The Home School Legal Defense Association provides a brief summary of the homeschooling laws in the District of Columbia. Includes a link to a legal analysis of laws relating to homeschooling in D.C.

The principal or head teacher of each public, independent, private, or parochial school, and each teacher who gives private instruction, shall, in accordance with the rules adopted by the Board pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, report to the Board the name, address, sex, and date of birth of each minor who resides permanently or temporarily in the District who transfers between schools or who enrolls in or withdraws from his or her school.

The Board, or its designee, shall conduct annually, or as frequently as may be found necessary or desirable, a complete census of all minors 3 years of age or more who permanently or temporarily reside in the District. The census record shall be amended from day to day as changes of residence occur among minors within the age group, as other persons come within or leave the age group, and as other persons within the age group become residents of or leave the District. The census record of minors shall give the full name, address, sex, and date of birth of each minor, the school attended by him or her and, if the minor is not at school, the name and address of his or her employer, if any, and the name, address, telephone numbers, if any, and occupation of each parent or guardian.

1. An accurate daily record of the attendance of all minors covered by § 38-202 and this section shall be kept by the teachers of each public, independent, private, or parochial school and by every teacher who gives instruction privately. These records shall be open for inspection at all times by the Board, the Superintendent of Schools, school attendance officers, or other persons authorized to enforce this subchapter.
2. It shall be the duty of each principal, head teacher, or school administrative officer as designated in each public, independent, private, or parochial school, and of each teacher who gives private instruction to report to the Board the school attendance of any minor covered by § 38-202(a) who is enrolled in a school or who is enrolled for private instruction and who is absent from school or instruction for more than 2 full-day sessions or 4 half-day sessions in any school month, along with a statement of the reasons for the absences.
3. The absence of a minor covered by § 38-202(a) without valid excuse shall be unlawful.
4. The parent, guardian, or other person who has custody or control of a minor covered by § 38-202(a) who is absent from school without a valid excuse shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
5. Any person convicted of failure to keep a minor in regular attendance in a public, independent, private, or parochial school, or failure to provide regular private instruction acceptable to the Board may be fined not less than $100 or imprisoned for not more than 5 days, or both for each offense.
6. Each unlawful absence of a minor for 2 full-day sessions or for 4 half-day sessions during a school month shall constitute a separate offense.
7. For the 1st offense, upon payment of costs, the sentence may be suspended and the defendant may be placed on probation.
8. For any person convicted under this section, the courts shall consider requiring the offender to perform community service as an alternative to fine or imprisonment or both.

The Family Division of the Superior Court is hereby given jurisdiction in all cases arising under this subchapter.

Any parent, guardian, custodian, principal, or teacher of a minor who has reached the age of 3 years who willfully neglects or refuses to provide the information required by §§ 38-202 through 38-206, or who knowingly makes any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Find the laws pertaining to home education for all 50 states and U.S. territories.

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."

Listed here are answers to the most commonly asked District of Columbia Public Schools policy questions.