Homeschooling in Connecticut

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Read the laws regulating home education in {{state}} and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.

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Universal Preschool
There is a national campaign to institutionalize all preschoolers through government funded and/or mandated "universal preschool." This group seeks to redefine universal preschool as an unheralded worldwide community of loving, functional parents who exercise their right and authority to nurture and teach their young children at home.
Law & Policy
In Connecticut there are two things homeschoolers need to understand; the law, and the Guidelines. The two sometimes cause confusion for people, and sometimes the Guidelines are mistaken for being law, but they are not law. The Guidelines are part of the Suggested Procedure on Home Instruction in CT. This analysis includes information on state laws, state guidelines, sample forms, and more.
The New Face of Homeschooling
As their ranks increase, homeschoolers are tapping public schools for curriculum, part-time classes, extracurricular services, and online learning.
Pacific Justice Institute (PJI)
Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. PJI provides free representation to parents who are unlawfully denied the right to homeschool their children. PJI also provides legal counsel to those parents wishing to homeschool, but do not know their legal options or obligations.
Primer on Individual Lobbying
This is a list of tips for effective lobbying. Includes ways to lobby, things you can do now, and how to connect with other lobbyists.
Safeguarding Home Education Freedoms at the Local Level
While many parents may not have the opportunity to influence legislation regarding home education on the state level, there are ways to be involved on a local level.
Legal Directory By State
The Association of HomeSchool Attorneys (AHSA) provides a list of attorneys who consult with and/or represent homeschoolers.
Compulsory School Age in Vermont

The laws in Vermont state that you must enroll your child in school from the day he or she turns 6 years old until he or she turns 16. This HSLDA article details the Vermont state compulsory school age regulations. 

Pierce v. Society of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
In Pierce v. Society of the Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments of this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the creature of the state."
Connecticut Statute, Chapter 168, Section 10-184, 10-184a, 10-184b
The following are Connecticut Statues relating to home education: Section 10-184 (School Attendance and Employment of Children--Duties of Parents. School attendance age requirements.); Section 10-184a (Refusal of certain parents to consent to use of special education programs or services.); Section 10-184b (Waiver provisions not applicable to equivalent instruction authority of parents.)
Home School Laws from HSLDA
Find the laws pertaining to home education for all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Connecticut Home School Laws
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in Connecticut. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in Connecticut.
Notice of Intent: Filing Is Voluntary
The State Department of Education's C-14 Guidelines give two different messages -- in the Introduction and elsewhere it reads, "Suggested Procedure" and in section 3 it reads, "parents must file..." To add to the confusion, school officials often give misleading or false information when parents ask about homeschooling. Because the wording of the Guidelines is inconsistent and poorly written, school officials and parents may be unsure of their responsibilities and their rights.
HSLDA's Position on Tax Credits Generally
Although a credit or deduction could be helpful for homeschoolers, HSLDA opposes any tax break legislation that could come with governmental regulations. Homeschoolers have fought far too long and much too hard to throw off the chains of government regulation that hinder effective education and interfere with liberty. It would be inconsistent and foolhardy to accept tax incentives in exchange for government regulation. However, HSLDA supports tax credits that promote educational choice without threatening any regulation of homeschoolers. - See more at: http://nche.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200504150.asp#sthash.tvLv2ItR.dpuf
National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD)
National Home Education Legal Defense was founded by Attorney Deborah G. Stevenson as a non-sectarian legal support organization. NHELD offers its members legal assistance by an attorney licensed to practice in your state working with NHELD licensed attorneys. Members are also kept apprised of pending legislative action, scholarship programs, and other programs beneficial to homeschoolers.
An Act Concerning Revisions to the Education Statutes (94-245)
An Act Concerning Revisions to the Education Statutes (94-245) contains the following provisions: Special Education and Private School or Home Schooling. The act exempts students from the state's special education requirements, if their parents or guardians provide equivalent instruction at home or in a private school and refuse to consent to special education services for their children. Limitation on Commissioner's Waiver Authority. The act prohibits the education commissioner from waiving any law if doing so would limit parents' authority to provide for equivalent instruction for their children instead of having them attend public school.
Ralph D. Sherman, Attorney at Law
130 West Main Street
New Britain, CT 06052
860-229-0213

