Dissecting Homeschool Law: Age for compulsory schooling

Note: This is part of a series I am writing about the actual application of the stipulations in the homeschooling regulations in the state of Maryland.

During a recent conversation, another homeschooling mom expressed concern about the increasing compulsory school attendance age. So, I perused the laws to put myself at ease. I don’t envision the upper limit being a problem for me because my child turns 18 during the summer after his senior year, although the lower limit could affect my daughter.

In July 2017, the compulsory age of attending school is increasing to 18. Last July, it was increased from 16 to 17. The school district has sent notices to homeschooling parents about this law changing multiple times over the last 2 years. The age requirement is not actually included in the homeschooling regulation linked above.  It is contained in the larger body of laws governing all education in the state, which can be found here. The law states that:

“except as otherwise provided in this section, each child who resides in this State and is 5 years old or older and under 18 shall attend a public school regularly during the entire school year.” The exceptions include “a child under the age of 18 years who:

(1) has obtained a Maryland high school diploma, an equivalent out–of–state high school diploma, or a GED;

(2) is a student with disabilities and has completed the requirements for a Maryland high school certificate of completion;

(3) is receiving regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age;

(4) has completed an instruction program under item (3) of this subsection.”

Exceptions (3) and (4) together cover homeschooling. The wording in (3) is the exact same wording used in Maryland’s law for homeschooling. In my interpretation, there should not be any problem declaring that 17-year-old senior with a late birthday has completed his homeschool program. I can see how there may be issues if a parent tries to graduate a child earlier than that if the child has not completed a documented 13 years of K-12.

Another gray area I perceive in the law is the beginning of schooling at age 5. The school districts will only enroll children in kindergarten who turn 5 by September 1 (there is wiggle room to October 15, if the parent takes the child for gifted testing). So, any child born after that cut-off date has to wait until the next year to start school. However, the way the law way is written, it seems like on your child’s 5th birthday, bam, she needs to start school. There is an exception clause in the law that states “a child who resides in this State and is 5 years old may be exempted from mandatory school attendance for 1 year if the child’s parent or guardian files a written request with the local school system asking that the child’s attendance be delayed due to the child’s level of maturity.”  Is every parent with a child born after September 1 really filing this request?  More likely, the “shall attend a public school regularly during the entire school year” means that there is a grace period that covers the time from September 2 to the end of that school year.

If you are interested in my other thoughts on Maryland homeschool law, please check out:

• Dissecting Homeschool Law: Regular, thorough instruction
• Dissecting Homeschool Law: 15-day waiting period