To all of our regular readers: In August of this year, I picked up where others had left off–and started work to include all of the state regulations into our home schooling blog here at families.com. In the interest of another project I’m working on for the first of the year, I have decided to conclude the rest of the year with blogs about home schooling laws in the rest of the states I haven’t covered. So I hope you’ll pardon the “contruction” and keep reading! You will definitely see more Homeschoolers’ Advent ideas, and I know Andrea is working on some great stuff as well!
This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system.
In order to home school in New Mexico, parents must simply do two things. The first is to submit a letter of intent to the state superintendent within 30 days of the beginning of the home school program and by April 1st for each year there after. Parents secondly, must maintain immunization records. (A waiver can be obtained for religious objections.)
Compulsory Age: A child is of compulsory age when he reaches 5 before September 1st and must stay in school until he reaches the “age of majority” unless he has graduated from high school. It should be noted that with the consent of the parents, the superintendent can excuse a child under the age of 8 from compulsory attendance.
Attendance: The same number of days as the public school system.
Required Subjects: Including but not limited to reading, math, science, language arts, and social studies.
Teacher Qualifications: The parent must possess at least a high school diploma.
Standardized Testing: None–On March 15, 2001, New Mexico specifically repealed the law that required testing.
Helpful Resources:
Related Blogs: