Homeschool Law in the United States of America: Massachusetts

"In Massachusetts, there is not one simple, short answer to the question of what your local district may require of you. The answers are contained in two court cases from the Commonwealth's highest court."

"This website has all the information you need to get started homeschooling, as well as support and resources for you along the way."

"Every child between the minimum and maximum ages established for school attendance by the board of education . . . shall, subject to section fifteen, attend a public day school in said town, or some other day school approved by the school committee, during the number of days required by the board of education in each school year."

"Every town shall maintain, for at least the number of days required by the board of education in each school year unless specifically exempted as to any one year by said board, a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all children who may legally attend a public school therein. No town shall hold double sessions in any public school, if in any other public school of comparable grade levels in such town there are vacant spaces for more than thirty-five children, the number of such vacant spaces to be computed without exceeding a maximum of thirty-five children to a classroom."

"The school committee of a town was a proper party to maintain a proceeding under G. L. c. 119, § 24, seeking a determination that certain school-age children, whose parents wished to instruct them at home, were in need of care and protection "with respect to their educational care only." [328-329]"

"Home visits are not presumptively essential to protect the State interest in the approval of a home education plan under G. L. c. 76, § 1, and may not be required without parental consent as a condition of approval of such a plan. [515-519]"

"This court concluded that parents' refusal to provide a school committee with the essentials of their home schooling educational plan and failure to allow for any evaluation of their children's educational attainments was a violation of the mandate of Care and Protection of Charles, 399 Mass. 324, 337-340 (1987), and that a District Court judge correctly concluded that the children were in need of care and protection and appropriately committed them temporarily to the legal custody of the Department of Social Services. [89-91]"