Illinois Home-Schooling:
An introduction
 Home-schooling
in Illinois is considered to be a form of private education.
Parents who choose to educate their children at home are
under a legal obligation to meet the minimum requirements
stated in Illinois’ Compulsory Attendance Law (Section
26-1 of the Illinois School Code). Parents who choose to
educate their children at home are obligated to teach their
children “…the branches of education taught to
children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools” and
they are further obligated to offer instruction in these
core courses in the English language. The “branches
of education” include language arts; mathematics; biological
and physical sciences; social sciences; fine arts; and physical
development and health.
In a 1950 decision of the Illinois Supreme Court, People
v. Levisen, the Court held that home-schooling could be considered
private schooling if the teacher were competent, the required
subjects were taught, and the student received an education
at least equivalent to public schooling.
Parents who permit a child to attend a home school that is
up to the standard of Section 26-1, as interpreted by
Levisen, are free to decide the manner, time and
materials which best suit the learning needs of their
children. Parents may determine what type of home-schooling
curriculum is best for their students, what materials
to use, how much homework to assign, how homework is to
be assessed, and what records of the student’s accomplishments
should be kept. Testing is not required in the state of
Illinois for homeschoolers. There are private testing
resources if parents choose to have their children evaluated
(see resources below). Parents
who choose to educate their students in the home through
the high school years may determine when their student
has met the graduation requirements of their private home
school and is therefore entitled to receive a high school
diploma.
While the law affords Illinois parents a great degree of
latitude in designing and/or choosing a program of home education
that best meets the needs of their children, it also has
the effect of placing near-total responsibility on parents
for their student’s education while they are being
home-schooled. In a 1974 decision, a federal district court
stated that under Illinois law the burden of proof rests
with parents to establish that the plan of home instruction
which they are providing to their children meets state requirements.
The regional superintendent of schools for the student’s
county of residence has first-line responsibility for investigating
reports of noncompliance with the compulsory attendance laws
found in Article 26 of the Illinois School Code. In fulfilling
this legal responsibility, regional superintendents may expect
the parents who seek to educate their children at home to
establish, when necessary, that they are providing instruction
that is at least commensurate with the standards established
for public schools. With evidence that home instruction in
a specific instance does not satisfy the requirements of
state law, the regional superintendent may request the regional
or school district truant officer to investigate to see that
the child is in compliance with the compulsory attendance
law. Truant officers are peace officers empowered to conduct
investigations, enforce the compulsory attendance law and
to refer matters of noncompliance to the courts. A parent
who allows a child to attend a home school that does not
comply with the standard of Section 26-1, as interpreted
by Levisen, allows the child to be truant and can be found
to have committed a Class C misdemeanor.
Questions you may have about Illinois
Home-Schooling 
Websites on Illinois
and U.S. home-schooling
(please note that the State Board of Education cannot
vouch for the accuracy of information on any of these
websites):
For more information, you may
contact:
Winnie Tuthill
Rules and Waivers
(217) 782-5270
wtuthill@isbe.net
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