Legal/Homeschool Laws
Laws that regulate home education vary from state to state. It is important to understand the legal requirements in your state and to be aware of legislative and other legal issues that affect homeschoolers in your community. We've compiled resources that will help you become informed. Although homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, and the vast majority of homeschoolers face no problems, you may find that you need legal assistance at some point in your homeschooling career. We've compiled a list of resources to help you find the support you need. And if you'd like to become more involved in working towards homeschooling freedoms, we discuss some of the issues facing homeschoolers that we hope you find compelling.
State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in Georgia and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Forms
Which forms do you need to fill out? Where can you get them? Here is a list of useful forms for homeschooling in Georgia.
Legal Support
If you need legal information or have run into a legal situation regarding your decision to homeschool, these resources will be helpful.
Lobbying Groups
A listing of local and national lobbying groups and information on how you can become involved in the political process to ensure the freedom to homeschool is protected.
Attorneys
When searching for an attorney, it is helpful to know whether he or she has experience working with homeschoolers and is interested in protecting the right to homeschool.
Legal Issues
Is homeschooling legal? Which laws pertain to homeschoolers and which don't? How do homeschoolers protect their rights to freely educate their children and to preserve their privacy?
Government Resources
A listing of local and state government resources, including your state's Department of Education, school districts, and Senate and House of Representative information.
What's Popular
Underage Youth Application for Program Enrollment and Permission to Take the GED
If you wish to withdraw from home school to obtain your GED, this is one of the required forms.
20-2-698. Children Found Away From Home
Any peace officer may assume temporary custody, during school hours, of any child subject to compulsory school attendance who is found away from home and who is absent from a public or private school or a home study program without a valid written excuse from school officials or from the parent or guardian in charge of the home study program.
20-2-690.1. Compulsory Attendance
(a) Every parent, guardian, or other person residing within this state having control or charge of any child or children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays shall enroll and send such child or children to a public school, a private school, or a home study program that meets the requirements for a public school, a private school, or a home study program ...
Home Study Program Monthly Attendance Report - pdf format
Printable monthly attendance report provided by the Georgia Department of Education. It is in pdf format.
Homeschool Opposition: Who Are They and What Do They Want?
Homeschooling in Georgia has come under concerted attack by those who would reduce the access to homeschooling and control both the content and method of home study instruction. Who are the opponents to homeschooling, and what do they want to accomplish?
Home Education Honored in Georgia
To declare the first week in February of each year as "Home Education Week" in Georgia, HB1450 was passed by the 1997-1998 General Assembly and signed by Governor Zel Miller on 4/20/98.
Georgia Homeschool Law and Commentary
A summary of the homeschooling laws in Georgia provided by GeorgiaHomeschool.com, along with comments.
Certificate of Attendance
Georgia Department of Public Safety Certificate of Attendance form, for use in submission to a License Examination Facility.
Home Study Program Monthly Attendance Report - pdf format with reset button
Printable monthly attendance report provided by the Georgia Department of Education. This form has an enabled reset button to clear the form.
20-2-150. Compulsory Attendance for Early Entrants into Public Schools
(a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, all children and youth who have attained the age of five years by September 1 shall be eligible for enrollment in the appropriate general education programs authorized in this part unless they attain the age of 20 by September 1 or they have received high school diplomas or the equivalent. This shall specifically include students who have reenrolled after dropping out and who are married, parents, or pregnant. Special educa...
HEIR's Initial Statement to the Committee
The Home Education Information Resource provided the House Education Committee with a three ring binder of "resource materials" that may be of interest. A summary of the binder's content has been provided to each Committee member, along with a copy of this prepared statement.
Underage Youth Application for GED Program
If you wish to withdraw from home school to obtain your GED, this is one of the required forms.
Declaration of Intent to Utilize a Home Study Program - Word format
This is a Georgia Department of Education form. It is in Word format. Provided by HEIR.
Home Study Program Monthly Attendance Report - gif format
This is a Georgia Department of Education form, provided by HEIR. It is in gif format, but the quality is very poor.
GA HB 39: Georgia Homeschooling Law Changes Beginning 2012 / 2013 School Year
Some changes have been made to the homeschooling law in Georgia, and they will go into effect July 1, 2012. There are two major changes that homeschoolers need to be aware of. The first is that they will no longer turn in their paperwork to their local school districts. Now they will report directly to the Department of Education.
The second major change is that homeschoolers will only be required to turn in attendance forms once a year to the Department of Education. Currently homeschoole...
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Featured Resources
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A Twaddle-Free Education: An Introduction to Charlotte Mason's Timeless Educational Ideas
Are you disappointed with dumbed-down reading material (“twaddle”) written for children? Do you wish for your children to feast their hearts and minds on noble ideas, fine art, and great literature? Are you hoping your children gain an appreciation o...
The Unschooling Handbook : How to Use the Whole World As Your Child's Classroom
Unschooling, a homeschooling method based on the belief that kids learn best when allowed to pursue their natural curiosities and interests, is practiced by 10 to 15 percent of the estimated 1.5 million homeschoolers in the United States. There is no...
Children at Play : Using Waldorf Principles to Foster Childhood Development
Children at Play is an insightful exploration into the world of children's play and its tremendous significance in the shaping of each child's humanity. A mother and proponent of Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf system of education, author Heidi Britz-Crecel...
Serving Homeschooled Teens and Their Parents (Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young Adult Librarians Series)
This guide for librarians addresses the needs of homeschooled teens and how a library can meet those needs. Includes ideas like developing a homeschool resource and book collection to creating special homeschool programs. While this book was written ...
Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide With Hundreds Of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges
Desk drowning in papers? No room for the car in the garage? Santa still sitting on the roof in May? A less-is-more philosophy is great, but we all still have way too much stuff. The home office swallows up whole rooms, as does the family computer sta...