Home Schooling Laws

Many parents, for many different reasons, make the decision to homeschool their children. Home schooling allows for a specific educational experience designed to suit your child's particular needs, and in many cases goes above and beyond what can be achieved in a public

or private school system.

If you make the decision to homeschool your children, it is important that you do so legally, and understand the laws in your area. It is absolutely crucial that you do this, because if you fail to meet legal standards when home schooling your children you will inadvertently rob your children of postsecondary educational opportunities.

Home schooling laws vary from state to state, so you have to look up the specific laws in your

home state. The basis of state laws on home schooling is the result of truancy laws that require

children to attend school. The basic idea is that these laws exist to distinguish a home schooled

child from a child that is simply not going to school, which is of course against the law.

Generally, states will require that you submit a "notice of intent" to homeschool your children

before the upcoming academic year, and the state will then respond with the appropriate

paperwork for you to fill out.

Besides familiarizing yourself with the particular laws of your state you should also consult a

home schooling association for advice. In some cases parents will be dealing with school

officials who want to discourage them from home schooling, and in these situations it is

important that you understand your rights. In the state of New York, for example, parents are not

required to meet with school officials. School officials may request a meeting with the parents in

order to discuss home schooling, but the state may not revoke the right to homeschool if the

parents refuse this meeting.

It is also required that your child take standardized tests. This is so the state can legally assign

your child to a given grade level. The laws vary from state to state but in most cases you will

have a certain amount of leeway in non-standardized tests. New York allows for non-standard

tests every alternate year between grades 4 and 8, for example.

Although it may seem intimidating at first, home schooling your children legally is ultimately not

that complicated. You just have to make sure that you follow every step, and don't overlook any paperwork. While some state restrictions or rules may seem unnecessary or cumbersome, in

the long run you'll save yourself a ton of headaches if you fill everything in properly and on time.

The best thing you can do when you begin to homeschool your children is to consult other home

schooling parents and advocacy groups. Looking up legal jargon online can be confusing, but

any home schooling group will give you solid, plain-English instruction on how to properly and

legally set up home schooling for your children. Remember: it's impossible to overestimate the

importance of studying your state laws in regards to home schooling - if you overlook or violate

any of them, you could lose your right to homeschool altogether.