State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in Illinois and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Summaries and Explanations of Illinois Homeschooling Laws
Required Record Keeping
Lists records that should be kept by homeschooling parents in Illinois.
How and Where to take Classes
Covers taking classes at community colleges, constitution tests, and part time attendance of pupils enrolled in nonpublic schools in the regular education program of the district.
Illinois Home School Laws
The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in Illinois. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in Illinois.
Driver's Education & the Home-Schooled Student
An examination of the driver's education laws and their effect on homeschoolers in Illinois.
Illinois Statutes Pertaining to Home Education
Illinois Statute 820 ILCS 205, Section 11 Child Labor Law
Regulates the employment of workers under the age of 16. Addresses the use of employment certificates.
Home School Laws from HSLDA
Find the laws pertaining to home education for all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Illinois Statute 105 ILCS 5/Article 27
This statute details required courses of study, including language arts, biological and physical science, mathematics, social sciences, fine arts, health and physical development.
Public Act 093-0858
Regulations concerning education of students by parents.
Public Act 093-0859
Record keeping is discussed in this statute.
Illinois Statute 105 ILCS 5/ Article 26. Pupils--Compulsory Attendance
Statute regulating compulsory attendance, including ages of students, and regulations concerning private schools.
Case Law and Legal Opinions
People vs. Levisen
In People vs. Levisen, (1950), The Supreme Court of Illinois reversed the conviction of homeschool parents. The appellants were Seventh Day Adventists and, according to Justice Crampton who delivered the opinion of the Court, "believed that the child should not be educated in competition with other children. The Supreme Court did not agree that the homeschool parents had violated the compulsory attendance law. Further, the Court defined a private school as: "a place where instruction is imparted to the young... the number of persons being taught does not determine whether a place is a school." These findings indicate that the parents' right to control their children includes the right to provide an education for them at home.
Pierce v. Society of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
In Pierce v. Society of the Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments of this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the creature of the state."
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Featured Resources
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Handbook of Nature Study
A matchless handbook for decades, this classic work has been the natural history bible for countless teachers and others who seek information about their environment. Written originally for those elementary school teachers who knew little of common plants and animals, and even less about the earth beneath their feet and the skies overhead, this book is for the most part as valid and helpful today as it was when first written in 1911―and revised in the spirit of its authors by a group of naturali...
A Catholic Homeschool Treasury: Nurturing Children's Love for Learning
This book reviews different approaches to learning and different homeschooling methods. Read parents' perspectives and learn more about homeschooling issues.
Flip Over Math Manipulatives
Grades 1-5. Tub of over 500 manipulatives includes Pattern Blocks, Connecting People, Cuisenaire Rods, Coins, and Bean Counters and can be used with the Flip Over Math Books. This 49 page book (others sold separately) is written to NCTM Standards and provide hands on activities from basic math skills to advanced problem solving.
The Living Page: Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason
Charlotte Mason believed that children need to be trained to see, to have their eyes opened, in order to find joy in life. This work explains the value of using the method of writing in journals or notebooks, as derived from the expansive work of Charlotte Mason. You'll find tips to help your children practice putting their knowledge, thoughts, and pictures down on paper, helping them to retain information better, create something beautiful, and strive for retention.
Pattern Blocks and Boards
This set of 10 simply designed colorful wooden blocks and pattern boards includes 100 blocks in six different shapes and colors. They help develop shape recognition and spatial relationship skills. The contents store neatly in a durable wooden case. This games was awarded the Scholastic Parent & Child's 2004 "Top 22 Toys that Make Kids Think" award.