is it illegal for children to not be in school?

Question

in the united states, isn't it illegal for children to not be in school whether it is homeschooled or in an actual school? i ask this because i watched a wife swap episode where they don't send their children to school and they don't get it at home.

the show was not shot over the summer because one they had winter clothes on and the parents flat out said they do not go to school or get any education. the children work more than eight hours a day on the farm and that is their learning.

the children on this episode are not even homeschooled.

the children on this episode do not get an education that most states require they get

going to a public school and going thru what the state wants you to learn is not the best way for everyone. for me, my children will be in a christian school or they will be homeschooled thru abeka book homeschooling.

Answer 1

Yes, this is illegal, but many times if the child is homeschooled, it is not regulated. To have a child under the legal age (16-18), you have to have the local school sign a form. Then, you sign it, and send it to the homeschooling organization. (At least, the American School said we had to).

Answer 2

NO, I am a teacher and I can tell you first hand, these offspring of illegals and illegal children are ruining our educational system. It takes time away from educating American students when teachers have to explain things to a kid who does not understand English. They bring more drug and gang violence into the schools. Teachers are getting fed up with allowing these children into the schools. It cost tax payers billions to educate these children who deserve to be educated in their home countries! Illegals free lunches and breakfast alone cost millions, that is not counting the rest of the educational cost. Cal. and other states with a large population of illegals are going bankrupt educating these people! The catholic church are hypocrites on this subject. they think it is okay for illegals to steal, covet, break mans laws and have 6-7 kids out of wedlock. Guess they pick and choose which part of God's work they want to follow huh!

Answer 3

Let me start by saying that the families they find for wife swap are off the wall, especially the homeschooling families. What you see represented there is NOT typical of homeschooling families! I was so appauled by one homeschooling episode I saw that I refuse to watch it again.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. Each state has their own regulations. If some parents want to be so extreme as to only have their kids learn farming, is that really a problem? It's not like people everywhere are going to go, "Oh wow! That's all we need to do?" Besides, those kids are getting an education in farming that most of us will never have. They probably know more about certain science topics than the general population. So I would beg to disagree that they aren't getting an education, even if they aren't sitting down and having formal schooling.

ADDED: Here's the thing: in some states, it's the parent who decides the curriculum. It can be whatever they want it to be. They can decide how they will meet the different subject areas. So, is it illegal for that family to be doing what they're doing? Only if their state regulations require them to be doing something different.

Answer 4

It is not illegal. If a family is homeschooling, there is no one who says that you must school this way or that. The idea of forcing my kids to sit at a desk for six hours a day like public schoolers is rather disgusting. When we were doing a formal school-at-home, it took less than an hour a day for four months to complete a full years school work for four kids. There is so much time wasted in public schools! So when we were done with school, we did life rather than sit there like a bunch of lazy idjits.

ONE HOUR A DAY over EIGHTY days...don't you feel like your time is being wasted when it takes six hours over 180 days to do the same amount of learning?

Unschooling is a very legitimate form of education that has been around for decades. You could google John Holt, and read here about more info
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/061198.htm

We don't waste our time on shows like Wife Swap. don't you feel icky at the end, like your brain was polluted?

Answer 5

Every child must be educated if they are between 6 and 16. It can be a public school, or a home schooled program, a special education class in a separate class, a private school and charter school program.
So, if the children are not getting any schooling it is in violation of the law. Therefor, it is illegal.

Answer 6

It is called non-school and yes it is legal. There are many out there that teach by way of living and believe it or not the kids that are non-schooled are just as smart if not smart the kids who use book or computers. I myself use online schooling But I also teach by living as well. I believe my children need books and learning how to live in the real world.

Answer 7

In SC the law is that a child 6 or older has to be in school of some sort. Is it possible the episode you saw was shot over Summer?

Answer 8

you have to receive some type of education whether public, private or home.
Wife Swap stinks and they seem to make it their mission to seek out the worst of the worst when it comes to homeschooling.
I have never seen a homeschool family, nor Christian family represented in a fair, much less favorable light on that poor excuse for entertainment.

Answer 9

Depending on the state laws you can do something called unschooling. It is a child led learning. The child learns what he/she is interested in, not necessarily math, spelling, science etc. The idea is that they will learn that stuff along the way and they can focus on what they like.

Answer 10

You have to notify the state if you are home schooling that way they know that the child is getting educated.