Montana Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a growing movement nationally and has become a choice for many parents in Montana. Although Montana is not a difficult state in which to home educate, it is important to understand the laws regulating homeschooling in Montana. Learn about these laws, along with information on different methods of homeschooling, support groups, local and state events, and much, much more.

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Billings Homeschool Network
The Billings Homeschool Network is an all inclusive homeschooling group, open to all, regardless of age, color, creed, ethnic background, family composition, financial condition, gender, learning disabilities, race, religion or lack thereof, sexual preference, or special educational needs. Families in the group live in the Billings, Montana area and in surrounding areas.
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is a Bear and Wolf Preserve, located in West Yellowstone, Montana just a block away from the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The Center offers an up close view of live grizzly bears and a pack of gray wolves.
Nez Perce National Historical Park
The 38 sites of Nez Perce National Historical Park are scattered across the states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana and have been designated to commemorate the stories and history of the Nimiipuu and their interaction with explorers, fur traders, missionaries, soldiers, settlers, gold miners, and farmers who moved through or into the area.
Montana Coalition of Home Educators
The Montana Coalition of Home Educators came together in 1988 as a cooperative effort of many individuals, organizations, and support groups in the state. The goal was to bring homeschoolers together to protect Montana's home school freedom while maintaining the independence and autonomy of the individual families and the existing local and state organizations. To accomplish this goal, a loose network of these groups, individuals and organizations was formed. An executive committee was selected ...
Great Falls Unschoolers
Great Falls Unschoolers is an inclusive online support group for homeschoolers who are unschooling in the Great Falls area.
Children's Museum of Montana
The Children's Museum of Montana is located in Great Falls and features lots of hands-on, interactive exhibits. Some museums ask their visitors not to touch the exhibits. "Look with your eyes, not with your hands," they say. That never happens at the Children's Museum of Montana. In fact, every exhibit in the entire museum is designed so that kids can touch, poke, raise, lower, push and examine to their hearts' content.
Big Hole National Battlefield
Big Hole National Battlefield is a memorial to the people who fought and died here on August 9 and 10, 1877; combatants in a five month conflict that came to be called the Nez Perce War of 1877. Like other Indian Wars in the late 1800's, the Nez Perce War involved two very different groups with very different outlooks on land rights, civilian authority, government powers, social organization, and the responsibilities of the individuals to society.
Western Region Unschoolers
The Western Region Unschoolers is a group for unschoolers who live in the Western U.S. covering: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California. This is a forum to announce and organize conferences, travel, camping, and other places to get together.
20-5-102. Compulsory enrollment and excuses.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any parent, guardian, or other person who is responsible for the care of any child who is 7 years of age or older prior to the first day of school in any school fiscal year shall cause the child to be instructed in the program prescribed by the board of public education pursuant to 20-7-111 until the later of the following dates: (a) the child's 16th birthday; (b) the date of completion of the work of the 8th grade. (2) A parent, gua...
Park County Homeschool Network
Park County Homeschool Network is a membership-based cooperative of home educators created for the purpose of providing support to parents and students who have chosen to educate in a home environment.
A Statistical Analysis of Home Education in Montana
A study completed in mid-1995 by the National Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Oregon ranked Montana home educated students above the national average. The study examined the demographics and academic achievement levels of home educated children in Montana. Other issues discussed in the study reveal that the average annual family income (median of $30,000) was similar to that of all married couple families in Montana. These families were much larger than average for Montana, with 3.2 ...
Northwest Charlotte Mason Group
Discussion for parents and/or educators in the Pacific Northwest (and points beyond) interested in the educational methods and philosophies of Charlotte Mason, a British educator from the late 1800's. Most of the list members are in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, but there are others from across the USA, Canada and around the globe.
Montanahomeschool
This is a mailing list for people who home school or are thinking of homeschooling in Montana, kids and parents alike. Here you can exchange ideas, support each other, and share resources and information.
20-5-109. Nonpublic school requirements for compulsory enrollment exemption.
To qualify its students for exemption from compulsory enrollment under 20-5-102, a nonpublic or home school shall: (1) maintain records on pupil attendance and disease immunization and make the records available to the county superintendent of schools on request; (2) provide at least 180 days of pupil instruction or the equivalent in accordance with 20-1-301 and 20-1-302; (3) be housed in a building that complies with applicable local health and safety regulations; (4...
Montana Homeschooling
Montana Homeschooling is an open support group for all Montana homeschoolers, regardless of religious affiliation, political point of view, or educational method.
Featured Resources

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Kingdom of Children : Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement (Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology)
More than one million American children are schooled by their parents. As their ranks grow, home schoolers are making headlines by winning national spelling bees and excelling at elite universities. The few studies conducted suggest that homeschooled...
Children at Play : Using Waldorf Principles to Foster Childhood Development
Children at Play is an insightful exploration into the world of children's play and its tremendous significance in the shaping of each child's humanity. A mother and proponent of Rudolf Steiner's Waldorf system of education, author Heidi Britz-Crecel...
A Little Way of Homeschooling
This book is a compilation of the experiences of 13 different homeschoolers and how they incorporated an unschooling style of teaching in their homes. This book addresses the question of whether a Catholic can happily and successfully unschool. This ...
National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, Fourth Edition
Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known...
The Mystery of History
The Mystery of History series is another alternative to traditional textbooks. The five volume set covers history from creation to present day, with a biblical worldview. This series is intended for grades K-8. Note that at this time, this series is ...
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Of all the inanimate objects, of all men’s creations, books are the nearest to us, for they contain our very thoughts, our ambitions, our indignations, our illusions, our fidelity to truth, and our persistent leaning toward error.

Joseph Conrad