Court Sends Homeschoolers to Detention

California homeschoolers are breaking the law, an appeals court ruled yesterday, by not having certified teachers instructing their kids. California’s law has been clear since 1953, the court said: Kids must go to school full time or be tutored by a credentialed teacher. The decision puts the parents of 166,000 kids at risk of prosecution, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

“At first there was a sense of, ‘No way,’” said one homeschool parent. “I think it has moved now to indignation.” The state’s largest teachers union applauded the decision, while the State Superintendent of Public Instruction said he supported “parental choice when it comes to homsechooling.” One children's advocate said the law was important to ensure not only that kids are educated, but that they're observed daily by people who have "a duty to ensure their ongoing safety." (More education stories.)