You should follow the law of the state in which you are physically present.

Why? When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws—and often to the jurisdiction of its courts. So you could be required to comply with that state’s homeschool law. This is true even if your legal residency is in another state and you are only living elsewhere temporarily (such as if you are an active member of the military completing a temporary assignment).

Will you be living in another state longer than a month while that state’s public schools are in session? HSLDA generally recommends that you comply with that state’s homeschool requirements. This general recommendation applies even if you and/or your spouse pay taxes, own property, and/or have employment in a different state.

If you’re an HSLDA member, please contact our Legal Team for specific advice about how state home education laws apply in your specific situation.

If your state homeschool law specifies a specific minimum score or percentile for your child’s required year-end standardized testing and your child doesn’t make that that minimum, that’s something you should take seriously. If you are an HSLDA member, please contact our legal team immediately (before you turn the test scores in to the state) so that we can with our educational consultants come alongside and work with you on the important specific next steps to keep your child and your homeschool moving forward. You can feel confident that we’re here to help clearly communicate with officials and keep you free to focus on helping your child thrive. 

When HSLDA chooses to represent a member family whose right to homeschool has been challenged by government officials, there are no charges of any kind. HSLDA pays in full all attorney fees (including those for local attorneys hired to appear with us in any state courts where HSLDA attorneys are not licensed to practice law), expert witness fees, court transcript costs, travel expenses, and all other court costs permissible by state law for us to pay. There are no additional fees or hidden costs.

*Please note that member families who choose to consult separately with a non-HSLDA attorney must do so at their own expense.

HSLDA’s board of directors has remained steadfast in focusing our resources on maintaining and advancing the freedom of homeschoolers from public school oversight. Therefore, the board will not allow HSLDA to use our resources to force public school districts to allow homeschool access.

HSLDA takes a neutral position when state legislation is introduced to require public school access for homeschoolers, unless the legislation would impose additional regulations on all homeschool students, not just those participating in the public schools.