Legal Liaisons

Note: this page is a work in progress.  Stay tuned as it rapidly develops.

CT Homeschool Group Coordinators, interested homeschool parents and Legal Liaisons
Legal Matters & CT Homeschooling

CT Homeschool Network (CHN) and National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD) have compiled this resource list that we are sharing with groups.  As we know, the freedom from government oversight is a model of home education that we have collectively fought long and hard to sustain through the decades.  We want to do our best to assure that we have done our part in outreach efforts to share accurate legal information with others in the community. With that in mind, we suggest that you share this Legal Matters Resource List with your contacts.  Together, we can enjoy our field trips, co-op meetings, park days, and other activities, while making sure to inform and empower the parents in the homeschool community as well as prospective homeschoolers who are seeking information.

Homeschool leaders are the backbone of the Connecticut homeschool community.  They do the work of outreach, planning events, having a platform for others in the community to share their events, and encompass many opportunities for families to enjoy both socialization opportunities as well as academic ones.  Many thanks for their volunteer hours. CHN and NHELD are looking to work with homeschool parents who have some volunteer time available, and who are interested in becoming a legal liaison, collaborating with CHN, NHELD and the homeschool community.  You don’t have to have your own homeschool group to do so.

CHN and NHELD are building this resource page just for you, the homeschool leaders of the state. We encourage you to become familiar with the content shared here, and especially to share it with your groups.  As we all know, CT homeschoolers have one of the best conditions for home education in the country.  While most states do not require much in the form of regulation, many states require no governmental oversight and parents are free to customize their child’s homeschool experience to meet their unique needs and preferences. Our strength is in our communication and understanding of what our rights are.  This is a very important area where you, as a leader, can further help CT home educators.  Interested?  Email CHNboard@outlook.com and let’s talk.

This page will be further expanded soon.

The Letter of Withdrawal (LOW)
We encourage leaders to share this page with their group. It is a sample template with specific language chosen by attorney Stevenson. It is “effective immediately” upon delivery.  Please read and share.

The Notice of Intent (NOI)
The NOI is a Suggested Procedure for Home Instruction – a policy document and nothing more. This document also includes mention of an end-of-year portfolio review.  It is important for parents to know it is fully their choice to file this document or not – most do not. Please read and share. 

Important Articles for CT Home Educators and Homeschool Leaders
You are important to helping the CT homeschool community to understand and share accurate home education information on relevant topics. Please refer to the following articles and statutes which we encourage you to share. 

Coming Soon:  The History of Home Education in Connecticut

Coming Soon:  The Importance of Your Freedom to Instruct Your Child

CT STATUTES – Know Your Legal Rights

CT General Statute 
Sec. 10-184. Duties of parents. School attendance age requirements. All parents and those who have the care of children shall bring them up in some lawful and honest employment and instruct them or cause them to be instructed in reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, geography, arithmetic and United States history and in citizenship, including a study of the town, state and federal governments. Subject to the provisions of this section and section 10-15c, each parent or other person having control of a child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age shall cause such child to attend a public school regularly during the hours and terms the public school in the district in which such child resides is in session, unless such child is a high school graduate or the parent or person having control of such child is able to show that the child is elsewhere receiving equivalent instruction in the studies taught in the public schools. For the school years commencing July 1, 2011, to July 1, 2022, inclusive, the parent or person having control of a child seventeen years of age may consent, as provided in this section, to such child’s withdrawal from school. For the school year commencing July 1, 2023, and each school year thereafter, a student who is eighteen years of age or older may withdraw from school. Such parent, person or student shall personally appear at the school district office and sign a withdrawal form. Such withdrawal form shall include an attestation from a guidance counselor, school counselor or school administrator of the school that such school district has provided such parent, person or student with information on the educational options available in the school system and in the community. The parent or person having control of a child seventeen years of age may withdraw such child from school and enroll such child in an adult education program pursuant to section 10-69. Such parent or person shall personally appear at the school district office and sign an adult education withdrawal and enrollment form. Such adult education withdrawal and enrollment form shall include an attestation (1) from a school counselor or school administrator of the school that such school district has provided such parent or person with information on the educational options available in the school system and in the community, and (2) from such parent or person that such child will be enrolled in an adult education program upon such child’s withdrawal from school. The parent or person having control of a child five years of age shall have the option of not sending the child to school until the child is six years of age and the parent or person having control of a child six years of age shall have the option of not sending the child to school until the child is seven years of age. The parent or person shall exercise such option by personally appearing at the school district office and signing an option form. The school district shall provide the parent or person with information on the educational opportunities available in the school system.

