Legal/Homeschool Laws
Laws that regulate home education vary from state to state. It is important to understand the legal requirements in your state and to be aware of legislative and other legal issues that affect homeschoolers in your community. We've compiled resources that will help you become informed. Although homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, and the vast majority of homeschoolers face no problems, you may find that you need legal assistance at some point in your homeschooling career. We've compiled a list of resources to help you find the support you need. And if you'd like to become more involved in working towards homeschooling freedoms, we discuss some of the issues facing homeschoolers that we hope you find compelling.
State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in Utah and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Forms
Which forms do you need to fill out? Where can you get them? Here is a list of useful forms for homeschooling in Utah.
Legal Support
If you need legal information or have run into a legal situation regarding your decision to homeschool, these resources will be helpful.
Lobbying Groups
A listing of local and national lobbying groups and information on how you can become involved in the political process to ensure the freedom to homeschool is protected.
Attorneys
When searching for an attorney, it is helpful to know whether he or she has experience working with homeschoolers and is interested in protecting the right to homeschool.
Legal Issues
Is homeschooling legal? Which laws pertain to homeschoolers and which don't? How do homeschoolers protect their rights to freely educate their children and to preserve their privacy?
Government Resources
A listing of local and state government resources, including your state's Department of Education, school districts, and Senate and House of Representative information.
What's Popular
53A-11-101. Responsibility for minor required to attend school -- Penalty for violation.
... (2) A parent shall enroll and send a school-age minor to a public or regularly established private school during the school year of the district in which the minor resides.
(3) It is a class B misdemeanor for a parent to knowingly:
(a) fail to enroll a school-age minor in school; or
(b) refuse to respond to a written request which is delivered to the parent pursuant to the provisions of Subsection 53A-11-103(1)(b) by a local school board or school district.
(4) The pr...
Compulsory School Age in Colorado
Colorado law requires that every child who is 6 years old on or before August 1 of the current school year, and under the age of 17, must attend school. If a homeschool is operating under Colorado’s home education statute (Option 1), the parents may wait to begin actual instruction until their child is 7 years old; however, they must still submit a notice of intent beginning with the school year that the child turns 6 by August 1.
Department of Child and Family Services
Your children are safest at home. It is an unhappy fact of our crumbling, anti-family society that government social services are sometimes out of control and innocent people are being accused and their children taken. Utah is particularly bad.
CHEC Homeschool Guidebook for Colorado
Need a map for your homeschooling journey in Colorado? This classic go-to compendium used by countless families in Colorado is now completely updated and streamlined for you. The CHEC Homeschool Guidebook will give you tons of practical information, worksheets, resource lists, scriptural encouragement, and more – just what you need to homeschool in Colorado with confidence.
The McAllister Letter
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Scott Bean, asked the Utah Attorney General's Office ten questions regarding home education. An assistant to the Attorney General, John McAllister, responded by writing an informal opinion termed The McAllister Letter. This is relevant to current and prospective home schoolers in Utah because many public educators have responded as if it were law. That this informal opinion is not law is clearly stated in the last paragraph of the letter: "This adv...
Summary of State Homeschool Laws - John S. McAllister
Text of the summary provided by assistant to the Attorney General, John S. McAllister, to State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Scott Bean.
53A-11-102.5. Dual enrollment.
(1) A person having control of a minor under this part who is enrolled in a regularly established private school or a home school may also enroll the minor in a public school for dual enrollment purposes.
(2) The minor may participate in any academic activity in the public school available to students in the minor's grade or age group, subject to compliance with the same rules and requirements that apply to a full-time student's participation in the activity.
(3) Except as other...
Colorado Statutes - Complete Text
Online access to complete text of Colorado statutes. Those pertaining to home education include: 22-33-104 (Compulsory school attendance); 22-33-104.5 (Home-based education - legislative declaration - definitions - guidelines); 22-7-409, 1.2-d-III (Assessments); and 22-32-116.5 (Extracurricular and interscholastic activities).
House Joint Resolution 05-1040
Recognition of April 8, 2005, as Home Education Day in Colorado.
Colorado Homeschool Law - A Summary
A look at the statutes governing homeschooling in Colorado, provided by Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC). This explanation details the three options to homeschool your children in the state of Colorado.
Colorado Statute 25-4-902
Details of the state of Colorado requirements for immunizations.
Homeschoolers Protected by New Utah Law
A bill shielding homeschooling parents from requirements that they meet state credential standards and give public school officials records of what they teach passed unanimously in both houses of the Utah legislature in February 2005. Senate Bill 59, sponsored by freshman Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Lehi), also prevents school boards from requiring homeschool students to take standardized tests.
Colorado Department of Education Home School Information
Colorado Department of Education has compiled information regarding home education in the state. Includes information about getting started homeschooling, subjects to teach, attendance requirements, recordkeeping, assessment and evaluations, and resources.
Public School Access for Homeschoolers in Colorado
Children participating in a non-public, home-based education program are allowed equal access to the public school’s extracurricular and interscholastic activities according to Colorado Revised Statutes § 22-33-104.5(6) and Colorado Revised Statutes § 22-32-116.5.
Colorado Home School Laws
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in Colorado. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in Colorado.
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