Summary of data from Massachusetts town homeschool policy and practice database, November 2003
Here are responses collated so far to Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts's questionnaire about policy and practice in Massachusetts. AHEM collects information from homeschoolers both about official town policy (including the policies themselves), and how homeschooling actually works in towns in Massachusetts, according to homeschoolers. While the numbers we've collected so far are probably not statistically significant, they do draw an interesting picture of the way homeschooling works in general (pretty smoothly) and homeschoolers' personal experiences of dealing with school officials (overall, no major problems).

How much in advance of the school year do school officials ask that you submit homeschooling plans? What do you do? Please explain.
Most schools request that plans be filed before beginning to homeschool, or before the beginning of the school year. Some mention a specific amount of time prior, ranging from one week to one month before school starts. Most homeschoolers comply with this expectation, although there were no reports of problems if a plan was filed later than requested.

Do school officials ask to meet with homeschoolers? Do you comply? Please explain.
Of 48 respondents, 28 report that school officials do not ask for face-to-face meetings. In one case, a homeschooler asked for a meeting and got it. Eleven report that school officials ask for an initial meeting with homeschoolers when they file their first plan. Nine of these complied, two did not. There were no negative consequences reported by those who chose not to meet with school officials. Nine homeschoolers are asked to meet annually with school officials. Four of these choose to comply, five do not. There were no negative consequences reported for choosing not to meet.

Do school officials ask to visit your home? Do you comply? Please explain.
Of 48 respondents, 43 do not have school officials ask to visit their homes. Of the five that do, four said no and there were no negative consequences. The one homeschooler that agreed to a home visit lives in the same town as three other homeschoolers who did not agree to a home visit, so it's safe to assume he or she could have also turned down the home visit if desired. There were no negative consequences for not agreeing to a home visit. Indeed, the 1998 Brunelle Supreme Court decision made it clear that home visits cannot be required as a condition of approval.

Do school officials ask for a schedule or number of hours on each subject? Do you comply? Please explain.
Of 42 respondents, 24 are not asked to supply a schedule. Of the 18 who are asked for a schedule, 13 satisfy the request by saying they will meet or exceed the 900/990 hours that the public schools cover. The remaining five supply a schedule. There were no negative consequences for those who chose to give the broader answer rather than a grid type schedule.

What form of assessment do you provide and how many times a year?
Of 43 respondents, the majority, 26, write a progress report. Of these most (16) write once a year. Six write twice a year. The remainder didn't specify frequency. Six respondents submit work samples or a portfolio. Five of the people who write progress reports indicated that the schools expected them to also submit work samples. (Please note that Charles requires homeschoolers to submit only one form of evaluation. A report alone should suffice, or work samples without any written narrative, should suffice.) One respondent sends a different form of evaluation each year. Five respondents choose to test. Five respondents submit no evaluation at all.

Do school officials provide you with a letter of approval?
Of 41 respondents, 29 receive an approval letter. Two get a letter if they ask for it. Ten do not receive a letter and don't ask for one.

Do school officials allow homeschoolers to participate in school activities? Please be specific.
Of 28 respondents, 22 report that their school does allow them to participate in classes, sports, extracurricular activities, or some combination of these. Six report that their school does not allow them to participate in school functions at all.

"On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being very easy to deal with and 5 being very difficult, how would you rate your town's treatment of homeschoolers?"
Of 44 responses to the above question, 79% of respondents reported their town to be easy or very easy to deal with, 18% reported their town to be average, 2% reported their town to be difficult, and no respondents considered their town to be very difficult to deal with.

In summary, based on the data we've obtained thus far things are going pretty smoothly for homeschoolers here in Massachusetts. Most homeschoolers report no difficulties in dealing with school officials. In cases where school officials ask for more than Charles allows, homeschoolers who are aware of their rights simply submit what Charles allows, and there are no negative repercussions for standing up for oneself in this way. Further, standing up for your rights in this way strengthens the ability of other homeschoolers to do the same, and lessens the likelihood that school officials' demands will escalate.

We hope you will help us build the database further as the more responses we get, the clearer the picture of homeschooling in Massachusetts becomes. Please take a few minutes to fill out the questionnaire which you can find here.

Back to Questionnaire.

The information on this website does not constitute legal advice; it is provided for informational purposes only.