• Charter Schools
  • There are over 100 of these schools in Oregon.
  • Oversight is by the same government entities as public schools.
  • May operate with less stringent requirements then public schools.

Here are state requirement on the topic of homeschooling:

• Notify the local education service district of intent to homeschool within 10 days of start of school year or of withdraw from the district.
• Testing is required at end of grade levels 3,5,8, and 10.
• Test scores must be submitted to the district.
• Athletics: Homeschool students are permitted to participate in public school sports or other interscholastic activities but must submit to academic testing annually.

Religious Exemptions:

The state has no formal laws related to religious exemptions.

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)