got this in an email, any truth to it???

CALIFORNIA HOME SCHOOLED COULD BE TRUANT

School officials in California are warning parents they cannot educate their children at home unless they obtain professional teaching credentials, according to The Washington Times.

Without the proper credentials, parents no longer can file required paperwork that would authorize them to home school their children, states a memo issued by the state Department of Education. As a result, those children not attending public schools would be considered "truant" by local school districts.

"In California, 'home schooling' where non-credentialed parents teach their own children exclusively at home, whether using correspondence courses or other types of courses, is not an authorized exemption from mandatory public school at- tendance," says Deputy Superintendent Joanne Mendoza in a memo to all school employees.

Advocates of home-based education say the memo is another ploy to frighten home school parents into sending their children to public schools.

Part of it has to do with money, they say, as the state's education department is dealing with a $23 billion deficit and school districts only get funding if a child attends a public school.

-- Should the state be able to require professional teaching credentials for home schooling?

-- Since home schooling has become more popular, do you think states will make it more difficult because of the loss of revenue?