GETTING STARTED
Begin homeschooling
with confidence.
New to homeschooling in Massachusetts? MassHOPE is here to help you understand the process, find resources, and connect with other families.
Your first steps in Massachusetts
01
Understand the Requirements
Review Massachusetts homeschool guidance and your local district’s policy and approval process.
02
Submit a Notice of Intent
Notify your local school superintendent with an education plan. You are not requesting permission, just fulfilling a legal requirement.
03
Teach and Maintain
Massachusetts law requires homeschoolers to teach subjects equivalent to public schools. Instruction must be comparable in thoroughness and efficiency to that of the public school.
Plan for Approval Before Beginning
Massachusetts requires advance approval of a home education plan for children subject to compulsory attendance. Notification alone is not approval.
UNDERSTANDING HOMESCHOOLING LAW IN MASSACHUSETTS
Homeschooling is a lawful educational option in Massachusetts. Parents have the right to direct their children’s education, and understanding parental rights and legal responsibilities can help your family begin with confidence.
Approval before beginning. For children subject to compulsory attendance, generally ages 6–16, families must obtain approval of their home education plan before beginning. Simply notifying the district of your intention to homeschool does not constitute approval. Your local school district handles this process. Submit a notice of intent containing your proposed curriculum, instructional time, educational materials, and proposed method of evaluating your child’s progress. Keep copies of your submission and the district’s response for your records.
What districts may review. In Care and Protection of Charles (1987), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court identified factors school officials may consider: the proposed curriculum, instructional time, parents’ qualifications, educational materials, and methods of evaluating progress. Parents do not need teaching certificates or advanced degrees. The applicable standard concerns whether instruction equals the local public schools in thoroughness, efficiency, and educational progress; not whether a family recreates a public school classroom at home. Families can use a variety of resources and teaching methods to provide an appropriate education.
Educational progress. Under the Charles decision, parents and the school district should agree on how the child’s academic progress will be demonstrated. This may include standardized testing or an agreed-upon alternative, such as progress reports or dated work samples. Families should establish the evaluation method during the approval process and retain copies of their plans, correspondence, and evaluations. Maintaining an organized collection of completed work can help families document learning and prepare for their agreed upon assessment.
Families considering homeschooling in Massachusetts may feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. MassHOPE is here to encourage and impart knowledge and resources to help equip you to know your options and make an informed decision.
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Know the Law
We do not provide legal advice but firmly recommend following state law.
Massachusetts compulsory attendance law provides that children must attend a recognized and/or approved school or be educated in some other way that is approved in advance by the local school committee or superintendent.
We recommend that you read two important cases guiding the homeschool environment in Massachusetts. These are Care and Protection of Charles, 399 Mass. 324 (1987) and Brunelle v. Lynn Public Schools, 428 Mass. 512 (1998).
From the Charles case:
“School committees shall approve a private school when satisfied that the instruction in all the studies required by law equal in thoroughness and efficiency, that in the public school in the same town.”
Approval must be obtained in advance but in a case where the parents commence homeschooling their children at home and the school committee refuses to approve the parents’ home school proposal, the burden of proof is on the school committee to show that “the instruction outlined in the proposal fails to equal in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made therein, that in the public schools in the same town.”
Submit an Annual Notice of Intent
According to state law and court opinions, home visits may not be required as a condition of approval. There are four areas a superintendent or school committee may consider when reviewing a notice of intent:
- The proposed curriculum and number of hours of instruction
- The competency of the parents (parents do not need college or advanced degrees)
- Textbooks, workbooks, and other instructional aids to be used
- The method of assessment used (to ensure educational progress and attainment of minimum standards); the superintendent or school committee can require standardized testing or may substitute, with the approval of the parents, another form of assessment
Teach the Required Subjects
Keep Good Records
Test or Evaluate Your Child as Required
A superintendent or school committee may require periodic standardized tests or “other means of evaluating the progress of the children [that] may be substituted for the formal testing process, such as periodic progress reports or dated work samples.” Testing or evaluation must be mutually agreed upon by the parents and the superintendent or school committee.
According to the Massachusetts Supreme Court opinion issued in the case Care and Protection of Charles, the standard of review to determine adequate progress is if the education is equal in “thoroughness, efficiency and progress made therein” to that of the schools in the district.
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