Are you thinking about moving abroad and are worried that homeschooling may be illegal in your destination country? In the United States, homeschooling is booming these days, especially after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the public education system. However, in the rest of the world the picture is more complex than it seems. If you are interested in the legality of homeschooling in different parts of the world, read on to learn about the reasons why homeschooling is considered illegal, the list of countries where this practice is not legal, and the analysis of the legal situation of homeschooling in specific countries. During the decades that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries, public education systems were first established in Western countries and then around the world.
These systems came with their own truancy laws that made public school attendance compulsory. Therefore, the paradigm of education during these years was that the state was responsible for the formal education of children and parents were obliged to send them to school. As we shall see, in many countries this is still the current paradigm. In Sweden, for example, education authorities based their argument on the right of children to “have professional teachers teach them an objective, science-based curriculum”.
While Germany considers the crucial role of “school-based education” in the socialization of children. Information on homeschooling in different countries of the world is varied and, in some cases, non-existent. However, there is enough data to compile a long list of countries where homeschooling is illegal or completely prohibited. It's time to discuss the specific situation of some countries where homeschooling is still illegal. As the largest economy in Europe, Germany's case is interesting since it completely disagrees with its main Western allies such as the United States, United Kingdom and France. The fact that it was the European Court of Human Rights, which handed down this judgment, highlights the uncertainty surrounding homeschooling in the European Union where some countries have regulated it while others such as Germany and Sweden still prohibit it.
In another high-profile case, a US judge granted asylum to a German family studying at home in America. The judge was quoted as saying that “students who study at home are a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress”.However, homeschooling may be approved for specific reasons but not for religious or philosophical ones. Spain is a perfect example of how laws related to homeschooling are in a period of discussion and transition. On one hand, Spanish Constitution recognizes “the right of parents to choose their children's education according to their own personal, moral and religious convictions”.
On the other hand though, Spanish education law establishes compulsory nature of school attendance. When a Spanish family went to court arguing contradictory nature of these laws, court ruled in their favor. However no new laws have been passed to regulate this issue placing homeschooling in Spain in a kind of time vacuum. Brazil is another example of current fluid state of homeschooling laws.
As in most countries homeschooling was illegal in South American giant but in recent years there has been a growing movement to regulate and legalize it. The Supreme Court issued a ruling that “considered homeschooling constitutional” but that new laws were needed to regulate it. Currently only state of Paraná and Federal District have legalized homeschooling while there is still no federal legislation in this regard. However there is an option to participate in distance education through Turkey's national television channels.
This practice is not considered homeschooling as students must go to government-approved centers and take standardized tests. Parents who do not send their children to school are accused of being criminals and may be sent to prison. This is a difficult question to answer and is at center of legal debate in many countries around world. While there is no right to be homeschooled as such there is a tension between freedom and right that underlies current debate around homeschooling.
On one hand parents must be free to “raise their children” according to their religious and moral beliefs without state interference. On other hand all children have right to education. The point at which different nations and courts find balance between right of children to education and freedom of parents to raise them as they see fit is reflected in that country's current laws on homeschooling. A law professor at Harvard University has sparked controversy after calling for ban on homeschooling.
While most US waits confinement for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis to end leftists are keeping busy criticizing parents for teaching their children at home and even calling for total ban on homeschooling claiming many parents choose homeschooling with Christian perspective in mind. There are more than thirty countries where homeschooling is illegal. Homeschooling makes it much more difficult for children to succeed academically and financially. In June if pandemic conditions permit Harvard University will host conference not open to public to discuss alleged dangers of homeschooling and strategies for legal reform.
Even conservatives who defend homeschooling rarely question compulsory attendance laws that make this harassment possible. In short, homeschooling should no longer be an option since it denies child basic right to an education that prepares student for society. While it's neither practical nor reasonable to prohibit homeschooling approximately thirty to forty countries prohibit or make it nearly impossible. Despite lack of state law that directly approves homeschooling other aspects state education code make clear legislature approves parents' homeschools function as private schools.
He argues that homeschooling does not usually pay for such education.
