-by Mimi Rothschild

Your young children are studying together peacefully, helping each other circle the letter that finishes the word on a worksheet. The baby is asleep, and you’re checking an essay your teen wrote while he is out riding his bike for a while – a well-earned break between writing and algebra lessons.

A knock at the door breaks the peace of the afternoon – especially when you see that it’s a police officer bringing your son home. Dozens of frightening scenarios run through your mind before the officer tells you that you’ve run afoul of your community’s daytime curfew laws.

Many towns across the country have daytime curfew laws preventing kids from being out on the street without their parents during public school hours. Many parents have never heard of these laws.

The community leaders who lobby for these laws are thinking about kids who skip school, kids who are expelled, and kids who drop out. They’re imagining teenagers loitering at the bowling alley, smoking and drinking in parking lots, and committing vandalism and petty crimes. The laws are often presented as efforts to “keep kids off the street” or to “control crime.”

What about homeschool students who are old enough to walk to and from the library, dance class, or the park alone? They are still subject to these laws, even though they’re not the ones the community was thinking about when the laws were developed.

Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid trouble:

• Check with the local police department to find out whether your town has a daytime curfew. Ask the hours, the ages covered, and whether parental permission notes are accepted by police officers. Ask specifically what your child should do if he or she is ever stopped by a police officer.
• Make sure your children have picture ID. Those who are too young to drive (but old enough to walk or bike alone) can usually get a non-driver’s ID at the same office that issues drivers’ licenses.
• Make sure your kids understand that these laws are designed to protect them and other law-abiding citizens. If they are stopped, they don’t need to feel frightened. Since you’ve checked on the laws, you – and they – will know exactly what’s required by your community.

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Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.