Special Feature: Homeschooling

The Legality of Home Education
By Martha McCarthy, Ph.D.

The number of parents deciding to educate their children at home has steadily increased since the 1980s. Recent estimates indicate that between 850,000 and 1.8 million children are being educated at home. Estimates vary because even though parents may be asked to register their homeschooled children with a state agency, this is difficult to monitor and enforce.

The most common reason for parents to educate their children at home is that they do not want their children exposed to content that conflicts with their religious beliefs, but some parents are dissatisfied with public school academic standards, fearful for their children’s safety, or simply want to be more involved in their children’s learning experiences. A few teach their children at home because of geographic isolation. The current availability of commercial materials over the Internet, especially Christian-based instructional packages, has made instruction easier to provide at home.

All states now allow home education, but some features have generated legal controversies. Most courts have upheld requirements that home instruction be substantially equivalent to public school offerings, but a few courts have found challenged “equivalency” requirements too vague to impose criminal liability on parents for noncompliance. Although the judiciary has recognized states’ authority to regulate home schooling, the clear legislative trend is toward reducing curricular requirements and standards for home tutors. The Home School Legal Defense Association has reported that about three fifths of the states have eased restrictions on home education programs since the early 1980s when almost half of the states specified that home tutors had to be licensed. Now, no state requires home instruction to be provided by licensed teachers.

However, courts have upheld requirements that students educated at home be tested to ensure mastery of basic skills. Also, when homeschooled students attempt to enter the public school system, school personnel can test the students and use other assessment criteria for placement purposes. Several courts have ruled that parents who homeschool their children with disabilities cannot assert that the public school district must provide such children special education and related services at their homes.

One often thinks of homeschooling in connection with elementary grades, but some recent controversies have focused on the high school level. For example, some parents have requested that their homeschooled children be allowed to enroll in public schools for specific classes (e.g., band, laboratory sciences) and to participate in interscholastic athletics, other extracurricular activities, and statewide competitions. The legality of these practices varies across states, and the Supreme Court has not yet recognized that homeschoolers have a federal constitutional right to such dual enrollment or extracurricular participation.

State policy makers face difficult decisions in striking the appropriate balance between state interests in ensuring an educated citizenry and parental interests in directing the upbringing of their children. If homeschooling continues to become more popular, the state’s regulatory role may come under increasing scrutiny. Some school voucher proposals being considered would allow public funds to flow to parents who educate their children at home. Although such initiatives have been rejected by voters in several states, if such a provision is enacted, the number of children being educated at home might increase dramatically. #

Martha McCarthy, Ph.D., is the Chancellor Professor, School of Education, Indiana Univ.

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