CURRENT GRADE: F
Colorado has no education choice where tax dollars follow the student.
Homeschooling requirements are intrusive and burdensome.
Compulsory attendance is required for students between the ages of 6-17.
Education Options
- Public Schools of Choice
- Allows students to enroll in public schools in Colorado for which they are not zoned.
- Charter Schools
- Authorized by a local school district or Colorado charter School Institute.
- There are 262 charter schools in the state.
Homeschooling Laws
Here are state requirements on the topic of homeschooling:
- A letter of intent to homeschool must be submitted to the local district annually.
- Curriculum must include the subjects of communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular courses of instruction in the constitution of the United States.
- A minimum of 172 days of instruction.
- Records must be kept “on a permanent basis by the parent” including attendance, test and evaluation results and immunization records and must be presented to the district upon request.
- Approved assessments must be conducted in grades 3,5,7,9, and 11.
Religious Exemptions:
- There are no state specific religious exemption laws.
The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Many argue that a religious conviction to provide a home-based education is constitutionally protected and a state religious exemption law is not a requirement to be able to homeschool on religious grounds.
It should be noted that the U.S. Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) established that “Under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, a state law requiring that children attend school past eighth grade violates the parents’ constitutional right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.” (The case involved a challenge of a 16-year-old student to be exempt, so the scope was limited)
