Two schools in San Diego County won a first-ever award for California independent study programs. Mount Everest Academy, a San Diego Unified school that assists homeschooling parents with state-standardized independent study programs, and Coastal Academy, an Oceanside charter school with a similar bent, won the Exemplary Independent Study Recognition Award.
This is the first year that California has given the award. It coincides with a statewide debate about homeschooling after a state appellate court issued a ruling that would ban parents from homeschooling without a teaching credential. The charter programs often help homeschooling parents without teaching credentials align their lessons to state requirements.