Mississippi Home School Laws
NOTE: The following is an excerpt from the Mississippi Code
available through the website of Mississippi Secretary of State
http://www.lexislawpublishing.com/sdCGI-BIN/om_isapi.dll?clientID=49&infobase=mscode.NFO&softpage=doc_frame_pg
http://www.sos.state.ms.us
§ 37-13-91. Compulsory school attendance requirements generally;
enforcement of law.
(3) A parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age
child in this state shall cause the child to
enroll in and attend a public school or legitimate nonpublic school
for the period of time that the child is
of compulsory school age, except under the following circumstances:
(c) When a compulsory-school-age child is being educated in a legitimate
home instruction program.
The parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child described
in this subsection, or the
parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child attending
any nonpublic school, or the
appropriate school official for any or all children attending a nonpublic
school shall complete a
"certificate of enrollment" in order to facilitate the administration
of this section.
The form of the certificate of enrollment shall be prepared by the Office
of Compulsory School
Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education and shall
be designed to obtain the
following information only:
(i) The name, address, telephone number and date of birth of the compulsory-school-age
child;
(ii) The name, address and telephone number of the parent, guardian
or custodian of the
compulsory-school-age child;
(iii) A simple description of the type of education the compulsory-school-age
child is receiving and, if the
child is enrolled in a nonpublic school, the name and address of the
school; and
(iv) The signature of the parent, guardian or custodian of the compulsory-school-age
child or, for any or
all compulsory-school-age child or children attending a nonpublic school,
the signature of the appropriate
school official and the date signed.
The certificate of enrollment shall be returned to the school attendance
officer where the child resides on
or before September 15 of each year. Any parent, guardian or custodian
found by the school attendance
officer to be in noncompliance with this section shall comply, after
written notice of the noncompliance by
the school attendance officer, with this subsection within ten (10)
days after the notice or be in violation of
this section. However, in the event the child has been enrolled in
a public school within fifteen (15)
calendar days after the first day of the school year as required in
subsection (6), the parent or custodian
may at a later date enroll the child in a legitimate nonpublic school
or legitimate home instruction program
and send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer
and be in compliance with this
subsection.
For the purposes of this subsection, a legitimate nonpublic school or
legitimate home instruction program
shall be those not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding
or circumventing the compulsory
attendance law.
(9) Notwithstanding any provision or implication herein to the
contrary, it is not the intention of this
section to impair the primary right and the obligation of the parent
or parents, or person or persons in loco
parentis to a child, to choose the proper education and training for
such child, and nothing in this section
shall ever be construed to grant, by implication or otherwise, to the
State of Mississippi, any of its
officers, agencies or subdivisions any right or authority to control,
manage, supervise or make any
suggestion as to the control, management or supervision of any private
or parochial school or institution
for the education or training of children, of any kind whatsoever that
is not a public school according to
the laws of this state; and this section shall never be construed so
as to grant, by implication or otherwise,
any right or authority to any state agency or other entity to control,
manage, supervise, provide for or affect
the operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy or
discipline of any such school or
home instruction program.
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