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Best and Worst States for Homeschoolers
Homeschoolers Look for Autonomy from Regulators.
from the Internet Education Exchange
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Considering
homeschooling? You might want to
relocate to Alaska,
Michigan, Idaho, Texas or Oklahoma. These states,
according to the
Home School Legal Defense Association
(HSLDA) have legal environments relatively friendly to
homeschooling. Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania, New York, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, on the
other hand, impose some of the most restrictive laws on
homeschooling families, according to
the HSLDA.
An important criterion for a
state’s homeschool friendliness,
according to Ian Slatter , HSLDA
Director of Media Relations, is the degree to which the state
regulates homeschool families. As
Mr. Slatter explains it, “[We see]
homeschooling as the ultimate school
choice.” To protect that choice, the HSLDA believes that
homeschooling families must have as
much autonomy as possible.
Homeschool
performance doesn’t change between students in the easy
states and those in the difficult ones. There’s a lot of
regulation and work placed on parents in the difficult states
with no benefit. -Ian
Slatter, Director of Media Relations,
Home School Legal Defense Association
Least Restrictive States
Alaska
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Missouri
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Texas
Most Restrictive States
Maine
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New York
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Of the top-rated
homeschooling states,
Alaska, requires no contact between
the homeschooling family and the
government. Other similarly rated states require minimal
contact. Some, for instance, merely require parents who seek to
homeschool to notify the superintendent or the Department of
Education. In these states, very little regulatory burden is
placed on homeschool families; by
and large, they are free to educate their children as they see
fit.
In low-ranked states, significant
government regulation burdens homeschooling
families. These states require
homeschooling families to submit portfolios of student
work regularly, take standardized tests or be otherwise
evaluated by the public school system – a system that often
views homeschooling as competition.
Furthermore, some states, including Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania have no statewide system of regulation. Instead,
homeschoolers
are at the mercy of regulations imposed by their local school
districts. In these states, conditions for homeschooling are
inconsistent, with families treated very well in one district
but overburdened by regulations in the neighboring district.
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