{"id":2647931,"date":"2026-08-21T16:32:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-parents-ask-high-court-to-take-up-homeschooling-religious-case\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:34:34","slug":"california-parents-ask-high-court-to-take-up-homeschooling-religious-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-parents-ask-high-court-to-take-up-homeschooling-religious-case\/","title":{"rendered":"California parents ask high court to take up homeschooling religious case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-parents-ask-high-court-to-take-up-homeschooling-religious-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647931&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A group of California parents has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging that state officials violated their First Amendment rights by rejecting religious educational materials for homeschooling. in California,parents can enroll children in an independent study program that allows curriculum choice,which is reviewed by charter schools for compliance with state standards. The parents claim that their chosen curriculum,which includes religious themes and meets state standards,was unfairly rejected by a charter school becuase it contained religious content. The First Liberty Institute, supporting the families, filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that deemed such homeschooling programs as &#8220;public schools,&#8221; thus justifying the rejection of religious materials and violating religious freedoms.The parents argue that excluding faith-based materials from homeschooling benefits constitutes a Free Exercise violation and that the state&#8217;s policy discriminates against parents wishing to provide religious education at home. The case, titled Woolard v. Thurmond, might be heard by the Supreme Court as early as this fall, amid a docket that includes other notable cases related to religious rights and education.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"60\">California<\/a> parents asked the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> this week to take up their case alleging that state officials violated their constitutional rights by rejecting the use of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/religious-freedom\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"627\">religious<\/a> education materials for homeschooling their children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In California, parents may enroll their children in an independent study program in which they select curriculum and materials that follow state standards by using state-provided funds. The program then has charter schools review the selected material to ensure it meets state requirements.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4694694\/california-parents-ask-supreme-court-to-intervene-in-homeschooling-religious-discrimination-case\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>California parents ask Supreme Court to intervene in homeschooling religious discrimination case<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/4695921\/judge-back-pay-florida-teacher-suspended-charlie-kirk\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge recommends back pay for Florida teacher suspended over Charlie Kirk post<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4690371\/aclu-asks-supreme-court-review-ten-commandments-texas-public-schools\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>ACLU asks Supreme Court to review Ten Commandments mandate in Texas schools<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the parents accused one of these charter schools of rejecting their preferred materials in violation of the families\u2019 First Amendment religious rights. Their <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >chosen curriculum met state education standards<\/a>, the parents said, and also contained religious themes. First\u00a0Liberty\u00a0Institute, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-declines-to-take-up-challenge-over-prayer-at-high-school-football-game\/\" title=\"... declines to take up challenge over prayer at high school football game\">religious\u00a0liberty\u00a0legal group backing<\/a> the families, filed a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Woolard-v.-Thurmond-Cert-Petition_Redacted.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/firstliberty.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Woolard-v.-Thurmond-Cert-Petition_Redacted.pdf\">petition<\/a> to the Supreme Court asking the justices to reverse a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that sided with California officials in denying the materials for being religious, finding that the homeschool programs are \u201cpublic schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne might think it would go without saying that parents teaching their children around the kitchen table aren\u2019t running \u2018public school programs.\u2019 But that is precisely what the Ninth Circuit concluded in the decision below. It held that the State of California is free to exclude families who wish to provide faith-based homeschooling to their children from benefits the State offers other families without offending the First Amendment because the homeschool programs are actually \u2018public schools,&#8217;\u201d lawyers for the parents said in their petition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parents claimed the rejected material included the works of William Penn and Jonathan Edwards, which were deemed invalid due to \u201creligious content.\u201d The rejected material also included a \u201cgrammar exercise using the sentence \u2018God sends the rain to help plants grow\u2019 because the school \u2018can\u2019t accept any work sample with any religious wording on it.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis Court\u2019s precedents should have made this an easy case,\u201d the parents\u2019 petition reads. \u201cWhile a State isn\u2019t obligated to fund education outside its public schools, once it chooses to do so, it can\u2019t exclude religious education from that benefit. What\u2019s more, this Court has recently reaffirmed that \u2018[t]he practice of educating one\u2019s children in one\u2019s religious beliefs \u2026 receives a generous measure of protection from our Constitution.\u2019<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCalifornia\u2019s policy singles out parents who wish to give their children a faith-based education and excludes them from homeschooling benefits and support extended to other California families. That\u2019s an open-and-shut Free Exercise violation,\u201d the parents\u2019 petition continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conservative religious legal group urged the Supreme Court to take up the case, warning it could affect tens of thousands of students across the Golden State and hurt religious rights in schooling throughout the 9th Circuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Ninth Circuit declared the homes of these parents to be \u2018public school programs\u2019 in order to justify the state\u2019s religious discrimination,\u201d Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute Hiram Sasser said. \u201cParents should not be punished for choosing quality religious curriculum meeting the state\u2019s standard that they teach to their own children in their own home just because it\u2019s religious.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4689482\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-renewed-appeal-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4689482\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-renewed-appeal-e-jean-carroll-lawsuit\/\">SUPREME COURT REJECTS TRUMP\u2019S RENEWED APPEAL IN E. JEAN CARROLL LAWSUIT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court will return to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/female-only-spa-asks-supreme-court-to-let-them-ban-swinging-ds\/\" title=\"Female-only spa asks ... to let them ban &#039;swinging d***s&#039;\">holding closed-door conferences<\/a> to weigh which cases to take up beginning on Sept. 28, and the high court\u2019s next term will begin on Oct. 5 with oral arguments in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4675555\/supreme-court-next-term-cases-climate-immigration\/\">key climate change case<\/a>. A decision on whether the Supreme Court will hear arguments in this religious materials case, titled <em>Woolard v. Thurmond<\/em>,\u00a0could come as soon as this fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The high court\u2019s upcoming term will also include various other major cases, including a case involving religious rights and schools over <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4649867\/supreme-court-colorado-catholic-preschool-case-implications\/\">Colorado barring Catholic preschools<\/a> from its universal preschool program. Oral arguments in <em>St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy<\/em> are scheduled for Nov. 3.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California parents seek Supreme Court review over religious homeschooling materials<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2647932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24325744647064.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4045,32610,23335,32274],"class_list":["post-2647931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-high-court","tag-homeschooling","tag-religious-freedom"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24325744647064.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647931"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647935,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647931\/revisions\/2647935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}