State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in Illinois and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Summaries and Explanations of Illinois Homeschooling Laws
Required Record Keeping
Lists records that should be kept by homeschooling parents in Illinois.
How and Where to take Classes
Covers taking classes at community colleges, constitution tests, and part time attendance of pupils enrolled in nonpublic schools in the regular education program of the district.
Driver's Education & the Home-Schooled Student
An examination of the driver's education laws and their effect on homeschoolers in Illinois.
Illinois Home School Laws
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in Illinois. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in Illinois.
Illinois Statutes Pertaining to Home Education
Illinois Statute 105 ILCS 5/ Article 26. Pupils--Compulsory Attendance
Statute regulating compulsory attendance, including ages of students, and regulations concerning private schools.
Illinois Statute 820 ILCS 205, Section 11 Child Labor Law
Regulates the employment of workers under the age of 16. Addresses the use of employment certificates.
Illinois Statute 105 ILCS 5/Article 27
This statute details required courses of study, including language arts, biological and physical science, mathematics, social sciences, fine arts, health and physical development.
Public Act 093-0858
Regulations concerning education of students by parents.
Home School Laws from HSLDA
Find the laws pertaining to home education for all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Public Act 093-0859
Record keeping is discussed in this statute.
Case Law and Legal Opinions
People vs. Levisen
In People vs. Levisen, (1950), The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed the conviction of homeschool parents. The appellants were Seventh Day Adventists and, according to Justice Crampton who delivered the opinion of the Court, "believed that the child should not be educated in competition with other children. The Supreme Court did not agree that the homeschool parents had violated the compulsory attendance law. Further, the Court defined a private school as: "a place where instruction is imparted to the young... the number of persons being taught does not determine whether a place is a school." These findings indicate that the parents' right to control their children includes the right to provide an education for them at home.
Pierce v. Society of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
In Pierce v. Society of the Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments of this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the creature of the state."
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Featured Resources
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The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason believed that children need to be trained to see, to have their eyes opened, in order to find joy in life. This work explains the value of using the method of writing in journals or notebooks, as derived from the expansive work of Charlotte Mason. You'll find tips to help your children practice putting their knowledge, thoughts, and pictures down on paper, helping them to retain information better, create something beautiful, and strive for retention.
The Mystery of History
The Mystery of History series is another alternative to traditional textbooks. The five volume set covers history from creation to present day, with a biblical worldview. This series is intended for grades K-8. Note that at this time, this series is not completed.
A Catholic Homeschool Treasury: Nurturing Children's Love for Learning
This book reviews different approaches to learning and different homeschooling methods. Read parents' perspectives and learn more about homeschooling issues.
Drawn Into the Heart of Reading
Drawn Into the Heart of Reading was developed for use with students of multiple ages at the same time, perfect for the homeschooling family. It is designed for use as an entire reading program or as a supplement to an existing program for students in grades 2-8.
Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
This radical treatise on public education has been a New Society Publishers' bestseller for 10 years! Thirty years of award-winning teaching in New York City's public schools led John Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory governmental schooling does little but teach young people to follow orders as cogs in the industrial machine. In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of Dumbing Us Down and to keep this classic current, we are renewing the cover art, adding new material about John and ...