Home Schooling

One of the common concerns that parents will contemplate with practical home schooling is the aspect of legal restrictions. They fear that home schooling is either illegal, or that parents need to jump through various hoops to comply with the governments demands. This fear is somewhat justified, dependent on where the family is situated, but is often larger than necessary.

Home schooling is actually legal in all 50 states; however regulations and laws will vary from state to state. Texas and Idaho, for instance place few restrictions on those parents that opt to home educate their child. Others, such as New York and Massachusetts are heavier handed. They ask that the student's programme of study is approved by the state, parents intend on submitting their children's achievement test results, and might even expect to receive a home visit.

Legal attempts are ongoing to observe and defeat bills that would extend the power of the state to compel the attendance at a public school or to enter the home. In 2006, various such attempts were defeated. Nonetheless the overwhelming majority of families will never have to be concerned about their rights being taken from them.

In 1983, an organization was founded to defend for the rights of parents that wish to home school. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) aims to track legal issues that relate to this and has with success fought numerous legal cases on behalf of parents.

Although rare, there have been instances of over zealous social workers that see it as their responsibility to protect a child from their parents. Sadly, they might do so even when there's no ground for parental abuse. That possible action and the legal / social issues occasionally make its way into the home schooling field. The HSLDA and others can offer resources to parents to make certain that they never need to deal with this situation in the first occasion.

Parents that are debating the option of home schooling would do best, though, to enquire about the supervision, paperwork, and other legal demands of their particular state. The first instruction required in this is that of the actual parents.