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Parents in New York are governed by the state's education laws. These laws cover such things as the ages
during which a child is required to attend instruction, how much instruction is required, and what subjects
must be taught. Here are some sections of state education law that are relevant to home educators.
Please note that this page contains only selected portions of education law. To see all of New York
State's laws, including all of the education laws, please visit the state's
Laws of New York page.
Table of Contents
Article 65, Part 1: Compulsory education
Section 3204: Instruction required
Section 3205: Attendance of minors upon full time day instruction
Section 3210: Amount and character of required attendance
Section 3211: Records of attendance upon instruction
Section 3212: Definition of persons in parental relation and their duties; duties of certain other persons
Article 17: Instruction in certain subjects
Section 801: Courses of instruction in patriotism and citizenship and in certain historic documents
Section 804: Health education regarding alcohol, drugs,tobacco abuse and the prevention and detection of certain cancers
Section 806: Courses of instruction in highway safety and traffic regulation; school safety patrols
Section 808: Instruction in fire and arson prevention
Article 65, Part 2: School census
Section 3240: School census in the cities of New York, Buffalo and Rochester
Section 3241: School census in cities, except in cities having a population of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more
Section 3242: School census in school districts
Section 3243: Penalty for withholding information
Article 65, Part 1: Compulsory Education
Section 3204: Instruction required
1. Place of instruction.
A minor
required to attend upon instruction by the provisions of part one of
this article may attend at a public school or elsewhere. The
requirements of this section shall apply to such a minor, irrespective
of the place of instruction.
2. Quality and language of instruction; text-books.
Instruction may be
given only by a competent teacher. In the teaching of the subjects of
instruction prescribed by this section, English shall be the language of
instruction, and text-books used shall be written in English, except
that for a period of three years, which period may be extended by the
commissioner with respect to individual pupils, upon application
therefor by the appropriate school authorities, to a period not in
excess of six years, from the date of enrollment in school, pupils who,
by reason of foreign birth or ancestry have limited English proficiency,
shall be provided with instructional programs as specified in
subdivision two-a of this section and the regulations of the
commissioner. The purpose of providing such pupils with instruction
shall be to enable them to develop academically while achieving
competence in the English language. Instruction given to a minor
elsewhere than at a public school shall be at least substantially
equivalent to the instruction given to minors of like age and
attainments at the public schools of the city or district where the
minor resides.
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3. Courses of study.
a. (1) The course of study for the first eight
years of full time public day schools shall provide for instruction in
at least the twelve common school branches of arithmetic, reading,
spelling, writing, the English language, geography, United States
history, civics, hygiene, physical training, the history of New York
state and science.
(2) The courses of study and of specialized training beyond the first
eight years of full time public day schools shall provide for
instruction in at least the English language and its use, in civics,
hygiene, physical training, and American history including the
principles of government proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence
and established by the constitution of the United States.
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Section 3205: Attendance of minors upon full time day instruction
1. a. In
each school district of the state, each minor from six to sixteen years
of age shall attend upon full time instruction.
b. Each minor from six to sixteen years of age on an Indian
reservation shall attend upon full time day instruction.
c. For purposes of this article, a minor who becomes six years of age
on or before the first of December in any school year shall be required
to attend upon full time instruction from the first day that the
appropriate public schools are in session in September of such school
year, and a minor who becomes six years of age after the first of
December in any school year shall be required to attend upon full time
instruction from the first day of session in the following September;
and, except as otherwise provided in subdivision three of this section,
shall be required to remain in attendance until the last day of session
in the school year in which the minor becomes sixteen years of age.
2. Exceptions.
a. A minor who has completed a four-year high school
course of study shall not be subject to the provisions of part one of
this article in respect to required attendance upon instruction.
b. A minor for whom application for a full-time employment certificate
has been made and who is eligible therefor may, though unemployed, be
permitted to attend part time school not less than twenty hours per week
instead of full time school.
c. The board of education of the Syracuse city school district and
the board of education of the city school district of the city of
Rochester are hereby authorized to require minors who are five years of
age on or before December first to attend kindergarten instruction.
However, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to:
(i) Minors whose parents elect not to enroll their children in school
until the following September.
(ii) Students enrolled in non-public schools or in home instruction.
3. In each school district, the board of education shall have power to
require minors from sixteen to seventeen years of age who are not
employed to attend upon full time day instruction until the last day of
session in the school year in which the student becomes seventeen years
of age.
Section 3210: Amount and character of required attendance
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2. Attendance elsewhere than at a public school.
a. Hours of attendance.
If a minor included by the provisions of part one of this
article attends upon instruction elsewhere than at a public school, he
shall attend for at least as many hours, and within the hours specified
therefor.
b. Absence.
Absence from required attendance shall be permitted only
for causes allowed by the general rules and practices of the public
schools. Absence for religious observance and education shall be
permitted under rules that the commissioner shall establish.
c. Holidays and vacations.
Holidays and vacations shall not exceed in
total amount and number those allowed by the public schools.
d. Exception.
