Gov.: Overturn Calif. home-school ruling

SACRAMENTO, March 7 (UPI) -- California's governor wants to see a court ruling tightening the rules for home schooling overturned.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement Friday calling this week's ruling requiring home-school instructors to hold valid teaching credentials "outrageous" and called for it to either be overturned in the court system or changed through the legislative process.

"Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," Schwarzenegger said. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education."

California's 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that home-schooling was not a guaranteed constitutional right and that the state had the right to regulate it by requiring credentialed teachers. The state currently requires all school-aged kids to be educated in school or at home by a qualified tutor.

University of San Diego Law Professor Shaun Martin told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the ruling means "parents no longer have the right to home-school their kid any way they want."