California Gov. Gavin Newsom State of the State 2021 speech at Dodger Stadium. (Photo: gov.ca.gov)
Homeschooling Inquiries Skyrocket After Gov. Newsom Announces Statewide Student Vaccination Mandate
Statewide mandate ‘final straw’ for some parents on fence about homeschooling
By Evan Symon, October 2, 2021 2:21 am
Only hours after Governor Gavin Newsom announced a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for all schoolchildren of FDA approval age in California, homeschooling and tutoring inquiries shot up dramatically, with some homeschooling sites even going down to the sheer volume of users searching for help.
While the mandate, which covers all public and private school children, does allow for either independent study or homeschooling options if they don’t receive the vaccine, many parents in California have seen the new mandates a concerted effort to increase vaccinations. As the Globe noted last month, parents have already pulled 160,000 students from public schools due to the pandemic, fueling a homeschooling boom since last year.
Recent vaccination mandate announcements by large public school districts, such as Los Angeles and San Diego, had already led to a significant number of new home schooling and private school searches. But with the statewide mandate now also covering private schools such as academies, Montessori schools, and Catholic schools, those who assist with homeschooling transitions are now inundated with questions.
“Since this morning, I’m at 3,000 e-mails from parents asking for homeschooling help,” said Alyssa Hutchinson, an Orange County homeschool transfer advisor who helps parents move to homeschooling options online, to the Globe on Friday. “That is an insane number of inquiries.”
“Since March of last year, I’ve seen my website traffic stay high. During the summer it dipped down, but once the Delta variant hit, it shot back up. And I can always tell when another city puts in mandates because of the small “peaks”. My husband calls them waves. Well, following that nickname, today was just a tidal wave.”
Hutchinson’s website traffic and e-mail levels have largely correlated to wider Californian and US homeschooling rates. However, she also noted several other factors that caused today’s spike.
“Newsom’s mandate, yeah, that’s what did it. But it was larger than it should have been because it covered private schools. Private schools were seen as the option last year because they could escape some of the COVID-19 requirements, with the big point being that many could stay open for in-person learning while most others went remote. Even Newsom did that with his kids. But with vaccination mandates now in, the only place where parents can go, really go, is home schooling.”
“If public schools were not covered, I would have still seen a huge number of emails asking for help, but not this many. There’s just no more options.”
California parents who don’t want vaccinations ‘Out of options’
Tonya Pulaski, a stay-at-home mom who homeschools her kids in Modesto, and runs a website giving information to parents on how to homeschool their kids, said in an interview with the Globe that she experienced something similar on Friday.
“My website has been down since about 10 this morning,” said Pulaski. “So many parents went there for help. And I know my server can handle a lot of traffic. My daughter runs some YouTube and Tiktok things that get a lot of views, and she never crashed it before. This did. She even said she was jealous of my traffic which she has NEVER said before.”
“This just shows just how many desperate parents are out there. There’s a lot of sites you can go to for help, and right now California parents are looking for anything.”
With homeschooling requests already spiking in response to Newsom’s mandate, the number of new homeschoolers in the upcoming school year are expected to be the highest recorded amount in Californian history.
“One parent wrote me in an email ‘We need anything,'” added Hutchinson. “‘We cannot allow forced vaccinations. We have no where else to turn.’ Another mom called me directly and started crying for any help. I don’t think anyone expected this.”
“And honestly, it’s going to stay this bad for quite some time. A lot of people will be putting in for homeschooling all at once. There is going to be one heck of a traffic jam in October.”
While there are exemptions to the mandate, such as a personal belief exemption, both Hutchinson and Pulaski said that many parents fear not being accepted for an exemption, or the exemption later being pulled, necessitating the move to homeschooling.
“They just don’t trust [the state] any more on these matters,” said Pulaski. “This was the final straw.”
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September 15, 2021
Conformity is a requirement in Orwell’s (oops, Newsom’s) Oceana.
And failed recalls have consequences.
Reply to fedup
And rigged recalls have consequences.
I see this as another attempt to keep middle class America poor and reliant on the powers of the government. How is a family supposed to work and homeschool their children? More economic downfall with people forced to leave their jobs to homeschool along with those adults fired from their jobs because they have natural immunity. Yes, failed recalls have consequences. All this happening outside of legislation because Gavin refuses to terminate his emergency powers. This is the longest damn emergency ever, 2 weeks to flatten the curve. All this as case numbers continue to drop as well as severity of illness and other optional treatment plans that Biden is trying to keep from the public by rationing those supplies to specific states.
