Compulsory
Education
Compulsory education (EC
48200) -You have to be in public school or an approved alternative between the
ages of 6 and 18, inclusive.
Age kids must start school
(EC 48010) - If you turn 6 on or before December 2, you should be enrolled in
first grade (or some alternative) for that school year.
Age you can leave school - You may
leave school when you have graduated from high school (EC 48410) or passed the
California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) and obtained parental permission
to leave (EC 48412). Otherwise you
are covered by the compulsory education law (EC 48200) until you are
19.
Truancy laws (EC
48260-48273) - The penalties for not obeying the compulsory education
law.
Habitual Truancy (WIC 601.b) - Four or more truancies in one school year can
be defined as habitual truancy.
Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (PC 272.a.1) - Encouraging a
child to be truant (per WIC 601) is a misdemeanor. The penalties are greater
than for truancy alone, including greater fines and possible jail time for the
parents or guardians of the truant child.
School Attendance Review Boards -
School Attendance Review Boards (SARBs) help truant or recalcitrant students and
their parents or guardians solve school attendance and behavior problems through
the use of available school and community resources. If that doesn't work, they
have the power to send you to court.
Pierce v. Society of Sisters -1925 Supreme Court Decision authorizing private schools as an
alternative to compulsory public school attendance.
Wisconsin v.
Yoder -the 1972 Supreme Court Decision that
freedom of religion limits the power of the state to compulse
education.
Troxel v. Granville -the 2000 Supreme
Court Decision affirming the authority of fit parents over their own
children.
Back to top
Public Independent Study
Programs
You may homeschool through a public independent study
program run by a traditional public school, a charter school (which is a special
kind of public school), or a county office of education.
Independent study laws for public schools (EC 51745-51749.3) Some homeschoolers use public independent
study programs.
California Consortium for Independent Study - Statewide group is for the advancement of public independent study
programs.
Charter Schools Act of 1992
(EC 47600-47604.5) - About 1/3 of California's charter schools offer
homeschooling
Establishment of charter schools (EC 47505-47608)
California Network of
Educational Charters (CANEC) - A statewide
group for charter schools.
Religious instruction and materials in public schools - One issue of concern to some homeschoolers is whether
they'll be able to use religious materials in their instruction if they
participate in a public program. In general this should not be a problem,
although it is unlikely you will be reimbursed with public funds for the
purchase of religious materials. See Article 9, Section 8 of the California
Constitution.
Back to top
Private
Schools
Attendance at a private school is a legal alternative
to public school as long as the private school files a private school affidavit
(R-4) once a year. Private school homeschooling takes many forms. Some
conventional schools offer homestudy courses as an adjunct to their onsite
programs. Some companies offer correspondence courses or distance education.
Some homeschoolers form independent study programs with no onsite program at
all. Some churches run independent study programs. Some families establish
schools in their own homes for their own children. The laws described here are
only those that deal with educational issues. Other laws, such as those
governing the running of a business, aren't covered.
Enabling legislation (EC
48220-48232) - Authorizes private schools an an exception to compulsory
attendance at a public school.
Legality of private
school homeschooling in California - An
argument by appellate attorney Stephen Greenberg that filing an R-4 is a legal
option for homeschooling families, downloadable from the Homeschool Association
of California.
Private school affidavit
(EC 33190-33193) - All private schools in California (including family
homeschools) must file a private school affidavit (R-4) once a year if
attendance at their school is to be accepted as a legal alternative to
attendance at a public school.
Fingerprinting
(EC44210-44239.5) - Requirements for private school staff, specifically
exempting parents who teach only their own children. Besides providing an
exemption to fingerprinting for homeschoolers, this law suggests that the
California legislature does acknowledge that some in some legitimate private
schools parents teach their own children.
Private school laws - A summary of
California state law provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
High school graduation requirements (EC 51225.3) - These are the public school course requirements for a
high school diploma. The Los Angeles County Office of Education thinks they
might be helpful to private schools setting their own standards, but according
to a published opinion of the State Attorney General,
private school students must satisfy the same requirements to receive a high
school diploma from a private school. The Attorney General's opinions are
advisory, not legally binding. You can find the opinion
here by typing the
number of the opinion (86-604) into the search box.
Processing Fees -Three
counties charge processing fees when private schools file their affidavits,
Alameda, Contra Costa and Los Angeles. County Counsel for Alameda County Office
of Education cites EC35160 and 35160.5 as justification for fee. Read those laws
here. Private schools in those counties may avoid the fee by filing directly
with the state.
Pierce v. Society of Sisters -1925 Supreme Court Decision authorizing private schools as an
alternative to compulsory public school attendance.
Back to top
Tutoring
Enabling legislation (EC
48220-48232) - Authorizes tutoring as an exception to compulsory attendance in a
public school.
Back to top
Special
Education
Homeschoolers may be entitled to special education
services.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Special Education - Information from
the California State Department of Education.
Public Services for Private School Pupils -Information from the U.S. Department of
Education
More on Public Services for Private School
Pupils - Put the opinion number, 00-112, in the search box to read the
entire opinion. Here's a summary: "A public school district is required to
provide special education programs to a child with disabilities who has been
voluntarily enrolled by a parent in a private school only to the extent that the
programs can be purchased with the proportionate share of federal funds made
available to the school district under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act." Published opinion of the California Attorney General's Office,
May 18, 2000.
McGeorge School of Law - The law
school at the University of the Pacific provides both mediators and hearing
officers to resolve disputes between school districts and parents of disabled
children throughout California.
Back to top
Curfews
Daytime juvenile curfews can be a nuisance for
homeschoolers.
City and
County Codes -There is no state curfew law in
California, but many cities and counties have passed their own. Most municipal
and county codes aren't online, but this is a handy compilation of those that
are.
Monrovia's curfew law -
This article describes the legal battles surrounding Monrovia's precedent-setting daytime
curfew law.
EC 48205 - Monrovia's law
was overturned when it was characterized as a truancy law because it overstepped
the bounds of EC 48205, a state law listing valid reasons for a public
school student to be absent while school is in session. Local governments can't
override state laws. On appeal the law was reframed as a curfew law, not a
truancy law, and was reinstated.
San Diego's Curfew Law Struck Down, 6/97- This article gives the constitutional reasons that a federal
appeals court struck down the San Diego juvenile curfew -- too vague, interfered
with free speech rights, usurped parents' rights as guardians.
Back to top
Welfare
Caseworkers may be concerned about the educational
arrangements you make for your children if you accept public assistance. Here's
why.
Federal welfare reform - The federal
welfare reform of 1996 withholds money from states unless they ensure that
children in families who receive welfare are not truant. See Section 404
(i).
WIC 11250-11270 - This
section of the Welfare and Institutions Code is part of CalWORKS, California's
response to federal welfare reform. It details the requirement that the children
in families who receive welfare under WIC 11450 are required to attend school.
See Section 11253.5.
WIC 11450-11469.1 - WIC
11450 describes the kind of assistance that is contingent on your children
attending school. It doesn't treat the issue of how "school" is
defined.
Back to top
Child Labor Laws
Child Labor Laws - A
pamphlet of useful information maintained by the California Department of
Industrial Relations.
Protecting Youth at Work: Health, Safety, and Development of Working
Children and Adolescents in the United States
(1998) - A book by the Commission on Behavioral
and Social Sciences, including a chapter on laws and regulations. All
online.
Back to top
Child Abuse and
Neglect
Penal Code Section 11164-11174.3 - Private school administrators (which includes the administrator of a
private independent study program) are required to report suspected child abuse or
neglect and may be fined and or jailed for failing to do so.
Back to top
Legislative and Political
Issues
California Bill Information - The full
text of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments, and their status,
history, votes, analyses, and veto messages. A searchable site. You can even
"subscribe" to a bill and get email updates when any action is taken on
it.
Federal
Legislation - Thomas, providing access to
federal legislation, the congressional record, and committee
information.
Election Information - Links to
election information maintained by California State University,
Northridge.
GROUPS WHO FOLLOW BILLS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST TO
HOMESCHOOLERS:
California Consortium for Independent Study - Statewide group is for the advancement of public independent study
programs.
California Homeschool Network - An
inclusive California support group for homeschoolers.
California Network of
Educational Charters (CANEC) - A statewide
group for charter schools
Charter Schools
Development Center - A non-profit resource center providing technical
assistance to the charter school reform movement in California and nationally.
Christian Home Educator's Association of
California - A non-profit ministry for home
educators.
Homeschool Association of California -
An inclusive California support group for homeschoolers.
Homeschool
Legal Defense Association - A nationwide
support group for homeschoolers.
Back to top
Laws and
Regulations
STATE:
California
Code -All California state laws,
searchable
Education Code -Table of
contents with links to the codes
Welfare and Institutions Code -Table of contents with links to the codes
State
Constitution -Table of contents, with links
to the text
California Code of Regulations
-Regulations adopted by state regulatory agencies, including the Department of
Education
California Case Law, 1934-Present - You have to register with FindLaw to use this searchable site, but
registration is free.
LOCAL:
City and
County Codes - Most municipal and county
codes aren't online, but here's a handy compilation of those that
are.
FEDERAL:
Legislation,
Regulations, and Policy Guidance - From the
U.S. Department of Education
A Digest of Federal
Education Law - A brief history of federal education laws. It provides
an interesting glimpse of the growth of federal influence in education and the
motivations behind it. The first serious involvement of the federal
government in the curriculum of public schools, for example, was in 1958, and
the title of the law was the National Defense Education Act.
RESEARCH TOOLS:
CA Law
Net's Legal Research Page - A basic page of
legal resources
The Legal Corner - Another collection
of useful legal research tools
Back to top
Government
Links
California
Department of Education - Useful information
of all kinds.
County Offices of Education
- These sites may contain useful information. They are also the offices from
which private school affidavits may be obtained and to which they are usually
returned, but some (Alameda, Contra Costa and Los Angeles) charge a processing
fee it you submit the affidavit (R-4) to them. See the section of this page
devoted to private schools.
Back to top
Legal
Representation
AHSA-USA - An email discussion group
where homeschoolers can meet attorneys -- but it is growing into a referral
service for homeschoolers who need legal assistance.
H.E.L.P.
Enterprises - Prepaid legal protection
provided by several homeschooling
families operating as Independent Associates of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Homeschool Legal Defense Association - In addition to information and support, this group will
also provide legal representation for members, and occasionally, in
precedent-setting cases, for nonmembers.
McGeorge School of Law - The law
school at the University of the Pacific provides both mediators and hearing
officers to resolve disputes between school districts and parents of disabled
children throughout California.
Pacific
Justice Institute - Supports attorneys,
individuals, churches and organizations in the fight for religious freedoms,
sanctity of life, parental rights and other civil liberties.
Rutherford
Institute - Provides information about civil
liberties and human rights (including religious freedom and parental rights) and
defends people who have been denied civil and human rights without
charge.
These support groups also offer legal help on a
limited basis:
California
Homeschool Network - An inclusive California support group for homeschoolers.
Homeschool Association of
California - An inclusive California support
group for homeschoolers.
Back to top
