Are you an expat, home educating your child/ren in the Netherlands?
Is your child in school and did homeschooling work well for your family during COVID-19?

Help to make homeschooling an option for all families in the Netherlands and send in a response through the internet consultation.

On June 2nd a new bill was published by the Dutch government. Its implications would be:

• Home education remains prohibited after attending school
• Expats and people for whom Dutch is their second language can no longer provide home education because of a strict language requirement. Not passing the language test or the inability to teach in Dutch means an obligation to send your child/ren to school or face criminal prosecution.
• Child-centered education will practically be impossible because of a fixed learning path requirement, a language requirement (which excludes foreign educational materials) and compulsory tests from the age of 6.
• There will be mandatory unanounced home visits, forcing parents to choose between the right to privacy and the right to educate their children at home.

The Dutch Home Education Association (NVvTO) has been advocating for years to make home education available to all children in combination with assessments that promote quality of education. Unfortunately, this bill accomplishes neither.

The bill is currently in the phase of internet consultation where citizens and non-citizens can tell the government what they think of the law proposal. Sending in a response helps. The outcome of this internet consultation can cause the law to be amended or canceled. The more well written responses they receive, the easier it will be to convince lawmakers to draft a better law.

Citizens and non-citizens can respond to the law proposal until July 16th 2020.

Tell the Dutch government how important home education is for you or why your family should also have the option to homeschool. Responses can be in English.

Want to know more about the bill? The Dutch home education association (NVvTO) has written a summary In English of the law proposal.

Want to learn what's persuasive to Dutch lawmakers? The NVvTO has written a tips and style guide.

If you are an expat, please consider forwarding this web-page to your HR department. International companies will have an interest in freedom of education for their expat workers too.

Questions? Send us a message.

Let's work together for a better home education law in the Netherlands!

The Dutch Home Education Association - De Nederlandse Vereniging voor Thuisonderwijs