Our Son Is a US Citizen. Can We Homeschool Him in France?

How did France get here?

To understand this, let’s rewind. On October 2, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron introduced a bill that would shift the homeschooling paradigm. In the course of a 60-minute speech, President Macron used the words “Muslim,” “radical,” “Islam,” and “separatism” over 90 times as he worked to justify the new restrictions.

“Schools are our republican crucible,” he said, according to a translation of the speech.^[1] “They completely protect our children in the face of all religious symbols. They are central to the notion of secularism, and are where we form consciences so that children become free, rational citizens able to choose their own destinies.”

Macron’s motives are clear, as is his glamorization of public education. In his mind (and in the minds of many like him in the US), children belong to the state. After all, they are “our children” and the state must protect them from parents who might subject them to a “religious symbol” and thus keep them from becoming “free citizens.” The state is seen as the ultimate purveyor of good, and the family stands in the way.

The roots of this worldview trace back to French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In his influential work Êmile, he wrote: “A father owes men to humanity, citizens to the state.”^[2]

Macron, Rousseau, and many others subscribe to a worldview that replaces biblical values with political agendas. For them, education is not the loving work of parents but the responsibility of the all-knowing paternalistic state.

This is the worldview that Bernard and Tracy found themselves subject to in 2023.

Ideas have consequences

When their request to homeschool Emmanuel was denied, they hired a lawyer and began the legal process to challenge this decision. They detailed the personal nature of their son’s educational needs extensively, with supporting examinations and testimonials from professors.

Bernard and Tracy defined more than 10 distinctive characteristics, including Emmanuel’s individualized need for a bicultural and bilingual educational framework. They also highlighted his right for equal opportunities within France as well as the US due to his dual citizenship; the fact that he is a gifted child; his demanding sports and arts schedules (competitive-level swim and piano); and frequent family travel due to the international nature of his father’s work.

They believed these facts showed that Emmanuel met the criteria necessary to demonstrate a “personal situation” and thus acquire approval to homeschool.

Their case went before a French court on October 17. In court, the rapporteur (a member of the French legal profession who summarizes the case and analyzes the evidence for the benefit of the judges) presented her recommendations to the judges. During her summary and recommendation, she stated, “It is without difficulty that we recognize Emmanuel has a personal situation.” This was welcome news!

Unfortunately, less than a month later, on November 7, Bernard and Tracy received the formal decision they had feared. The judges denied their request for approval to homeschool Emmanuel. The judges found that “the circumstances do not make it possible to characterize the existence of a personal situation to the child Emmanuel.”

What qualifies as a “personal situation” remains unclear. Tracy provided an extensive list of criteria that do not meet the personal situation standard, according to the court: precocity, autism, personalized pedagogy, medically observed discomfort due to schooling, sporting excellence, hypersensitivities, dyslexia, behavioral disorders, bilingualism, and many more.

“No explanation on the part of the department of education, nor the courts, as to what is considered a personal situation is provided or required,” she said.

Tracy and Bernard had two months to appeal the court’s decision.

I had been in touch with Tracy since shortly before the October court date. When their request was denied, HSLDA agreed to take up their case and assist with the appeal.

In December, HSLDA formally retained a French attorney to represent them in their appeal. In early January 2024, the appeal was filed with the French Appellate Court. We are currently awaiting their decision.

Over 11,000 families denied

Bernard and Tracy’s situation is not uncommon. Since the imposition of the new French law in 2021, Liberté Éducation,^[3] a French homeschool advocacy group, estimates that more than 11,000 families have been denied their basic right to educate their children at home.^[4]

We estimate that more than 90 percent of families in France who request approval to homeschool are denied. These are unimaginable statistics to an American homeschooling family.

But there is some good news. In October—the same month Bernard and Tracy were in court—Liberté Éducation presented the ultra-restrictive French homeschool law before the United Nations. They argued that France’s new law violated the UN’s International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR).

In November, the United Nations Economic and Social Council raised concerns about France’s restrictive homeschool law. They recommended France “ensure that the principles of necessity and proportionality and the specific needs and best interests of the child are duly taken into account when decisions are taken on the authorization of homeschooling….”^[5] In short, the United Nations acknowledged that Article 13.3 of the ICSECR provides some level of protection and guarantee for families that desire to home educate. This was a historic win for home education across the world.

The situation in France is representative of many countries around the world, where both opportunity and challenge are present. HSLDA remains steadfastly committed to advocating for the rights of parents everywhere to educate their children at home. We desire to see a world in which home education is legal and possible for every child in every country.