Debate over U.S. Gov involvement in homeschooling heats up

World Today

The right to educate a child at home without government supervision or interference is a hotly-contested debate here in the U.S.

Home schooling has pitted advocates against regulators for decades and the fight is becoming increasingly contentious.
CCTV’s Andrea Arenas explains.

Debate over U.S. Gov involvement in homeschooling heats up

The right to educate a child at home without government supervision or interference is a hotly-contested debate here in the U.S. Home schooling has pitted advocates against regulators for decades and the fight is becoming increasingly contentious. CCTV's Andrea Arenas explains.

As the number of children being taught at home in the U.S. grows so does the debate about how much of this process should be monitored by the government. The United States Department of Education estimates there are about two million kids being home schooled in the United States.

Although home education is legal in all 50 states, there are different regulations and requirements for each one.

Eleven states do not require families to register with any agency in order to home school their child and 14 do not specify the subjects that should be taught at home. Only nine states require parents to have at least a high school diploma to teach their children.

For some advocates regulation doesn’t just mean supervision, it is also scheduled home visits by state officials to monitor families as well. For those who want the right to educate at home, they argue that’s not oversight, it’s government interference and intrusion.