Legal Issues
Is homeschooling legal? Which laws pertain to homeschoolers and which don't? How do homeschoolers protect their rights to freely educate their children and to preserve their privacy?
Political and Legal Support for Homeschoolers in California
California Homeschool Network Legal Rights Committee
California Homeschool Network's volunteer legal committee doesn't give legal advice, but they can share information about the experiences of other homeschoolers who have asked those same questions, and they can help you understand current homeschool laws and regulations. The CHN Legal Defense Fund was established in 2000 to benefit families who do not qualify, for any reason, for assistance from one of the other legal services organizations.
National Charter School Watch List
This list is created to be a means of informing, documenting and evaluating available information concerning the impact of virtual/charter schools on the homeschooling community. This information consists of and is not limited to news items, articles from various sources, legislative information (bills, law changes), documented efforts and experiences and other information that may give weight to whether home-based charter schools or virtual schools are having an impact in any negative way on homeschooling.
Alliance for the Separation of School & State
An advisory group concerned with educating people about the need to eliminate government involvement in education and the rights of parents to educate their own children. On this site, you will find a public proclamation for the separation of school and state, which you can sign.
Legal Issues Affecting the Homeschool Community
Protecting Ourselves from Truancy and CPS Investigations: Avoiding Referrals
Although some government employees oppose homeschooling, most notably in the Department of Education's Legal Counsel's office, there is no indication that there is a systematic effort by the government to prevent homeschooling. First, compliance with one of the legal ways to homeschool is crucial. Second, the following factors may result in a referral: Pulling children out of public or private school after a dispute with the school (i.e.: ongoing truancy problems); custody battles; welfare referrals; or neighborhood disputes. As long as children are healthy, happy, involved with the community, and appear to be learning and thriving, the likelihood of a referral is reduced. What can you do if you are in one of the "high-risk" groups for referral? The most important thing to do is know your legal rights.
Stand for Freedom
Some veteran home educators seem to take a firm stand on principles that others don't even recognize as issues. Is it that they are just stubborn, rebellious, or cantankerous? Probably not.
Homeschooling Litigation: Preparing the Way
The greatest obstacle pioneering homeschoolers faced two decades ago was daunting: in most states home education wasn't legal. This article details five of the most significant cases that have become landmark decisions in the move towards homeschooling freedoms: the DeJonge case in Michigan, the Jeffery case in Pennsylvania, the Diegel case in Ohio, the Triple E case in South Carolina, and the Calabretta case in California.
Legal Issues - Special Needs Children
Many homeschoolers are reluctantly drawn to homeschooling because the schools failed their children. This trend is expanding to include children in special needs programs, resulting in an increasing number of questions from parents choosing to homeschool their children who are interested in continuing or obtaining special needs help from the schools. In many instances a special needs child shows tremendous gains just by being removed from the public school situation and educated at home by loving and caring parents who are able to provide the stimulation and enrichment each child needs and deserves. If services are offered the family is not required to accept them. Many families do just fine without government help, but if you need it, special needs services are available to homeschoolers.
State Laws Concerning Participation of Homeschool Students in Public School Activities
This is a list of states that have addressed issues of homeschooler participation in public school classes, sports, activities, etc.
The Seduction of Homeschooling Families
Do the public school authorities feel threatened by homeschooling? Judging by their efforts to lure homeschooling families into dependence on local school districts, the answer is apparently yes. For the last several years, homeschooling has been the fastest growing educational alternative in the country. The sheer number of homeschoolers represent a distinct threat to the hegemony of the government school monopoly. Qualitatively, the academic success of homeschoolers, measured by standardized test scores and recruitment by colleges, debunk the myth that parents need to hire credentialed experts to force children to learn.
Social Security's New Home School Flow Chart
For some years, the Social Security Administration has permitted home schoolers to receive benefits in some cases. The agency used a fuzzy test involving several different factors. New documents from the Social Security Administration indicate that the agency has a much better defined policy in place now.
On Jumping Through Hoops
Most books and articles on home education are quick to point out that homeschooling is legal--in one form or another-- in all fifty states. Parents might have to jump through more hoops in one state than in another, but, as long as they're willing to jump through those hoops, they are allowed to teach their own children at home. But are these hoops actually necessary?
Safeguarding Home Education Freedoms at the Local Level
While many parents may not have the opportunity to influence legislation regarding home education on the state level, there are ways to be involved on a local level.
A New Charter for Homeschooling?
Discusses some of the issues relating to homeschoolers in North Carolina placing their children in public charter and virtual charter schools for some or all of their education. Using examples from Alaska, California, and other parts of the country, author Dr. Karen Palasek examines why homeschooling parents need to be informed about the implications of this type of enrollment.
Keeping Homeschooling Private
Homeschoolers have been vigilant in protecting their rights, rising to the occasion when they discover threats to clamp down on their activities. Discusses some of the criticisms by opponents of homeschooling, along with the examples of some legal fights in Connecticut and Montana.
The Seduction of Homeschooling Families
Do the public school authorities feel threatened by homeschooling? Judging by their efforts to lure homeschooling families into dependence on local school districts, the answer is apparently yes.
Battling for the Heart and Soul of Home-Schoolers
A look at the battle for the homeschooling movement and the demographics of homeschooling families that challenges the notion that all homeschoolers are conservative fundamentalists. This article is a critical look at the HSLDA.
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