Homeschooling in
the State of Massachusetts

The state of Massachusetts is considered by many individuals as one of the leading figures of homeschooling in present day society. Having numerous societies that were established since the late 80’s, homeschooling in Massachusetts is a very prominent route of academia. Massachusetts homeschooling curriculum has a strict compulsory attendance law of which any child between the ages 6 to 16 must attend school, and furthermore must teach various subjects such as: reading, writing, English, grammar, geography, mathematics, drawing, music, public health, and various governmental history courses regarding the constitution and citizenship laws. There are various ways a student may be homeschooled due to the state law that homeschooling is considered a private school. Furthermore, since it is actually considered a school, there are mandatory tasks that must be completed and shown to the superintendent of the county. These four characteristics regarding the home education plan are:

• Curriculum and the number of hours of instruction must be documented for each subject
• Parents may or may not have a college degree, but must at least have a high school diploma
• All books that are corresponding to lesson plans must be comparative to public school curriculum
• Assessments of students progress can be required by the superintendent if felt necessary

However, although there may seem like there is quite a bit of work for homeschooling in Massachusetts, they also take into account the privacy, and rights of parents to teach their students at home. Visits from the superintendent that are not agreed by with the parents cannot take place. Another great law to protect students and parents in the process of homeschooling is that if there is a discrepancy with the curriculum, it must go through further coverage, and during the time of the conflict, the student does not have to attend public school, but rather may continue his or her education from home. Being such an active state in homeschooling, it is of no surprise that the state has various laws protecting the interests of both the student’s education and the parent’s rights to teach the child. In addition to the well-situated curriculum, there are also many various organizations that help students, parents, and guardians in the process of homeschooling. Homeschooling is prominent in most counties within Massachusetts, some of the various ones being Berkshire County Homeschool Community (BCHC), Massachusetts Home Learning Center (MHLA), About Our Kids Home Learners (A-OK), and many more. As with all states, all information regarding homeschooling and the matriculation that should be present within the home can be found at the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (MBESE).




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