A diocesan directive indicated that homeschool groups were prohibited from using parish building because “such usage can undermine the stability of nearby Catholic schools and lead people to think that the Church is approving and advancing particular alternative schools and programs.”
A memo announcing the policy further explained:
All religious education must be carried out in a way that builds unity within the Church. No home schooling can be tolerated which does not promote the understanding that being a Christian is not a private matter of individual choice but rather of a personal vocation within the context of the Church lived out in the experience of the parish community.
The diocesan policy comes into force at a time of explosive growth in home schooling, particularly in California, where dissatisfaction with public schools has fueled a 78% increase in the number of home-schooled students in the past five years.
Sources in the diocese also told The Pillar that many parents prefer to provide their children with religious education at home rather than in official parish CCD programs - an option that vindicates the parents’ rights as primary educators, but irks diocesan officials.
The San Diego policy sometimes allows non-Catholic schools to use parish properties, evaluating applications on a case-by-case basis.