Understand Compulsory Age Requirements Under Pa homeschool law
Pennsylvania law gives parents (or legal guardians) the right to educate their children at home as long as they meet two basic requirements: 1) they have earned a high school diploma or its equivalent; and 2) no adult living in the home has been convicted of one of the crimes listed in the statute within the past 5 years. The home education law is an extension of the compulsory education provision of the Pennsylvania School Code.
The compulsory education law only applies to children between the ages of 6 and 18.
It is very important to realize that if your child has never attended school, you do not have to notify the school district of your intention to homeschool until your child is 6 years old. You can go ahead and teach him or let him learn in whatever way is best without interference or interaction with the school district. Even though most people send their child to school somewhere around age 5 when they reach Kindergarten age, children are not legally required to attend school in Pennsylvania until the age of 6.
What does this mean if you intend to homeschool? It means that you don’t need to notify the school district of anything. Period. It’s hard to believe because most of us started school when we were 4 or 5 and always assumed that it was the law.
Most parents are ready to start a more formal learning program at home when the child is 4 or 5 (or earlier since formal preschool is so popular) and decide to file paperwork notifying the school of their intention to homeschool before they are legally required to. I think this is a mistake for a number of reasons.
First, school administrators are often misinformed about the provisions of the homeschool law. When parents file early, administrators expect everyone to file for children under the compulsory age. Second, it’s a waste of resources, both on the parent’s part and school personnel. Why spend the time and energy to prepare, submit and keep a file for paperwork that isn’t required? Finally, you could be spending this time learning about the different methods of homeschooling and figuring out how your child learns best rather than worrying about how to prove to the school that you’re educating your child.
To give you an analogy, you would never file an income tax return for a child before they earned an income. It’s simply not necessary. The law doesn’t require it and the IRS has no need to process paperwork for a person who doesn’t earn an income or owe any tax. Similarly, a school district has no legal interest or obligation to your child before the statutory age unless your child will be attending school. There just isn’t any reason for the extra paperwork on anyone’s part.
I think parents who are new to homeschooling feel like truants if they don’t file something official with a person in a position of authority. They also may feel that filing legitimizes their choice to others. Regardless, I encourage you to wait until you’re required to file to minimize confusion and unnecessary paperwork. Enjoy this time without the burden of paperwork.
Don’t be intimidated by the filing requirements. They can be easily satisfied with a little organization, preparation and by keeping things simple.
If you’ve determined that your child falls within the compulsory age as explained above, you must file a notarized affidavit with a list of objectives attached.
Written by BethPhillips
Great article! We are moving from Georgia to PA next year. We have a 6 year old that is in 1st grade at a private school in Georgia. Are we required to file once we move to PA since she has been in a school for 1st grade)?
Kabi,
No. You are not required to file until your child turns 8 in this situation.
Hi! My children have been in kindergarten since August of this year. I am making the decision to pull them out now and homeschool the rest of the year and here on out. Do I need to do the affidavit thing? I had assumed since Kindergarten was not mandatory that I would not have to, and I do not want to get into any kind of legal trouble but I just cannot do it another day.
Thank you
Kate,
Yes, a recent PA Supreme Court opinion applied compulsory education to children who have been enrolled in Kindergarten even though they haven’t reached compulsory attendance age and Kindergarten isn’t mandatory. It declined to address the “withdraw and wait” argument that the HSLDA put forth in anticipation of your situation or other children who enroll but never attend or attend for a short period of time.
Don’t sweat it though, the forms on my site are simple, very straightforward and the objectives are general. Get those filled out and notarized (you should be able to do that in a day). You can mail them or submit them in person to the district main office on the same day you withdraw them. An evaluator can do a partial evaluation for the days left out of 180. You must submit your affidavit/objectives by Aug 1 for the next school year but you can do it as early as July 1. Good Luck.
Does Brick and Mortar school include PreK?
No.
Hi, my son is in kindergarten in a private school. I can no longer afford it and even tough there are only 2-3 months left of school, i have to pull him out. Do i need to filr an affidavit?
Nope. Just withdraw your son from the private school. You do not have an obligation to file official paperwork with your local school district until you child reaches compulsory attendance age (8). Sometimes private schools notify local school districts that a child will be enrolling or has withdrawn or whatever, so that might trigger an inquiry from your local school district (probably not, though). If you do get that kind of notice, don’t panic, you are not obligated to file paperwork since your child didn’t attend public school.
Hi! What about graduating BEFORE the age of 17? My daughter will complete all requirements for graduation this school year but does not turn 17 until October of next school year. Is she able to graduate this June or must she do classes next school year and file? If so, must she attend ALL of next school year or only until her birthday? Must she have another evaluation in order to graduate then again? Thank you for your help!
The compulsory attendance law requires enrollment in a legally recognized education program until her 17th birthday. If she has met all of the graduation requirements under PA law, including the credit requirements that must be completed between grades 9 and 12, enrolling in a post secondary education program would satisfy that requirement. Although the district normally doesn’t have an interest in whether a homeschooled student meets the basic graduation requirements to earn a diploma, in this case, it may require proof to relieve you of the obligation of filing IF your daughter is attending a post-secondary program.
On the other hand, if your daughter does not plan to attend an education program, the law requires that you file an affidavit and a list of objectives to satisfy the compulsory education law. After her 17th birthday, she is not subject to the compulsory education law and you can obtain an evaluation from the period of Aug 1 to her birthdate. So the evaluation AFTER earning her diploma isn’t to “graduate” again, it’s to satisfy the compulsory education law.
Remember, earning a diploma is not a legal requirement but enrollment in a legally recognized education program is until the age of 17. The diploma is necessary for admission to certain schools and for state financial aid. Also, some other institutions and programs require a high school diploma.
Hope this helps.
I have 2 sons. They both have an IEP for speech. My oldest is 6 attending Kindergarten at a private school. The other is 4 attending preschool at the same private school. Do I need to submit an affidavit? Also anything additional I need to do because of the IEP that is currently in place?
If you live outside of the Philadephia school district, your children are not subject to the compulsory attendance law until they are 8 so file when they turn 8. Some private schools notify the resident school district of enrolled children so don’t be surprised if the school district inquires about your older child.
The law requires a letter of approval for the education plan for children identified as having special needs (speech therapy in your case). The affidavit section of the homeschool law identifies the persons who qualify to approve the ed plan. You can use any qualified evaluator. Does not have to have special education qualifications.