Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts, Inc.

Independent Homeschooling

Defining AHEM’s Mission in a Changing Landscape

AHEM believes that informed and active homeschoolers are their own best advocates in maintaining the right to independently homeschool. “Independent” does not mean doing it alone. Homeschoolers have long used the resources of their community to augment their experiences. Co-ops, groups of families who come together and share in educating their children, have also been a part of homeschooling for a long time.

As the popularity of homeschooling has increased, so have the opportunities available. Museums, nature sanctuaries, performing arts organizations, tutoring centers, private instructors, and entrepreneurs all market classes and activities to homeschoolers. In addition to the à la carte offerings by local institutions, learning centers (also called microschools) are now common. At AHEM, our mission is to advocate for “independent homeschooling.” 

What is meant by “independent”? The General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts require children between the ages of 6 and 16 to attend public schools, approved private schools, or be “otherwise instructed” in an approved manner. Since 1987, Massachusetts courts have recognized that children who are being educated at home in an approved manner fall into this “otherwise instructed” category.

The approval of home education plans is guided by the legal principles and guidelines set forth in the decision of the 1987 Massachusetts Supreme Court case, Care and Protection of Charles & others. This is known as case law. Case law is created when courts make decisions on specific circumstances of cases that come before them. The unique issue before the Charles court was how to accommodate the rights of parents under the US and Massachusetts Constitutions while also upholding the governmental interest in the education of its citizens. The court acknowledged that “the parents [emphasis added] of school-age children possess a basic constitutional right in directing their children’s education…” (Charles at 324). The court went on to outline the guidelines parents must follow in order to teach their children at home. Throughout it speaks of parents instructing their children and directing their children's education (Charles at 334, 336, 339).

While the ultimate interpretation of the laws and cases governing home education in the state can only be determined by the courts, it is AHEM’s understanding of the intent of the Charles decision that children who are educated at home under the primary direction of their parents are found to fall under the umbrella of “otherwise instructed” (MGL Ch. 76 §1). It is this core function of parents directing their children’s education that defines “independent homeschooling,” for which AHEM has advocated for more than two decades.

Given this definition, when we consider the spectrum of available opportunities from the à la carte offerings which have always been utilized by homeschoolers to five-day-a-week drop-off centers, we question whether what is being offered may still be deemed “independent homeschooling.” At some point learning centers and microschools that provide a place for parents to leave their children for anywhere from several hours to several days a week, where their education is implemented if not directed by someone other than the parent, logically become de facto private schools or daycare centers. This practice of sending one’s children to be educated by an unrelated adult in a location outside the home for a majority of “learning” time could be difficult to defend as homeschooling.

In Massachusetts, private schools and daycare centers have their own sets of regulations and criteria for approval and/or licensing. If the parent is not perceived to be the instructor for the majority of the time, the practice of using homeschooling law as a way to avoid getting licensed as a daycare or approved as a private school could threaten the current freedom to independently homeschool. A microschool or learning center could come under scrutiny for any number of reasons. Increased scrutiny could lead to laws, regulations or court cases that would further define homeschooling and so restrict the freedoms that homeschooling parents currently enjoy.

Massachusetts homeschoolers can be active participants in protecting our freedom to independently homeschool by demanding that these facilities fulfill their legal responsibility as institutions caring for groups of children on a daily basis and get approval from local school committees to operate as private schools, or be licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care as childcare programs.

Before enrolling your child for more than a couple days a week, ask questions:

Keeping the distinction between homeschooling and private schooling or day care helps preserve homeschooling freedom. Advocacy by individuals helped create independent homeschooling and is what will help us preserve it. You can be your own best advocate, and, as always, reach out to AHEM with any questions or concerns you may have.

This piece was not drafted by practicing lawyers and is not intended to constitute official legal advice, but rather is presented by AHEM volunteers and is based on their reading and understanding of Massachusetts homeschooling requirements as they have followed those requirements throughout the years. Readers still need to make their own decision on how best to proceed.