After a tumultuous six months battling efforts by state legislatures to enact new homeschool restrictions, HSLDA joined Massachusetts homeschooling families to thwart another attempt in June—this time by a local school district.
Massachusetts law empowers locally elected education officials to draft policies that regulate homeschooling within certain parameters. But when the Lowell School Committee unveiled proposed changes to its homeschool policy, a review by HSLDA revealed significant problems.
Among other things, the school committee proposal would have only allowed parents to withdraw their children from public school to homeschool in August, September, and November, and would have required the instruction to conform to public school standards.
Lowell’s attempt to narrow homeschool freedom provoked additional concern given that Connecticut, another state in the region, passed a highly restrictive law earlier this year. HSLDA is already working to prevent that measure from taking effect.
“Even though Massachusetts is one of two states that technically require families to obtain approval to homeschool, officials still have to recognize the rights of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children,” said Amy Buchmeyer, HSLDA staff attorney.
Stronger Together
HSLDA learned about the policy change from a member who has homeschooled in Lowell for five years. Amy Cooper said she contacted HSLDA because she was concerned that the new restrictions, if enacted, could sour what has so far been a cordial relationship with local officials.
“Lowell has been great to work with,” Cooper observed.
Cooper said this mutual respect, along with a robust homeschool community that regularly communicates via social media, has helped her family’s home education program flourish.
“We’re always doing history,” Cooper explained. “My husband is a history buff, so we love going to museums and battlefields.”
She worried that this flexibility for her children to learn at their own pace might be jeopardized by Lowell’s proposed restrictions. This is why she objected to the requirement that homeschooling families register with the district’s Family Resource Center, a move apparently intended to familiarize homeschooling families with opportunities provided by the public schools.
Closer Look at the Law
After hearing Amy’s concerns, Buchmeyer offered insight into how to approach officials to oppose the changes. Our attorney also prepared written testimony which was presented to the Lowell School Committee at its June meeting.
Chief among the objections Buchmeyer raised was the district’s plan to only review homeschool applications during August, September, and November. This would have prevented families from switching to homeschooling during the remaining nine months of the year.
As Buchmeyer explained in her letter: “Families choose homeschooling for many reasons: bullying, health concerns, special educational needs, family moves, or simply because the current school setting is no longer working for their child. Those situations do not arise according to the district’s calendar.”
Buchmeyer also urged the committee to consider how requiring homeschool instruction to conform to public school standards would square with Care and Protection of Charles and Brunelle v. Lynn Public Schools (1987), two landmark decisions from Massachusetts’s highest court.
“Massachusetts law asks whether children are being educated, not whether homeschool looks like public school,” Buchmeyer wrote. “Homeschool families use different styles, materials, schedules, and educational philosophies, and the law recognizes that diversity.”
After receiving Buchmeyer’s analysis and vocal opposition at a school committee meeting, officials dropped the proposed changes to the homeschool policy.
“This is a big win,” Buchmeyer noted. “It shows that even in a high-regulation state like Massachusetts, homeschool families can stand up for their rights and use the civics process to positively engage elected officials.”