Home Schooling

The Concord Public Schools and the Concord-Carlisle Regional High School both recognizes and respects the right of parents or guardians to educate their child(ren) at home, in accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 76, Section 1 and the Charles Decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

The School Committee appreciates the personal and cultural uniqueness of each family and desires to ensure that the process by which school officials approve and review home school programs is both lawful and equitable. Therefore, the Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District has established these procedures for the home school program.

The Massachusetts General Law requires the School Committee to determine that a Home School program meet with the minimum standards established for public schools in the Commonwealth prior to approving such a program.

When a parent or guardian of a student between ages 6-16 wants to establish a home-based educational program for his/her child, the following procedures shall be followed in accordance with the law:

Prior to removing the child from public school:

The parent/guardian must submit a written notification of the establishment of the home-based program to the appropriate administrator 14 days before the program is established, and resubmit the notification on an annual basis as long as the child or children are being educated in a home-based environment. Upon approval of the home school program, the parent/guardian must notify in writing, their student’s school office with the intent to unenroll their student from said school.

If your student is intending on a home education program for the current school year (2022-2023), please use the following form. The parent/guardian must certify in writing, on a 2022-2023 application form provided by the District, the name, age, place of residence, and the number of hours of attendance of each child in the program. You may also mail in your Homeschool Plan to the Office of Teaching and Learning, 120 Meriam Road, Concord MA 01742.  If your student is intending on a home-education plan for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, please use this form 2023-2024 Home Education Application

The Superintendent or designee shall give the notice to produce records required by law if there is probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance with the law. Factors to be considered by the Superintendent or designee deciding whether or not to approve a home school proposal may be:

  1.  The number of hours of instruction of the proposed curriculum;
  2.  The competency of the parents to teach the children;
  3.  The textbooks, workbooks and other instructional aids to be used by the children and teaching manuals to be used by the parents;
  4.  Periodic assessment of the children to ensure educational progress and the attainment of minimum standards.

A student being educated in a home-based program within the District may have access to public school activities of either a curricular or extracurricular nature upon availability and approval of the Superintendent.
*In creating your home-school education plan, families may reference the learning standards of Concord Public Schools on our Curriculum page.

Additional Information:

  • Home-educated students do not participate in state testing programs such as MCAS or PARCC.
  • Concord Public Schools is not responsible to supply textbooks or instructional materials to homeschooling students.
  • You must re-apply for each academic year.

Contact Information:

Sue Wisniewski

Program Support Assistant: Teaching and Learning

120 Meriam Road

Concord, MA 01742

swisniewski@concordps.org

LEGAL REFS:   M.G.L. 69:JD; 76:l, Care and Protection of Charles

Care and Protections of Charles — MASS. Supreme Judicial Court 399 Mass. 324 (1987)