Homeschooling in the United States

Home education, or that aspect of learning or education in the United States which does not take place in formal institutional settings such as schools, has long been an important component of learning and child rearing in the United States.

In the early years of the American Republic and throughout the first half of the nineteenth century formal schooling, for a large part of the population, meant instruction only in basic literacy and elementary arithmetic skills in tuition-based schools which were variously and sometimes intermittently operated. School terms were typically short and seasonal (approximately 10-12 weeks during the winter months) after which the children were typically needed on the farm. School education, for most, was a matter of 3 or 4 years duration. Teaching was not a year round occupation, and teachers were often itinerant.

With the advent of free public schools (called common schools in the early days) beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, the situation changed. State compulsory education statutes were enacted, the school year was extended, and a full time teaching profession with professional certification emerged. By the 1960s, education through the high school years in the United States was free, virtually universal, and took place in institutional settings (schools).

In the 1970s, a movement began to take back from the schools the traditional role of the family in education of the young and the term homeschooling (also called unschooling by some) was coined to describe this movement. Initially confined to a very small part of the overall population, and based in the main on a religious foundation, the movement has since spread to several million people and branched out beyond its initial religious base.

This article is concerned about that aspect of home education (typically referred to as homeschooling or unschooling) which is designed meet the educational needs of young school-age children and to meet the requirements of state compulsory education statutes. The term homeschooling shall be used in this sense and shall be understood to include unschooling. Home education per se, referring to its traditional role in American history, will be dealt with in the article on the History of education in the United States.

Legal aspects

The U.S. Supreme Court has never issued a ruling specifically and directly concerned with homeschooling. However, there have been a number of cases in which basic principles have been asserted whcih are of clear relevance to homeschooling.

Most of these cases deal with the rights of parents vis-a-vis the state and are based on the due process clause of the Fourteenth amendemnt to the U.S. Constitution.

In the realm of legislation, there is no federal law regarding homeschooling. Instead, such matters are left up to the laws of the individual states as implemented by local school districts. In general, there is considerable variation from one state to another in how homeschooling is governed and treated, with varying degrees of latitude and strictness.

Among the matters dealt with variously by the states are registration and reporting requirements, qualifications of instructors (parents), curricula, testing and certification, and access to public school facilities (including extra-curricular activities such as sports).