This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system.
Wyoming is another one of those easy states to homeschool in. Your only legal option for homeschooling in Wyoming is to establish and operate a homeschool. Compulsory attendance laws state that “a child whose seventh birthday falls on or before September 15 of any year and who has not yet attained his sixteenth birthday or completed the tenth grade.”
In plain English this means:
You must begin homeschooling if your child will be turning 7 before September 15th of a given school year. If your child’s birthday is September 16th however, then he will be almost turning 8 before you are legally obligated to homeschool him.
You can legally “stop” homeschooling (although this generally means that you can legally stop having to ‘prove’ that you homeschool rather than just stopping all together) when the child turns 16 or completes the 10th grade. (The law is not clear as to whether or not it applies to which ever happens first or later–therefore it is safer to assume that you should homeschool until either your child turns 16 or finishes the 10th grade–whichever happens later.)
Required Attendance
The law states that public and private schools must be in attendance for 175 days. However, the law does not expressly state whether or not this applies to homeschools. It is prudent and advisable to note attendance for at least 175 days although you are not required to keep records.
Check back soon for more information on homeschooling in Wyoming.
Are you looking for information on other legal issues in homeschooling? Check out these categories in the homeschooling blog:
IHIPS, Quarterlies and Attendance
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.