Homeschooling in Massachusetts

Welcome, Massachusetts homeschool family. Massachusetts allows parents to provide home education with advance approval from the school district where the child lives. You submit a proposed home-education plan, the district reviews

Who this applies to

Massachusetts requires school attendance beginning in September of the calendar year in which a child turns six. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identifies compulsory school age as six through sixteen.

For a child within that range, home education must be approved in advance by the superintendent or school committee.

Start with your resident school district

Contact the school district where your child lives and tell the district, preferably in writing, that you plan to provide home education.

The district must give you its current home-education policy and approval process and ask you to submit your proposed plan. Massachusetts does not publish one required statewide application, so forms and procedures may differ by district.

Home-education plans are approved by the resident school district. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not approve them. Charter schools, Commonwealth Virtual Schools, school-choice districts, and vocational technical programs do not approve home-education plans.

When you file your notice, the superintendent shall accept it and immediately register your program. The district may not require any additional information or verification from you unless your student chooses to participate in a school district program or service. The district may not assign your student a grade level or place the student’s Social Security number or other personal information in a district or state database unless the student chooses to participate in a school district program or service. Section 1002.41(13) goes further: a school district may not further regulate, exercise control over, or require documentation from parents of home education students beyond the requirements of that section, unless it is necessary for participation in a district program.

A separate process applies if a public school has already identified a student as exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance before the student enters home education. Under § 1003.26(1)(f), the review committee consists of the district home education contact and at least two home educators whom the parent selects from a district list of volunteers who have conducted a home education program for at least three years. The first portfolio review occurs within the first thirty calendar days after the program is established, followed by reviews every thirty days during the district’s regular school terms until the committee determines that the portfolio requirement is being met. If the parent fails to provide the portfolio, the superintendent must terminate the program, the child must be enrolled in another qualifying attendance option within three days, and the parent may not reenroll the child in home education for 180 calendar days.

Florida’s compulsory-attendance law generally applies to a child who is six, or who will turn six by February 1 of the school year, and who has not yet reached sixteen. A student who wishes to terminate school enrollment at sixteen must file the separate formal declaration required by § 1003.21(1)(c). The Department of Education notes that a district is not required to accept a notice of intent for a five-year-old who will not turn six by February 1 of that school year, although some districts do.

• Compulsory age

• Advance approval

• First step

• Proposed plan

• Subjects

• Instructional time

• Parent qualifications

• Materials

• Evaluation

• District decision

• Obtain approval from your resident district before beginning home education

• Notify your district, preferably in writing, and obtain its policy and approval process

• Provide the information your district may properly review, as explained below

• Include the subject areas Massachusetts identifies as required

• Describe the duration and frequency of instruction; public-school structured-learning-time totals do not apply

• The district may ask about qualifications but may not require a teaching certificate or college degree

• Identify the instructional materials and lesson plans you intend to use

• The district may require periodic testing or approve an alternative evaluation method

• The district communicates its decision within a reasonable period and must explain a rejection

If your child is enrolled in school right now

Do not withdraw your child and begin homeschooling while the plan is still awaiting approval.

Massachusetts requires approval before a compulsory-age child is removed from school and before the home-education program begins. The Department states that notification alone does not authorize you to begin and that removing the child without an approved plan would cause the child to become truant.

Notify. Submit. Receive approval. Then begin.

What goes in your proposed plan

The district reviews whether your proposed instruction will equal the public schools in thoroughness, efficiency, and the progress your child makes.

The Department states that districts typically review:

• the content of the program
• instructional materials
• the duration and frequency of instruction
• methods of instruction
• how progress will be evaluated
• whether the plan enables the child to make adequate progress in the essential subject areas

Your district may provide a local form. Massachusetts does not prescribe one statewide form, so follow the current process supplied by your resident district.

What you teach

Massachusetts identifies these subject areas for home education:

• orthography (spelling)
• reading and writing
• English language and grammar
• geography
• arithmetic
• drawing and music
• United States history and constitutional studies
• Massachusetts and local history and government
• citizenship and civics
• health education
• physical education
• good behavior

Your plan should show how you will cover these areas in a way appropriate for your child.

Instructional time

A district may consider the proposed length of your home-education year and the hours of instruction in each subject.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education expressly states that the structured-learning-time requirements that apply to public schools do not apply to home education. Massachusetts therefore does not impose the public-school 180-day or 900-hour totals as statewide homeschool requirements.

Describe a program with sufficient duration and frequency to demonstrate thorough instruction and educational progress.

Parent qualifications and teaching materials

The district may ask about the academic credentials or other qualifications of the parent who will provide the instruction.

Your district may not require a homeschooling parent to hold a teaching certificate, college degree, or advanced academic degree.

The district may also request access to the textbooks, workbooks, instructional aids, lesson plans, and teaching manuals you plan to use. That review allows the district to understand the subjects and grade level of the proposed instruction. It does not allow the district to dictate how you teach those subjects.

How progress may be evaluated

A district may require periodic standardized testing to evaluate educational progress.

Formal testing is not the only possible method. Periodic progress reports, dated work samples, or another evaluation method may be substituted, subject to parental approval. Work with your district to identify the evaluation method included in your approved plan.

The district’s decision

After receiving your proposed plan, the district evaluates it and may:

• approve it
• request modifications or additional information
• disapprove it

The superintendent or school committee must give you an opportunity to explain your proposed plan and present witnesses on your behalf.

The district must communicate its decision, preferably in writing, within a reasonable period.

If the district rejects the plan, it must explain the reasons and give you an opportunity to revise the proposal to correct the identified deficiencies.

Massachusetts also protects the privacy of the home. School officials may not require evaluative home visits without parental consent as a condition of approving a home-education plan.

For future school years

Massachusetts does not publish one statewide renewal schedule. Follow your district’s policy and confirm what it requires before each new school year. Do not assume that an earlier approval automatically covers later years.

Your home base: SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Massachusetts asks you to present a thoughtful plan covering the required subjects, instructional materials, instructional time, and evaluation. SchoolhouseTeachers.com can help you build that plan and keep the year organized.

One online family membership gives every child unlimited access to hundreds of online, self-paced courses from preschool through twelfth grade, all from a Biblical worldview, with graduation and college-preparation resources.

You will also find Virtual School Boxes, self-grading iST courses, World Book Online, and thousands of family-friendly videos.

The Homeschool Records & Compliance Center gives you tools to plan the year, demonstrate progress, and maintain your own records:

• Education Plan Builder for mapping each child’s subjects and course sequence
• Custom Schedule Builder for organizing the duration and frequency of instruction
• Gradebook and report cards for tracking progress throughout the year
• Portfolio Builder for collecting dated work samples
• Transcript tools for organizing the high school years
• Applecore recordkeeping for grades, attendance, courses, and credits
• Certificates of Completion for documenting finished courses

One family membership. Every child in your HOME. No fee per child. No fee per course. No limits.

Official Massachusetts links

• Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Home Schooling
• Massachusetts law about home schooling
• G.L. c. 76, § 1, requirements and exceptions
• G.L. c. 71, §§ 1–3, subject requirements
• 603 CMR 8.02, mandatory minimum age
• Massachusetts school and district profiles

Questions? Call 1.888.718.HOME or email
customerservice@theoldschoolhouse.com.
A real homeschooler answers.