Authorities Detect Homeschoolers; Family Flees to Austria
May 8, 2013: The Boersma family are another casualty of draconian German laws that restrict parents from directing the education of their children.

Officials Overstep Their Bounds, Families Threatened in France, Austria
July 6, 2012: Families in France and Austria are fighting back against authorities’ attempts to deny their legal right to homeschool in those countries.

Austria: Haven for German Homeschoolers
January 22, 2012: Many families flee to Austria to escape draconian education laws in Germany.

Officials Amazed at Rise in Homeschooling
June 29, 2011: Homeschooling in Austria is growing, and the education authorities are taking notice.

Compulsory attendance: 6-14 (Compulsory schooling starts on September 1st following the child’s sixth birthday.)

Legal status of homeschooling: Homeschooling is legal and regulated by the Austrian government at the local level. Per the Compulsory Education Act of 1985, Austria’s compulsory education requirement can be fulfilled through “domestic education.” Domestic education (home education) is considered a form of private schooling.

Private schools must be “at least equivalent” to the public school, which is evaluated through an examination at the public school at the end of each year.

Parents do not need any special qualifications to instruct their children at home, but they must inform the “Bezirksschulrat” (district school board) before the start of the school year of their intent to homeschool. A school board may prohibit a family’s right to homeschool only if the home school instruction is not “equivalent” to the education provided in the public school. If a family’s decision to homeschool is prohibited, it is possible to appeal the decision of the district school board and go before the “Landesschulrat” (governing education body).

Estimated number of homeschooled children:
Over 2,000

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