Reply to Stacy
Also, children have statistically zero chance of dying from covid. Actually, children help expand herd immunity without risk.
I feared the outcome of having to quit my job to homeschool, but another homeschooling mom allowed me to realize that I can still work during the day and homeschool after work. In my state (Not CA) there aren’t set times in which children need to homeschool. They only need to get the adequate education. It made me feel so much better about the whole thing.
The teachers unions are going to feel it big time and you know what – GOOD!
If there are too many people homeschooling their children, that means taxes aren’t high enough. To have one parent stay home and raise their kids is the epitome of privilege, I say with maximum sarcasm.
He will go after homeschools next.
that what i am on during becacuse i am home schooled
Newsom/Biden/Pelosi/Soros/Gates/Fauci/Klaus Schwab….they are all interchangeable aging puppets parroting the same old useless “tapes”(dead end, already tried -communism- ideas from the dark ages-population control, eugenics,,,).We have to forget about these total losers and make new paths for thriving. We cant be resigned to their limited thinking capacities just because they call themselves our “leaders”.
Now is the opportunity to really be an American and FIND OUT WHAT WE ARE MADE OF and tap into our unused reserves of our inherited freedoms and our imaginations to the max as we simultaneously fight against these (few) global predators. We will turn any weakness (threats of get jabs or you are out) into strengths (we will band together and help each other survive in new ways we never had to think of before as we wait for terms to end in 2022 and kick out the parasitic bums like Newsom, Biden, and “county health officers” who are all bought and paid for. We will just have a rough patch ahead for weeks, months-another year? For example, look at the pioneer restaurant owner in HB-Basillico’s Pasts e Vino-masks and jabbed people are not welcome to dine there. There are others like him in blue states businesses meeting the new demand and there will be more and these are places to work, no poison experiments required. Home Schooling is improving by the week as people learn the ropes. People who never thought of being in government are running for Governor to city councils. “Reinette Senum former City Council member of Nevada City takes steps toward running for governor in 2022” New job boards are popping up:
No Vax Mandate .org
I agree with everything you said PJ but even with new good conservative people running & terms of the bad apples ending in 2022, all the elections are now rigged so the evil rulers will be perpetually in power that’s why they set all this up this way, it’s the “great reset!” With all elections rigged we’re just screwed! How in the world will there be fair elections ever again??? Disheartening!!!
I agree with everything you said PJ but even with new good conservative people running & terms of the bad apples ending in 2022, all the elections are now rigged so the evil rulers will be perpetually in power that’s why they set all this up this way, it’s the “great reset!” With all elections rigged we’re just screwed! How in the world will there be fair elections ever again??? Disheartening!!! Tragic!!!
I question whether Newsom has acted within his legal authority. Has it been established that it is legal for him to make this mandate because he feels like it? Also, I think it would be interesting if CA Globe were to explain a bit more just what homeschooling entails and how the results compare with public schools.
Leave the state; Florida is much more welcoming.
Seriously? Their idiot governor Desantis has let Covid decimate his state.
You have no clue what you are talking about.
Idiot? look in the mirror, then go back to watching CNN
As an optimist I’d say that California kids are finally going to get a good education, as public (and even private in some cases) education has utterly failed them, and all of us.
These same uncooperative and non complying parents are no doubt the ones who voted “yes” on the recall.
Well too bad! Newsom is an excellent governor who enjoys nearly two-thirds support from all Californians. For these selfish parents you can just move to a red state where Covid is out of control.
You’re not a very subtle troll, are you?
Aren’t the school districts going to suffer financially with kids being pulled out to be homeschooled?
YES, according to the current system, individual schools and districts receive Average Daily Attendance money from the state depending on attendance totals, which they would lose if enrollment drops. It has already dropped and obviously would drop precipitously in light of Newsom’s new threat. Unless something changes, that is, and the way things are going it wouldn’t really be a surprise to see an end run around it. Would it?
Newsom and his marry band of commies are going to come hard for homeschooling and the teachers unions will ensure that options is removed over time. Leave!!
Red states need to secede if American ideals are to be preserved. The ruling class must be jettisoned before they ruin our children and turn every square mile of the country into a nihilistic, secularist hell-hole.
And the serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die.”