fails to provide adequate
socialization and connection to broader society, often leading to weaker
social interaction and skills. In the LifeWay Research survey, 54 percent
of respondents agreed, somewhat or strongly, that "children who are
homeschooled often lack social skills."

"As is the case with polling research, we are not asking if something is
true but rather what people believe," said Stetzer. "And, it is important
to note that Americans do believe that schooling at home leads to issues
with social skills -- and this is a perception that homeschooling families
need to overcome."

LifeWay Research conducted the telephone survey April 10-12, 2008, among a
representative sample of American adults. The sample size of 1,201
provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed
+2.9 percent.

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