In applying the foregoing requirements a minor required
to attend upon full time day instruction by the provisions of part one
of this article may be permitted to attend for a shorter school day or
for a shorter school year or for both, provided, in accordance with the
regulations of the state education department, the instruction he
receives has been approved by the school authorities as being
substantially equivalent in amount and quality to that required by the
provisions of part one of this article.
Section 3211: Records of attendance upon instruction
1. Who shall keep such record.
The teacher of every minor required by the provisions of
part one of this article to attend upon instruction, or any other school
district employee as may be designated by the commissioner of education
under section three thousand twenty-four of this chapter, shall keep an
accurate record of the attendance and absence of such minor. Such record
shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the commissioner of
education.
2. Certificates of attendance to be presumptive evidence.
A duly
certified transcript of the record of attendance and absence of a child
which has been kept, as provided in this section, shall be accepted as
presumptive evidence of the attendance of such child in any proceeding
brought under the provisions of part one of this article.
3. Inspection of records of attendance.
An attendance officer, or any
other duly authorized representative of the school authorities, may at
any time during school hours, demand the production of the records of
attendance of minors required to be kept by the provisions of part one
of this article, and may inspect or copy the same and make all proper
inquiries of a teacher or principal concerning the records and the
attendance of such minors.
4. Duties of principal or person in charge of the instruction of a
minor.
The principal of a school, or other person in charge of the
instruction upon which a minor attends, as provided by part one of this
article, shall cause the record of his attendance to be kept and
produced and all appropriate inquiries in relation thereto answered as
hereinbefore required. He shall give prompt notification in writing to
the school authorities of the city or district of the discharge or
transfer of any such minor from attendance upon instruction, stating the
date of the discharge, its cause, the name of the minor, his date of
birth, his place of residence prior to and following discharge, if such
place of residence be known, and the name of the person in parental
relation to the minor.
Section 3212: Definition of persons in parental relation and their duties;
duties of certain other persons
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2. Duties of persons in parental relation.
Every person in parental
relation to another individual included by the provisions of part one of
this article:
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b. Shall cause such individual to attend upon instruction as
hereinbefore required, and to comply with the provisions of part one of
this article with respect to the employment or occupation of minors in
any business or service whatever.
c. Shall cause such individual to be placed in proper physical
condition to attend upon required instruction, if his physical condition
is remediable by the taking of reasonable measures.
d. Shall furnish proof that an individual who is not attending upon
instruction at a public or parochial school in the city or district
where the person in parental relation resides is attending upon required
instruction elsewhere. Failure to furnish such proof shall be
presumptive evidence that such individual is not attending.
e. Shall furnish, with respect to an individual from seventeen to
twenty-one years of age, on demand of a duly authorized representative
of the school authorities, satisfactory proof that he is able to speak,
read and write English as required for the completion of the fifth year
of the elementary school course of study, or cause such individual to
submit to an examination to determine his ability in these respects.
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Article 17: Instruction in Certain Subjects
Section 801: Courses of instruction in patriotism and citizenship and in certain historic documents
1. In order to promote a spirit of patriotic
and civic service and obligation and to foster in the children of the
state moral and intellectual qualities which are essential in preparing
to meet the obligations of citizenship in peace or in war, the regents
of The University of the State of New York shall prescribe courses of
instruction in patriotism, citizenship, and human rights issues, with
particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery
(including the freedom trail and underground railroad), the Holocaust,
and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to 1850, to be maintained
and followed in all the schools of the state. The boards of education
and trustees of the several cities and school districts of the state
shall require instruction to be given in such courses, by the teachers
employed in the schools therein. All pupils attending such schools, over
the age of eight years, shall attend upon such instruction.
Similar courses of instruction shall be prescribed and maintained in
private schools in the state, and all pupils in such schools over eight
years of age shall attend upon such courses. If such courses are not so
established and maintained in a private school, attendance upon
instruction in such school shall not be deemed substantially equivalent
to instruction given to pupils of like age in the public schools of the
city or district in which such pupils reside.
2. The regents shall prescribe courses of instruction in the history,
meaning, significance and effect of the provisions of the constitution
of the United States, the amendments thereto, the declaration of
independence, the constitution of the state of New York and the
amendments thereto, to be maintained and followed in all of the schools
of the state. The boards of education and trustees of the several cities
and school districts of the state shall require instruction to be given
in such courses, by the teachers employed in the schools therein. All
pupils attending such schools, in the eighth and higher grades, shall
attend upon such instruction.
Similar courses of instruction shall be prescribed and maintained in
private schools in the state, and all pupils in such schools in grades
or classes corresponding to the instruction in the eighth and higher
grades of the public schools shall attend upon such courses. If such
courses are not so established and maintained in a private school,
attendance upon instruction in such school shall not be deemed
substantially equivalent to instruction given to pupils in the public
schools of the city or district in which such pupils reside.
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Section 804: Health education regarding alcohol, drugs, tobacco abuse and
the prevention and detection of certain cancers
1. All schools shall
include, as an integral part of health education, instruction so as to
discourage the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and
promote attitudes and behavior that enhance health, well being, and
human dignity.
