Idaho Law Regarding Home Instruction

Section 33-202 of the Idaho Code requires parents to educate their school age children by sending them to public, private, or parochial schools, or by "otherwise comparably instructing" them. Home education is permitted under the latter category. No other registration, certification, notification, qualification, or testing requirements are imposed by Idaho law.

For more detailed information on the legality of home schooling, please refer to information from the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Legal Analysis of Home Instruction Idaho Law

Updated August 2002

Compulsory Attendance Ages: "attained the age of 7 years, but not the age of 16 years." Idaho Code § 33-202.
Required Days of Instruction: same as public schools.
Required Subjects: "instruction comparable to public schools."

Home School Statute: None.

Alternative Statutes Allowing for Home Schools:

Home schools are governed by Idaho Code § 33-202 which exempts children who are "otherwise comparably instructed." If the child "is otherwise comparably instructed." (In the 1992 legislative session, the language "as may be determined by the board of trustees of the school district" was deleted from § 33-202. This essentially removed the local district's approval authority over home schools.)

1. Because the word "comparably" is not defined by statute, school boards vary from district to district as to what guidelines they assert home schoolers must follow to achieve comparability.

2. The statute does not require home schools to initiate contact with the school district.

In Welker v. Independent School District of Boise City No. 1, No. 93225, (May 25, 1990) p. 4, Judge McKee ruled that home schoolers are not required by law to answer questionnaires from the school district concerning the nature of their home study program.

"...There is no constitutional or statutory impediment to anyone asking questions. While the parents have objected to answering the [school district's] questions on constitutional grounds, in practicality they could have simply discarded the document without comment. There is no statute or rule which compels them to answer, and there is no direct sanction provided for any refusal to do so."

4. In another Fourth District Court decision, In the Interest of Patterson, No. 13477, 13478, (Oct. 2, 1990) Judge Dutcher ruled the school district, not the parents, has the burden to prove the home school is not in compliance with the law.

"...In a proceeding under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, the state must prove lack of comparable instruction … and the burden does not shift to the defense [i.e. the home schooler] to affirmatively defend, or prove compliance, since the full panoply of criminal procedural due process applies to juvenile prosecutions."

The Court also held that under the Youth Rehabilitation Act, "children cannot be compelled to answer questions about their home schooling program."

Teacher Qualifications: No specific qualifications for home school teachers.

Standardized Tests: Not required by statute.

Summary Idaho Home Schooling Law:
Provide an alternate educational experience for the child that "is otherwise comparably instructed"
Attendance:	Same as the public schools
Subjects:	Same as the public schools
Qualifications:	None
Notice:	None
Recordkeeping:	None
Testing:	None

Compulsory School Age - "attained the age of 7 years, but not the age of 16 years"