Since this took place in New Jersey, here are the relevant homeschooling laws there:
- Alternative education provision: New Jersey law exempts students who “receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school” from compulsory school attendance. Parents must provide “equivalent instruction” between ages 6 to 16, but there are no notification, parent qualification, instruction time, bookkeeping, or assessment requirements.
Education Elsewhere
State statute requires that students “attend the public schools of the district or a day school in which there is given instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools for children of similar grades and attainments
or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school.” See
New Jersey Statutes Annotated § 18A:38-25.
Notification
None. However, the New Jersey Department of Education requires that if a “parent/guardian decides to remove an enrolled student from his/her high school educational program, the parent/guardian will be required to complete a
transfer form which includes information related to the intent to provide instruction elsewhere than at school for the purposes of collecting accurate data on high school enrollment.” See
N.J. Homeschooling FAQ.
Qualifications
None.
Days Or Hours
None. All children, including homeschooled children, must be educated from age 6 to 16.
New Jersey Statutes Annotated § 18A:38-25
Subjects
Instruction must be “academically equivalent” to that provided in public school.
Bookkeeping
None.
Assessment
None.
Intervention
Failure to educate is included in the state’s definition of neglect. Should a homeschool be reported for educational neglect, a state official may investigate to determine whether equivalent instruction is being provided. Should a local board of education become concerned that a given homeschooled child is not receiving equivalent instruction, the they may request evidence of the child’s education from the parent. In either case, the parent must provide evidence that the child is receiving “equivalent instruction,” but the state then has the burden of proving
beyond a reasonable doubt that a family’s curriculum is not
academically equivalent to a public school education. See
State v. Massa 95 N.J. Super 382 (1967).
A parent or guardian who fails to educate their child “shall be deemed to be a disorderly person and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $25.00 for a first offense and not more than $100.00 for each subsequent offense.”
New Jersey Statutes Annotated § 18A:38-31.
Other
n/a
Source:
New Jersey
