Breaking News in Homeschool Case – Trial Court Ends Jurisdiction; Case May be Moot

Los Angeles, CA – Following a five-and-a-half hour hearing yesterday, the juvenile dependency court overseeing the Rachel L. homeschooling case has determined that no further court oversight of the family is needed and has therefore terminated its jurisdiction.

Attorneys for the parents plan to immediately notify the Court of Appeal that the case is moot and should be dismissed. The court-appointed attorneys for the children, who have been pushing to have them forcibly enrolled in a non-homeschool, vowed to appeal yesterday’s decision.

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “We are still digesting the full impact of this ruling, but it is a major development which should, for all practical purposes, end this case. Again and again, the court-appointed attorneys for the L. children have relied on the oversight of the juvenile court as the basis for seeking a ruling that this family cannot homeschool. By terminating its jurisdiction, the court has severely undercut this position and yanked the rug out from all who have sought to use this case to criminalize homeschooling. We are hopeful that the Court of Appeal will follow suit and recognize that there is no longer any basis to rule against this family or our clients, Sunland Christian School.”