Legal Issues in Transferring from Home School to Public School

As the number of students educated at home continues to rise, so does the number of potential conflicts between home school families, the state, and the public school system. This article addresses an important facet of that complicated relationship: the legal interaction between North Carolina public school boards and home school families when home school students wish to enter or reenter the public school system. The article first reviews the law governing home schools in North Carolina. It then discusses what the law allows or requires for home school transfers. Finally, in the absence of comprehensive statewide data, it describes the current practices of some North Carolina school boards with regard to home school transfers.