This is an important question for new home schoolers. Home schooling is legal in all 50 states, but each state has their own laws that must be followed. I won't take them time here to go over all the different states' laws. If you need to learn about your state's law, check out HSLDA's website here: Home School Legal Defense Association You'll find a US map. Just click on your state and you will find the information you need.
It is important that we home schoolers maintain a good reputation. People that don't support home schooling are just looking for reasons to prove themselves right. We need to be careful to follow the laws of our state. We need to “dot the i's” and “cross the t's”. If you don't approve of a law, the best way to deal with it is to get involved in the legal process and change it. In the meantime, while you are working on changing the law, it's important to do your very best to follow the law.
It disturbs me to see people neglecting their children's education. Home schooling is hard work. Anyone wanting to attempt it needs to understand that they are going to be challenged like they never have before. It's not okay to blow school off. It's not okay to leave kids to their own education. Anyone that wants to home school must make a bona fide effort to do it and do it well.
Thankfully, most people who home school take their children's secular as well as spiritual education seriously. Most people who home school do spectacular jobs and work very hard.
I knew that you had a blog on homeschoolblogger but I had never taken the time to read it–I barely have time to do my own blog! So today, when you posted a note on the HomeSchoolers list about a couple of books, I took the time to go to your blog. I have two blogs at homeschoolblogger. My personal one is at homeschoolblogger.com/wswalker310, and the one that I maintain for Missouri is at homeschoolblogger.com/missouri . I do try to keep them up but am not able to do the daily journal kind of thing that so many people enjoy. Anyway, I thought that I would just say hello.