This document records testimony from a hearing held to examine ways to expand educational opportunity through school choice. Member statements were presented by: (1) Honorable John Kline, Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives; and (2) Honorable Robert C. Scott, Ranking Member, Committee on Education and…

Online learning plays an important role in the state's education landscape. Both students and schools benefit from online courses by: (1) Allowing students to enroll in courses that are not available at their school; (2) Ensuring that students are able to earn credits needed for graduation; (3) Providing schools with a wide array of educational…

In a case involving a principal terminated after deciding to home-school his children, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district's $300,000 settlement favoring plaintiff. School employees desiring to enroll their children in nonpublic school settings should consider whether their district has a school patronage policy requiring…

Analyzes a Nevada case involving parents' challenge to district's policy that denied speech therapy services to their home-schooled, speech-impaired student. Ninth Circuit Court upheld the legality of the district's policy, holding that it did not violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) since home schooling is not considered…

A recent United States Supreme Court ruling requires that school staff with contagious diseases be treated like other handicapped employees who may be "otherwise qualified" to continue work under reasonable accommodation. Compulsory education laws are facing court challenges in several states, as parents seek more flexibility in…

Reviewing recent court decisions on home schooling, the author points out that it should reflect public school classroom activities. (MD)

Widespread "family abuse" by the child protective services industry and feelings of parental "disenfranchisement" have spawned the Parental Rights Movement and associated legislation. Legislation often focuses on formal recognition that parental rights are fundamental and should be protected from government interference;…

Discusses changing framework of American education in light of charter-school movement, school choice and voucher programs, and home schooling. Analyzes potential impact on public education of 2000 Supreme Court decision ("Troxel v. Granville"), involving parents' child visitation rights. Concludes that "Troxel" could…

Cases that address the issue of home schooling are summarized in this report. Organized chronologically, each case description includes quoted material from the court ruling. Issues involve parent actions regarding compulsory student enrollment, parent qualifications for home teaching, student certification, church-state separation, constitutional…

Home instruction issues involve state laws' implicit or explicit allowance or disallowance of alternative instruction as well as their procedural requirements and their criteria for academic equivalence. Attempts to change laws are being made in Nebraska and Indiana. South Carolina and New Jersey have developed guidelines for home schooling. (RW)

Examines state laws and the actions of various courts on home instruction and unauthorized educational programs. Suggests reforming the regulation of private education through legislative action that requires periodic testing as an alternative to compulsory school attendance. (Author/MLF)

Public schools are facing growing pressures to allow home-schooled and charter-school students to participate on varsity teams. In many western states, home-schooled students are permitted to play sports. In other states, this practice is prohibited, due to strict eligibility requirements for public-school students. Recent litigation discloses no…

Discusses 10th Circuit Court decision upholding constitutionality of Oklahoma school district's policy that prohibited, with certain exceptions, part-time school enrollment, thus denying home-schooled student from taking certain specialized courses. (PKP)

Many parents critical of public education have removed their children from public schools and are schooling them at home. Home schooling has generated a number of lawsuits. Controversies have arisen over the definitions of "school" and of "equivalent instruction," parents' qualifications to teach, and religious exemptions from…

This paper examines five selected court cases concerning state control over private home education. According to the author, the cases were selected on the basis of their relevancy to the subject, but no attempt was made to ascertain their representativeness. The cases discussed include State v. Peterman, Wright v. State, People v. Turner, and…