State compulsory attendance statutes require parents and legal guardians to see that children are educated. Although courts have consistently upheld such statutes, the nature of these filings has changed. Whereas early-day legal action usually sought to protect the rights of some select group from constitutional infringement, more recent suits…

The challenge for state boards of education is meeting their obligations to ensure a quality education for all children while considering parents' right to educate their children. The controversy over home instruction can be reduced to a discussion about compelling state interest. This document provides state board members with concise factual…

This booklet presents the proceedings of a workshop on teacher training and support for teachers working in remote rural areas. Participants at the workshop were drawn from a range of tertiary training institutions, government departments, parent groups, and other organizations. Many presentations focussed on Northern Territory case studies,…

Profiles the current trend of parents' choosing to educate their children at home. Provides data on the numbers and motivations of such parents and examines the surrounding legal issues. Challenges the premise of compulsory schooling on the basis of achievement data that document the superior performance of home-schooled children. (KH)

Controversies over the merits of public and private education have never been more prominent than today. This book evaluates public and private schooling, especially in regard to choices families must make for their children. While choice among public schools is widely advocated today by families and states, public support for private…

This book is intended to be a comprehensive guide to home schooling the gifted child. Part 1 focuses on how giftedness affects the choice to home school and how being gifted shapes a child's personality, behavior, and education. It also examines the parent's dual roles of parent and teacher and suggests keeping a Home School Journal. Part 2…

This report, based on a survey of State Directors of Special Education, describes current state policies on home schooling with particular attention to state requirements on home schooling for students with disabilities. Background information notes that home schooling is an exemption from compulsory school attendance and does not include home or…

This booklet is the 13th in a series of "hot topic" reports produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These reports briefly address current educational concerns and issues as indicated by requests for information that come to the laboratory from the Northwest region and beyond. Each booklet contains a discussion of research and…

This issue of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) Journal focuses on creativity. Featured articles include: (1) "Creativity: What Is It? and What Does It Look Like" (Sally Y. Walker); (2) "What Is Creativity?" (Debbie Cho); (3) "Creativity and Underachievement" (Sylvia Rimm); (4) "Stacy Hayden:…

As a result of the recent growth in homeschooling in the United States, colleges and universities have received an increasing number of applications from home-schooled students. Admissions officers have found it necessary to assess whether and how their admissions requirements should be modified to allow fair review of the credentials submitted by…

This document examines many of the issues surrounding school choice. It summarizes the prevalence of school choice and touches on elements of the debate, such as the dilemma in finding the right balance between individual/family freedom and the interests of the community. In looking at school-choice options, the paper divides them into…

A study involving six elementary and two junior high students with learning disabilities investigated whether parents provided four home schooled students with instructional environments that facilitated the acquisition of basic skills. Results found the home school students were academically engaged about two-and-a-half times as often as public…

In Uxbridge, Massachusetts, a small working-class mill town, free-market reform rhetoric has become reality. The tiny district has adopted controversial changes, such as giving vouchers to parents of Title I students, reimbursing home-schooling parents, lengthening the school day and year, adopting flexible scheduling, allowing credit for Internet…

A resource document released by the National Association of State Boards of Education recommends standardizing the criteria for approving home instruction and shoring up progress reporting and evaluation procedures. These recommendations have implications for the ways local districts locate and monitor home instruction. (MLF)

Contends that a constitutionally grounded fundamental right of privacy protecting parental choice of home education is built on a reasonable construction of existing Supreme Court case law and a reassessment of state interests vis-a-vis the parental right of privacy. (147 references) (MLF)