Homeschooling is legal in many countries, with the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as the most prevalent. There are many countries where homeschooling is legal or highly regulated and some are restricted by law.

Since most of the visitors to HERD ask questions about the laws, rules, and regulations within the United States, the focus here will be those state laws.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 of the United states. 

The Unites States Supreme Court cases of the 1920’s established the fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children. Each state’s local government establishes educational standards as well as homeschool laws and compliances.

It is important to note here that no two states have the same laws. Some homeschools are regulated by county and/or school district. The state's requirements range from no reporting to submitting an intent to homeschool notification to strict attendance and testing of students. Homeschool laws can also change with local legislation.

Since laws vary greatly from state to state, always research the requirements in the state where you will be home educating.

Here is a list of requirements each state may have:

• No requirements or notification of intent to homeschool

• Private school type treatment of home education. States that have these type of laws require that home educators follow the laws applied to other non-accredited schools.

• May require proof of level of education for parent/home educator.
   
• Some states requirements are written with compulsory attendance stature which has a specific attendance and subject taught requirements.
   
• Many other states homeschool laws and requirements are set by statutes requiring testing of students.

We've provided a list of each state's home education laws, but HERD does not offer legal advice. We work diligently to keep information up-to-date, but state laws do change occasionally. Please follow the supplied link to the complete state laws, requirements, and forms of your state's home education laws page.
 
Do you have a question? Would you like to share information with other home educators?  Send us an email

Find out more about specific state requirements


Alabama