This small law firm in New Britain, CT, offers advice and representation for homeschooling families.
Homeschooling Litigation: Preparing the Way
The greatest obstacle pioneering homeschoolers faced two decades ago was daunting: in most states home education wasn't legal. This article details five of the most significant cases that have become landmark decisions in the move towards homeschooling freedoms: the DeJonge case in Michigan, the Jeffery case in Pennsylvania, the Diegel case in Ohio, the Triple E case in South Carolina, and the Calabretta case in California.
National Charter School Watch List
This list is created to be a means of informing, documenting and evaluating available information concerning the impact of virtual/charter schools on the homeschooling community. This information consists of and is not limited to news items, articles from various sources, legislative information (bills, law changes), documented efforts and experiences and other information that may give weight to whether home-based charter schools or virtual schools are having an impact in any negative way on homeschooling.
Battling for the Heart and Soul of Home-Schoolers
A look at the battle for the homeschooling movement and the demographics of homeschooling families that challenges the notion that all homeschoolers are conservative fundamentalists. This article is a critical look at the HSLDA.
We Stand For Homeschooling
The "We Stand for Homeschooling Statement and Resolution” is a grassroots effort created by an ad hoc group of homeschoolers from all over the United States. The list of original signers includes homeschoolers and their allies from diverse religious, political and philosophical perspectives. The list is also geographically diverse. This statement addresses the issue of state control of homeschooling and the growing movement of using government funding to run emerging educational programs. You can read the statement and add your name to it at this website.
An Act Concerning The Mandatory School Attendance Age (Public Act No. 00-157)
Public Act No. 00-157 (Mandatory School Attendance Age) changed the age under which a child is subject to compulsory attendance from sixteen to eighteen, effective July 1, 2001.
How to Comply with Vermont's Homeschool Law

Vermont law specifically refers to homeschooling in 16 V.S.A. § 11(a)(21) and 16 V.S.A. § 166b. To homeschool under this statute, you’ll need to follow these guidelines. Necessary steps include sending in a written enrollment notice, submitting a narrative describing the content to be provided in each subject area, obtaining acknowledgement of compliance, teaching the required subjects and assessing your child annually. 

Connecticut Homeschooling Guidelines
This is a listing of the guidelines issued by the Connecticut Department of Education regarding how they think the home education laws should be implemented.
Connecticut Attorneys Helping Homeschoolers
Where to find legal advice in Connecticut. Homeschooling families can find contact information for several attorneys around the state who work with homeschoolers.
Political Influence
Every important movement or trend in this country was followed by an onslaught of legislative actions which resulted in some legal stipulations that controlled the trend. What is really of concern is that this legislative control is not static, but very fluid, subject to change (meaning more restrictions in many cases). These changes occur through either more legislative actions on the part of the government or through interpretation in the judicial system. Currently, the homeschool movement is being closely monitored by various teacher unions, the public and legislative bodies throughout the United States, resulting in more and more laws being passed to control or monitor the movement. If the homeschool movement is to survive in a manner which we feel would be beneficial to us and society as a whole, we have to be more and more diligent in protecting our rights. The only way we can do this is to be more active in the political process. The question now becomes, how do we do this?
Connecticut Homeschool Laws and Procedures
Summary of the laws pertaining to home education in Connecticut. Includes text of the laws and state Board of Education guidelines.
How to Withdraw Your Child from School in Vermont

If you want to start homeschooling during the school year and your child is currently enrolled in a public or private school, HSLDA recommends that you formally withdraw your child from that school. If you are going to start homeschooling after the school year is over, and your child is considered enrolled for the following year, we recommend that you withdraw your child before the next school year begins, so that the school does not mark your child as absent or truant.

Association of Home School Attorneys-Custody Discussion Group
This list is an opportunity for homeschoolers involved in custody issues to contact other homeschoolers for information about homeschooling attorneys and experts, as well as exchange ideas and information about handling custody disputes as a result of homeschooling.
The Rutherford Institute
The Rutherford Institute is an international legal and educational organization dedicated to preserving human rights and defending civil liberties. Deeply committed to protecting the constitutional freedoms of every American and the integral human rights of all people, The Rutherford Institute has emerged as a prominent leader in the national dialogue on civil liberties and equal rights. Parents have a constitutional right to direct and control the upbringing of their children, and laws or governmental actions that unreasonably infringe the rights of parents to raise and educate their children according to their own values are constitutionally suspect. The Rutherford Institute responds to over one thousand requests for assistance annually from parents whose rights were placed in jeopardy.

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