Home School Legal Defence Association (HSLDA) – Canada has reviewed New Brunswick’s current homeschool laws and has summarized it for us below. This information is current as of February 2023.

Additional detail on the rules and regulations in NB is available on HSLDA members’ site (which is only accessible to HSLDA members.)

NEW BRUNSWICK
Compulsory school age: 5 to 18 years.

LAW AND POLICY:
The New Brunswick Education Act mandates that the Minister of Education shall exempt a child from attending school where the Minister is satisfied that the child is “under effective instruction elsewhere” (Section 16(2)). A parent wishing to homeschool in New Brunswick must apply for exemption from compulsory attendance by submitting the Annual Home Schooling Application Form to the local school district (there are four anglophone and three francophone districts) by September 15th.

The Annual Home Schooling Application Form contains an indemnity acknowledging that the child will not be receiving services from the school system. The indemnity also includes a statement that the parent accepts full responsibility for the effective instruction of their child and declares that the instruction will include a number of components, including a detailed list of “subjects that comprise a well-rounded curriculum.” Parents should review this indemnity and declaration carefully when planning curriculum and resources for their home school.

There are currently no other regulations addressing homeschooling in New Brunswick.

CLIMATE AND RESOURCES:
New Brunswick is a more relaxed province in which to homeschool, with few legislative requirements for documentation and reporting. School district policies differ slightly on requirements, however. Some school districts have developed further policy regarding when they will investigate a family’s homeschooling. The francophone school districts regularly request meetings with the family, where the anglophone districts generally request meetings only in the event of an investigation, if they receive a report that a student is not under “effective instruction.”

The legislation does not require schools or districts to offer resources or services to homeschoolers. Parents can request an arrangement to borrow some educational materials from schools for a one-year period. Parents wishing to arrange their homeschooled child’s attendance at some courses or involvement in school events and activities must be negotiated with the school. There is no provincial funding for homeschooling families.