Massachusetts
State Legislature
Massachusetts Home Schooling
Compulsory School Age
From:
Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts:
Massachusetts has no statute that specifically addresses
homeschooling. Rather, homeschooling is governed by case law, in
conjunction with applicable statutes. The most important case is Care
and Protection of Charles & others, 399 Mass. 324 (1987). In this case,
the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld the compulsory
attendance statute, General Laws Chapter 76, Section 1. In its decision,
the Court was aware of the need to balance two basic tenets: the
constitutional right of the parents to homeschool and the state's
interest in the education of its citizenry. The result was delegation of
homeschooling oversight to local school districts.
Please see http://www.ahem.info/HSinMAPage.htm for actual text and
interpretation of the Charles decision and other cases. Please see our
support groups listing for contact with homeschoolers living in the
state of Massachusetts.
