project exposing school board members and school leaders focused on indoctrinating children rather than educating them.CURRENT GRADE: F
There is no school choice in the state and private schools must have approval to operate.
Homeschooling requirements are very burdensome with government intrusion.
Compulsory attendance is required for ages 6-16.
Education Options
- Charter Schools
- Authorized by the state and overseen by the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education.
- 36 charter schools in the state.
- Private Schools
- Must be approved by the Rhode Island Board of Education.
- Must meet certain state standards.
- Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations
- Tax credits may be given for donations for approved scholarship organizations.
Homeschooling Laws
Here are state requirements on the topic of homeschooling:
- Must present an at-home instruction plan for approval to local school district that must include:
- Period of attendance “substantially equal to that required by public schools”.
- Attendance records must be kept and provided to the local school district.
- Reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, the history of the United States, the history of Rhode Island, and the principles of American government must be taught to the same extent as public schools.
- The teaching of the English language and other subjects listed above “shall be thorough and efficient.”
- Textbooks must be loaned free of charge by public school district.
- The parent and school committee should agree on a way of evaluating your child’s progress in all the required at-home instruction subjects.
- Local districts determine if extra-curricular activities will be permitted for homeschoolers.
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)
