Home Schooling... a brief history.

For many years in Florida, home-based private schools have continued to operate under of the Florida Statutes. These schools generally incorporate under Chapter 617 or 623 and operate legally under Chapter 1003.23 of the Florida Statutes. The home-based private school student population ranges from 10 students to over 700 students and each school has an administrative office. The educational center where instruction takes place are located in various homes or may be in a school building and the children are in regular attendance at these classroom sites. The administrators of these schools keep educational and medical records of the students, review monthly attendance reports, administer standardized tests, review curriculum, and arrange field trips and specialized classes. The school must also complete an annual data base survey as required by Florida Statute 1002.42(2). There are no statutes or regulations for nonpublic schools which require certain teacher qualifications, curriculum, or testing.

At the request of a Non-traditional Privates School in 1993, Chris Klicka, Esq. of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) researched and produced a legal brief which stated in part that just because "...a state has passed a home school law, it does not automatically prohibit families from home schooling legally under other options of the law. The Florida homeschool law is not exclusive. The legislature never amended the requirements for private schools to exclude home-based private schools. The two options for homeschool parents, under either the homeschool law or the home-based private school law, are not in conflict with one another and must be given full effect. The final analysis demonstrates that home-based 623 and 617 schools satisfy all statutory requirements for nonpublic schools...." Therefore on the face of the compulsory attendance statutes, home-based private schools are completely legal provided they meet the definition and statutory requirements.

Prior to the establishment of the home education statutes, families had already been teaching their children at home either under the private school or corporation statutes or under the protection of the U.S. Constitution. There were instances in various parts of the state where the legality of homeschooling was challenged on the grounds that there was no reference to homeschooling in the statutes. However, homeschool parents would simply appeal to the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states, "all rights and powers which the Constitution does not specifically give to the national government or prohibit to the states are reserved for the states for the people."

In other words, if it is not mentioned in the federal or state constitutions, it is a right reserved for the people. Many in Florida who were teaching under the protection of the private school statutes felt that there was no need to write a new law for homeschoolers, but rather, at most, simply reference homeschooling within the existing private school laws. However, others felt that it would be better to have the concept of homeschooling enshrined in the statutes with its own guidelines, and that concept won out. While there are different opinions as to what constitutes a homeschooling family, most would agree that "parents educating their children at home" would be the most basic definition. Homeschooling under the private school or corporation statutes provides an additional option in the State of Florida.

The reality is the concept had not been mentioned in the Florida Statutes prior to 1985 simply because the government had never previously questioned the right of parents to educate their children. However, in 1985 when the home education bill was introduced, the original bill included a definition of a home education program which stated a homeschool is not a private or parochial school. When the bill was finally enacted, this definition of a home education program found in Florida Statute 1002.01(1) was deleted. This indicates that the intention of the legislature is to allow the private school option to homeschoolers. Home-based private schools operate legally in most states throughout the country. In fact, homeschooling has always been practiced in this country, even before we were a nation.

Again in 2003, Chris Klicka, Esq. of HSLDA updated his legal brief and noted, "...the only definition of a nonpublic school is found in Florida Statute 1002.01(2)...which defines a nonpublic school as: "an individual association, co-partnership, or corporation or department, division or section of such organization which designates itself as an educational center which includes kindergarten or a higher grade".

In Black’s Law Dictionary, "school" is defined as "an institution or place of instruction or education". Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary defines "school" as "the place in which formal instruction is given". Florida home-based private schools easily satisfy these definitions.

Chris Klicka concluded in his analysis that... "home-based 623 and 617 schools satisfy all statutory requirements for nonpublic schools, the case law, and the legislative intent. Thousands of families choose this option throughout the state of Florida and the nation".

There is no doubt that the homeschool statute has encouraged families throughout the state to home educate their children. However, it is important to understand that it was already legal, and still is legal, to homeschool under the private and corporation statutes. A number of families have been challenged over the years, but none have ever been forced to stop homeschoooling their children.