Truancy Statute
10-198a
Sec. 10-198a. Policies and procedures concerning truants. (a) For purposes of this section and sections 10-198c and 10-220, “truant” means a child age five to eighteen, inclusive, who is enrolled in a public or private school and has four unexcused absences from school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from school in any school year.

Right to Refuse Special Education
Sec. 10-184a. Special education programs or services for children educated in a home or private school. (a) The provisions of sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, shall not be construed to require any local, regional or state board of education to provide special education programs or services for any child whose parent or guardian has chosen to educate such child in a home or private school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184 and who refuses to consent to such programs or services.

Statute 10-184b
The Commissioner of Education
Special education programs or services for children educated in a home or private school. Sec. 10-184b. Waiver provisions not applicable to equivalent instruction authority of parents.

Statute 10-220
Sec. 10-220. Duties of boards of education. (a) Each local or regional board of education shall maintain good public elementary and secondary schools, implement the educational interests of the state, as defined in section 10-4a, and provide such other educational activities as in its judgment will best serve the interests of the school district; provided any board of education may secure such opportunities in another school district in accordance with provisions of the general statutes and shall give all the children of the school district, including children receiving alternative education, as defined in section 10-74j, as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable; shall provide an appropriate learning environment for all its students which includes (1) adequate instructional books, supplies, materials, equipment, staffing, facilities and technology, (2) equitable allocation of resources among its schools, (3) proper maintenance of facilities, and (4) a safe school setting; shall, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (f) of this section, maintain records of allegations, investigations and reports that a child has been abused or neglected by a school employee, as defined in section 53a-65, employed by the local or regional board of education; shall have charge of the schools of its respective school district; shall make a continuing study of the need for school facilities and of a long-term school building program and from time to time make recommendations based on such study to the town; shall adopt and implement an indoor air quality program that provides for ongoing maintenance and facility reviews necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the indoor air quality of its facilities; shall adopt and implement a green cleaning program, pursuant to section 10-231g, that provides for the procurement and use of environmentally preferable cleaning products in school buildings and facilities; on and after July 1, 2021, and every five years thereafter, shall report to the Commissioner of Administrative Services on the condition of its facilities and the action taken to implement its long-term school building program, indoor air quality program and green cleaning program, which report the Commissioner of Administrative Services shall use to prepare a report every five years that said commissioner shall submit in accordance with section 11-4a to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education; shall advise the Commissioner of Administrative Services of the relationship between any individual school building project pursuant to chapter 173 and such long-term school building program; shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, lands, apparatus and other property used for school purposes and at all times shall insure all such buildings and all capital equipment contained therein against loss in an amount not less than eighty per cent of replacement cost; shall determine the number, age and qualifications of the pupils to be admitted into each school; shall develop and implement a written plan for minority educator recruitment for purposes of subdivision (3) of section 10-4a; shall employ and dismiss the teachers of the schools of such district subject to the provisions of sections 10-151 and 10-158a; shall designate the schools which shall be attended by the various children within the school district; shall make such provisions as will enable each child of school age residing in the district to attend some public day school for the period required by law and provide for the transportation of children wherever transportation is reasonable and desirable, and for such purpose may make contracts covering periods of not more than (A) five years, or (B) ten years if such contract includes transportation provided by at least one zero-emission school bus, as defined in 42 USC 16091(a)(8), as amended from time to time; may provide alternative education, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-74j, or place in another suitable educational program a pupil enrolling in school who is nineteen years of age or older and cannot acquire a sufficient number of credits for graduation by age twenty-one; may arrange with the board of education of an adjacent town for the instruction therein of such children as can attend school in such adjacent town more conveniently; shall cause each child five years of age and over and under eighteen years of age who is not a high school graduate and is living in the school district to attend school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184, and shall perform all acts required of it by the town or necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties imposed by law.

The Coercion Statute
Section 53a-192

In Connecticut, coercion is addressed under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-192. Here are the key points:

  1. Definition: Coercion occurs when a person compels or induces another individual to engage in conduct that they have a legal right to abstain from or to refrain from engaging in conduct that they have a legal right to perform. This compulsion is achieved by instilling fear in the other person. The fear is related to the following potential actions:
    • Committing a criminal offense.
    • Accusing any person of a criminal offense.
    • Exposing a secret that could subject someone to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or harm their credit or business reputation.
    • Taking or withholding official action1.
  2. Affirmative Defense: If the coercion is based on accusations, secrets, or proposed official actions, the accused can raise an affirmative defense. This defense applies if the actor believed the accusation or secret to be true or the proposed official action justified. Additionally, their purpose was limited to compelling the other person to behave reasonably given the circumstances1.
  3. Penalties: