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🚀 How to Start Homeschooling in Massachusetts

The first steps for a Massachusetts family starting to homeschool: what to file, how to leave a public school, and where to find co-ops, classes and help — drawn from our Massachusetts guide and articles.

Homeschooling in Massachusetts: the basics

The law: every child between the minimum and maximum ages set by the Board of Education must attend a public day school in their town or another day school approved by the school committee — but attendance isn't required of a child "who is being otherwise instructed in a manner approved in advance by the superintendent or the school committee" (M.G.L. c. 76 § 1). Home schooling is that "otherwise instructed" option.
Ages: DESE says home schooling requires advance approval for children of compulsory school age (6–16). The Board's regulation says each child must attend school beginning in September of the calendar year in which he or she turns six; a school committee may set a younger starting age but not an older one (603 CMR 8.02).
The standard: DESE says the district approves and oversees home schooling with a focus on whether "instruction in all the studies required by law equals in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made therein, that in the public schools in the same town" — the same test c. 76 § 1 uses for approving private schools.
What home schooling is and isn't: DESE describes it as education provided by or at the direction of a child's parent instead of enrolling the child in a public or private school. It is not remote learning provided by a school district, and requirements that apply to public schools, such as educator licensing or structured learning time, do not apply to it.
Who decides: each school committee in Massachusetts has a policy on approving home schooling plans, and the plan is reviewed and approved by the school district where the child lives. DESE does not approve plans, oversee district policies, or review districts' decisions on home schooling proposals. For details, DESE says to contact your school district.
The court cases: the Trial Court Law Libraries describe Care and Protection of Charles, 399 Mass. 324 (1987), as clearly stating that parents may educate their own children with approval from the school, giving guidance on what schools may consider when deciding to grant approval, and applying the subjects in M.G.L. c. 71 §§ 1, 2 and 3 to home education plans. They describe Brunelle v. Lynn Public Schools, 428 Mass. 512 (1998), as holding that home visits are not presumptively essential to the approval of a home education plan and may not be required without parental consent.
Subjects: M.G.L. c. 71 § 1 lists orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, the history and constitution of the United States, the duties of citizenship, health education, physical education and good behavior. Section 2 requires United States history and social science, including civics, and Section 3 requires physical education, in the public schools.
Penalties: a person in control of a child who fails to cause the child to attend school as required for seven day sessions or fourteen half-day sessions within six months can be fined up to twenty dollars on complaint by a supervisor of attendance (M.G.L. c. 76 § 2).

Read the full section in our Massachusetts guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Massachusetts guide (as of November 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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