As you are starting your homeschool journey, you may wonder if homeschooling is legal. Great news if you live in The United States! Here it is legal to homeschool your child in every state.
Homeschool Laws
Even though homeschooling is legal, the laws concerning homeschooling in each state are different. Depending on the state, requirements for homeschooling may be as diverse as being required to teach certain subjects, undergoing mandatory testing, or educating for a certain number of hours. Some states require you to have reached a certain level of education yourself, or to take a teacher training course before you start teaching your own kids. Since laws change, here is a link to the Home School Legal Defense Association’s site. They keep an updated list of homeschooling laws by state.
Before you begin homeschooling it is important to find out the homeschooling laws in your state so that you can make sure you are meeting all of the requirements. When I first decided to homeschool I felt really overwhelmed that I had to follow a set of laws. I was really worried that I would accidentally miss something and get into legal trouble. (Yes, I definitely worry too much). If you are worried about perfectly following the homeschool laws it can help to talk to other people who homeschool in your area. If there is a part of the law you are having a hard time understanding it can help to find out what other parents are doing to comply with each part of the law. However, you shouldn’t completely rely on what another parent tells you. Just take it as a good place to start.
If you are still unsure about the homeschooling laws in your state you can contact your school district superintendent. They should be able to help you clarify any parts of the law you are unsure about.
Home School Legal Defense Association
The Home School Legal Defense Association is a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of parents to homeschool their children. They were instrumental in getting all 50 states to legalize homeschooling. You can join for a fee, and in return they will defend you in court (for homeschool issues) for no further charges. They will also give you free homeschooling legal advice. They have a list of other awesome benefits that members get for joining. Membership dues for one family for one year are $130 (as of this writing). This is less than it would cost you to speak to an attorney for one hour.
So if homeschooling is legal, why would you need legal representation? Sometimes people are uninformed and don’t know the law. The cases I have heard about have involved social workers and school districts. However, as a general rule, it isn’t a common occurrence to need legal help in order to homeschool your kids. You should take a look at the benefits, and if it is something you are interested in, then join. However, if you don’t think the cost is worth the benefits, you can always join if you have any legal trouble down the road.
Homeschooling is legal. Each state has its own requirements, but you can totally do it!