Homeschooling and the Law

Homeschooling - Homeschooling and the Law

Homeschooling is completely legal. Legal restrictions are a common concern of parents contemplating the prospect of homeschooling their children. They fear that homeschooling is illegal, or to avoid the government cracking down individuals have to jump through many hoops. Depending on where the family lives their concern are justified, but is usually larger than appropriate.

The Constitution makes no mention of education, legally individual states establish the rules, but the Dept of Education plays a large role. Basically, the laws governing education varies from state to state.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, but some have fewer hurdles than others do. For example, there are a few restrictions are placed on parents who choose to homeschool their children in Idaho and Texas. Others, such as Massachusetts and New York are heavy handed. They require parents submit student achievement test scores, the student's curriculum be approved by the state, and may even perform home visits. Pennsylvania requires teaching materials used for homeschooling be submitted to the local school district for review.

Legal efforts are ongoing to monitor and defeat bills attempting to expand the power states have to enter the home or compel public school attendance. In 2006, many such efforts were defeated. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of parents never need worry about their rights being taken away. The trend of court decisions has been strongly in their favor for decades.

As far back as 1925, the Supreme Court ruled in Pierce v. Society of Sisters the care and education of the child was the right and duty of parents, not the state. As recently as 2000, Troxel v. Granville reached the Supreme Court. Though an issue of visitation not education, the principle driving the decision has been successfully used by homeschool advocates. The Court reaffirmed the rights of parents as fundamental.

In 1983, the Home School Legal Defense Association was established to fight for the rights of parents who seek to homeschool. The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association, http://www.hslda.org) tracks legal issues related to homeschooling and has fought many legal battles on behalf of parents. They publish a yearly roundup of legislative acts and follow any changes made by the states and Congress.

Despite the fact that both states and the Federal government strive to chip away at the right of parents to homeschool, most court cases have settled in favor of parents.

Although rare, there have been cases of zealous social workers who see it as their duty to protect children from parents. Unfortunately, they may do so even when there is no evidence of parental abuse. That possibility and social/legal issue sometimes makes its way into the homeschool arena. HSLDA and others provide resources to parents to ensure they never have to deal with that in the first place.

Parents considering homeschooling should investigate the paperwork, supervision or other legal requirements of their individual states. The first education needed in homeschooling is that of the parents.