In the United States, opting out of public schools is not new. Thomas Edison's mother took him out of public school when his teacher said he was "addled" and schooled him at home. But because of compulsory education laws—the first was passed in Massachusetts in 1852, and by 1918 every state had them—schooling at home was a violation of truancy laws, and was rare until the 1970s. | In the United States, opting out of public schools is not new. Thomas Edison's mother took him out of public school when his teacher said he was "addled" and schooled him at home. But because of compulsory education laws—the first was passed in Massachusetts in 1852, and by 1918 every state had them—schooling at home was a violation of truancy laws, and was rare until the 1970s. |