Homeschooling in Connecticut – Connecticut Homeschool Laws

State laws change from time to time and though we try to keep the laws up-to-date at all times please check with the department of education for any changes that may have occurred.

Congratulations on taking a step toward homeschooling your kid. You have, no doubt, weighed all the pros and cons of the matter and are on your final stages of implementation. An important area, obviously, which you must now consider are the relevant laws in your state and how they define and regulate homeschooling. If you live in the state of Connecticut, then this article is exactly what you need to get started on the right path. The law covers the definition of Connecticut homeschooling, and this definition is different from one state to the next; it covers what forms and documents you need to file with the state; and it covers your responsibilities. For your convenience, there is a short list of resources that will come in handy with your homeschooling plans. Below you will find an infographic and video to help you create a homeschool that thrives.

Homeschool in Connecticut

Connecticut homeschool laws in question is found in CT General Statute 10 which places the responsibility of educating the child solely in the hands of the parents/guardian. From this law, it follows that the parent may choose to enrol their children in public or private school or any other forms of instructions which they see fit and this includes homeschooling.

For those who wish to homeschool their children, the state does go on to provide a guide. It must be noted that this guide does not have any force of law. Parents are free to follow it, or chose to enhance it, or completely disregard it. For those who chose to incorporate its suggestions, It serves as a point of departure and a template for building your own program. These can be found in C-14 Guideline. You can find a link to the law and the guidelines in the resource section below.

How you interact with the state once you have made you decision to homeschool is spelled out in the relevant Connecticut homeschool laws depends on the age of the child. If the child is below the age of seven, then there is no notification requirements. You just proceed with whichever curriculum or strategy is best.

According to Connecticut homeschool laws, once your child turns seven then you need to file a Notice of Intent to homeschool. The NOI is not mandatory. You may chose to file it or not and that decision is entirely up to you. If you do intend to file it, you can download the forms, fill it out, and mail it to the Superintendent of schools in your area.

However, if your child is already in the public school system in Connecticut, and you now wish to remove him or her from the system to homeschool them, then you would need to formally write to the School board and notify them that you will be removing your child from the system.

Curriculum

Because the whole point of homeschooling is to be able to cater the education process to your child, you are given the freedom in Connecticut to not follow a fixed schedule and curriculum. You are free to combine lessons at home under your (the parents or guardian) tutelage or pay a professional to come in and teach a certain course. You are also welcome to combine a few students and have a teacher educate that group.

Even though you stay away from a strict and rigid schedule designed for educating the masses, you should still have some form of structure to your intentions. One possible way would be to create an achievement driven curriculum where the field of study is enhanced in lockstep with the child's abilities. When the child does well, the content is added to, when the child struggles, the content is slowed down.

Homeschool CT Grade

Homeschooling in Connecticut scores an A on the State Homeschool Friendliness measure mainly because there are no hurdles to parents who decide to homeschool. There isn’t even a burden to fill out a form or get an approval. This makes the the burden of compliance zero. And even if you do decide to file any form, we have provided that to you in the resource section below.

Conclusion

You can’t go wrong if you decide to homeschool in Connecticut. Simply put it is a great state to homeschool in and there are plenty of communities to help you along the journey. That said, we’re here to help you, too – just get in touch if you’ve got any questions.