Alabama Law

ALABAMA

STATE LAW

On Education

&

Church Schools

Please read, familiarize, and interpret for yourself the laws of homeschooling in Alabama.

Think; do not guess.

~ Greek ~

For excellent information on homeschooling in Alabama, please look here:

What does HSLDA have to say?

HSLDA

Legal Issues

Please remember that enrolling in a Church School is a perfectly legal schooling option under Alabama State Law. Once you have withdrawn from a public/private school and enrolled with a church school, you are no longer subject to their policies. Please be respectful to school officials but remember that you are only required to submit a Church School Enrollment Form to your local city or county Board of Education Superintendent and NOT to the school from which you have withdrawn.

If a truancy or attendance officer comes to your door asking about your child's enrollment:

(Please note: If you have turned in your paperwork, this should not be a concern for you. The BOE has better things to do than to chase down homeschoolers.)

1. Always ask for identification. Make sure you are familiar with Alabama State Law regarding homeschooling (church schooling) in Alabama.
   
2. Inform them that you are legally enrolled with a church school and have filed your Church School Enrollment Form with the Board of Education.
   
3. If persistent, show them a copy of your CSEF. There is no law allowing them to ask for anything other than the CSEF. Request all other inquiries be sent to you in writing.
4. If the Board of Education has lost your copy, offer to mail or fax a new copy to them.

Please keep your CSEF in a safe place.

National Home Education Legal Defense

“NHELD is an acronym for National Home Education Legal Defense, a national organization open to all who wish to join, that seeks to protect and defend the rights of families who wish to educate in freedom.”

HSLDA

Home School Legal Defense Association is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed.

Rutherford Institute

“Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.”

Association of HomeSchool Attorneys

“AHSA is an informal network of attorneys and legal experts in the United States supporting homeschooling and homeschoolers by providing legal information about homeschooling issues, empowering homeschoolers to have the legal tools they need to meet homeschooling challenges, and providing a network of attorneys for legal representation.”

National Home Education Network

“The National Home Education Network exists to encourage and facilitate the vital grassroots work of state and local homeschooling organizations and individuals by providing information, fostering networking and promoting public relations on a national level. Because we believe there is strength in a diverse network of homeschoolers, we support the freedom of all individual families to choose home education and to direct such education.”

Alabama State Law

• Article 1 General Provisions.
  • Section 16-28-1 Definitions.
  • Section 16-28-2 Purposes of article.
  • Section 16-28-2.1 Adoption of standards for mandatory attendance policy; parents held accountable; enforcement.
  • Section 16-28-2.2 Establishment of program by local boards to inform parents of educational responsibilities.
  • Section 16-28-3 Ages of children required to attend school; church school students exempt from operation of this section.
  • Section 16-28-4 Minimum age at which child may enter.
  • Section 16-28-5 Private tutor.
  • Section 16-28-6 Children exempt from attending public school.
  • Section 16-28-7 Report of enrollment.
  • Section 16-28-8 Reports required must be furnished.
  • Section 16-28-9 List of children who should attend school — Required.
  • Section 16-28-10 List of children who should attend school — How lists prepared.
  • Section 16-28-11 Enrollment report and list of potential students compared.
  • Section 16-28-12 Person in loco parentis responsible for child's school attendance and behavior; noncompliance; local boards to promulgate written behavior policy, contents, annual distribution, receipt to be documented; school officials required to report noncompliance; failure to report suspected violation; district attorneys vigorously to enforce provisions.
  • Section 16-28-13 Burden of proof on person in loco parentis.
  • Section 16-28-14 Habitual truant.
  • Section 16-28-15 Absence must be explained.
  • Section 16-28-16 Cases of nonenrollment and nonattendance; withdrawal of enrollment.
  • Section 16-28-17 When child may be taken into custody.
  • Section 16-28-18 Record kept by attendance officer.
  • Section 16-28-19 Attendance districts.
  • Section 16-28-20 Compensation of attendance officers.
  • Section 16-28-21 Juvenile court jurisdiction.
  • Section 16-28-22 Prosecutions.
  • Section 16-28-23 Attendance register and rules and regulations as evidence.
  • Section 16-28-24 Church schools may waive exemptions specified in this article.
• Article 2 Conditioning of Driving Privileges upon School Attendance.
  • Section 16-28-40 License applicant under 19 to provide documentation of school enrollment, etc.; denial of application if requiste status not shown; role of school attendance official; effect of withdrawal from school; effect of conviction for certain pistol offenses on driving privileges.
  • Section 16-28-41 Written guidelines to be provided.
  • Section 16-28-42 Adoption of regulations.
  • Section 16-28-43 Article not to deny rights of exceptional children.
  • Section 16-28-44 Article not to deny constitutional rights of children.
  • Section 16-28-45 Construction with other attendance and vehicle laws.

This information has been provided courtesy of: