Homeschooling in the United States is often viewed as a recent phenomena, yet it is actually the root of our country's educational experience. In fact, legislating education can be considered the more novel approach, with states only starting to be interested in the subject in the late 1800s. Homeschooling was once the norm, became an outlaw effort, and is now approaching normalcy again. It is a fascinating legal history that has involved many, many lawsuits against paternalistic state governments over the years. Here are the highlights.

Before 1850, Homeschooling was the status quo in these young United States. But, in 1852 everything began to change when Massachusetts passed the first compulsory attendance law, requiring children of certain ages to attend school. A typical pattern followed by states was to pass laws requiring the financial support of public schools, followed closely by compulsory education and compulsory attendance laws.

Gradually, states attempted to consolidate their power over the education of children, even attempting to force religious schools to close so that the children would be compelled to attend public schools. In 1920s, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in deciding in a dispute between a Roman Catholic school and its state that government could not force the standardized children through education (Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), 268 U.S. 510). In so deciding, the Court laid the foundation for a constitutional right to homeschool.

Still, states continued the paternalistic approach by strengthening compulsory education laws and prosecuting parents who did not send their children to publicly-sanctioned schools. In 1972, the U.S Supreme Court once again stepped in and decided a case in which the State of Wisconsin imprisoned Amish parents for homeschooling their children. The Court's decisions strengthened the right to teach one's own children and paved the way for an explosion in private religious schooling.

States were forced to revise their educational laws to provide for private education in the homes, churches, and small, private schools that were springing up. However, the 1980s, the federal government changed tax regulations that had benefited Christian schools, forcing many to close. Many, many parents were forced to find alternatives for their school-aged children, and public schools were not a popular choice. Teaching at home was one of the only viable alternatives for these parents and homeschooling

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