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Section 806: Courses of instruction in highway safety and traffic
regulation; school safety patrols
1. The regents of The University of
the State of New York shall prescribe courses of instruction in highway
safety and traffic regulation which shall include bicycle safety, to be
maintained and followed in all the schools of the state. The boards of
education and trustees of the several cities and school districts of the
state shall require instruction to be given in such courses, by the
teachers employed in the schools therein. All pupils attending such
schools shall attend upon such instruction.
Similar courses of instruction shall be prescribed and maintained in
private schools in the state, and all pupils in such schools shall
attend upon such courses. If such courses are not so established and
maintained in a private school, attendance upon instruction in such
school shall not be deemed substantially equivalent to instruction given
to pupils of like grade in the public schools in the city or district in
which such pupils reside.
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Section 808: Instruction in fire and arson prevention
1. The commissioner
is hereby directed to provide and prescribe a course of instruction in
fire and arson prevention, injury prevention and life safety education
relating to the protection against injury or death and protection of
property against loss or damage as a result of criminally initiated or
other preventable fire, for use in the schools of the state, as
prescribed by this section. Such course of instruction shall include
materials to educate children on the dangers of falsely reporting a
criminal incident, an impending explosion or fire emergency involving
danger to life or property, an impending catastrophe, or a life safety
emergency.
2. The board of education, trustees, principal or other person in
charge of every public, private and parochial school in the state shall
arrange for giving such course of instruction in every school under its
or his control or direction. Such instruction shall be given to all of
the pupils in every such school for a period of not less than forty-five
minutes in each month during which such school is in session.
Article 65, Part 2: School Census
Section 3240: School census in the cities of New York, Buffalo and Rochester
In the cities of New York, Buffalo and Rochester provision
shall be made by the board of education for taking a school census in
connection with the work of enforcing part one of this article.
Section 3241: School census in cities, except in cities having a population
of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more
1. The board of education
of each city, except in cities having a population of one hundred
twenty-five thousand or more, shall constitute a permanent census board
in such city. Such board shall, under its regulations, cause a census of
the children in its city to be taken and to be amended from day to day,
as changes of residence shall occur among persons in such cities within
the ages prescribed in subdivision two of this section and as other
persons shall come within the ages prescribed therein and as other
persons within such ages shall become residents of such cities, so that
there shall always be on file with such board a complete census giving
the facts and information required in subdivision two of this section;
provided, however, that for pre-school students from birth to five years
of age, such census may be prepared and filed biennially on or before
the fifteenth day of October.
2. Such census shall include all persons between birth and eighteen
years of age and in the case of physically or mentally handicapped
children between birth and twenty-one years of age, their names, their
respective residences by street and number, the day of the month and the
year of their birth, the names of the persons in parental relation to
them, such information relating to physical or mental defects, to
illiteracy, to employment and to the enforcement of the law relating to
child labor and compulsory education as the education department and the
board of education of each such city shall require and also such further
information as such board of education shall require.
3. Such board shall provide to the commissioner of education upon
written request therefor and in such form as shall be prescribed by him,
a report containing the names, ages and addresses of those children who
are blind or deaf and those having serious physical or mental defects.
In addition such report shall indicate whether such children are being
educated within the public schools of the district or, if they are not,
where such education is being furnished them.
4. It shall be the duty of persons in parental relation to any person
between such ages residing within the limits of any such city to make
such reports as the board of education of such city shall require. Such
reports shall contain the following information:
a. Two weeks before any child shall become of the compulsory school
age, the name of such child, its residence, the name of the person or
persons in parental relation thereto, and the name and location of the
school to which such child shall have been or shall be sent as a pupil.
b. In case a child of compulsory school age shall, for any cause, be
removed from one school and sent to another school, or sent to work in
accordance with the labor law, all the facts in relation thereto.
c. In case the residence of a child shall be removed from one police
precinct to another police precinct, the new residence and the other
facts required in paragraphs a and b of this subdivision.
d. In case a child between birth and eighteen years of age shall
become a resident of such city for the first time, the name, residence
and such other facts as the board of education shall require.
Section 3242: School census in school districts
The trustees or board of
education of every school district may cause a census to be taken of all
children between birth and eighteen years of age, including all such
facts and information as are required in the census provided for in
section thirty-two hundred forty-one of this chapter. Such census shall
be prepared annually for children between ages five and eighteen who are
entitled to attend the public schools without payment of tuition in
duplicate in their respective school districts, and one copy thereof
filed with the teacher or principal and the other copy filed with the
district superintendent or superintendent on or before the fifteenth day
of October. For pre-school students from birth to five years of age,
such census may be prepared and filed biennially on or before the
fifteenth day of October. Such census shall include the reports and
information required from cities as provided in section thirty-two
hundred forty-one. All information regarding a student with a disability
under the age of twenty-one years shall be filed annually with the
superintendent of the board of cooperative educational services of which
said district may be a part.
Section 3243: Penalty for withholding information
A parent, guardian or
other person having under his control or charge a child between birth
and eighteen years of age who withholds or refuses to give information
in his possession relating to such child and required under part two of
this article, or any such parent, guardian or other person who gives
false information in relation thereto, shall be liable to and punished
by a fine not exceeding twenty dollars or by imprisonment not exceeding
thirty days.
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