Legal/Homeschool Laws
Laws that regulate home education vary from state to state. It is important to understand the legal requirements in your state and to be aware of legislative and other legal issues that affect homeschoolers in your community. We've compiled resources that will help you become informed. Although homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, and the vast majority of homeschoolers face no problems, you may find that you need legal assistance at some point in your homeschooling career. We've compiled a list of resources to help you find the support you need. And if you'd like to become more involved in working towards homeschooling freedoms, we discuss some of the issues facing homeschoolers that we hope you find compelling.
State Laws
Read the laws regulating home education in Texas and browse through the case law and legal opinions relating to those laws, along with government publications relating to homeschooling and summaries of the laws.
Forms
Which forms do you need to fill out? Where can you get them? Here is a list of useful forms for homeschooling in Texas.
Legal Support
If you need legal information or have run into a legal situation regarding your decision to homeschool, these resources will be helpful.
Lobbying Groups
A listing of local and national lobbying groups and information on how you can become involved in the political process to ensure the freedom to homeschool is protected.
Attorneys
When searching for an attorney, it is helpful to know whether he or she has experience working with homeschoolers and is interested in protecting the right to homeschool.
Legal Issues
Is homeschooling legal? Which laws pertain to homeschoolers and which don't? How do homeschoolers protect their rights to freely educate their children and to preserve their privacy?
Government Resources
A listing of local and state government resources, including your state's Department of Education, school districts, and Senate and House of Representative information.
What's Popular
Lobbying the Texas Legislature
One responsibility of THSC is not only to protect the established laws that safeguard the right to home school in Texas—and ultimately the right of all parents to direct the care, custody, and education of their children—but it is also to fight for new laws that expand the freedoms of parents in this great state.
TX Department of Family and Protective Services Letter
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services letter confirming that a CPS workers have no jurisdiction in home education, truancy or compulsory school attendance matters.
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is comprised of the commissioner of education and agency staff. The TEA and the State Board of Education (SBOE) guide and monitor activities and programs related to public education in Texas.
I've Decided to Homeschool--Now What?
You've made the decision to homeschool, so what's next? This article includes some friendly, non-legal advice concerning what to do and what not to do when beginning to homeschool in Texas.
Texas Homeschooling Curriculum Requirements
Some Texas homeschoolers are being given false information by some school districts. This is the Texas Home School Coalition's response from August 15, 1997.
Texas Homeschooling Laws
A short and enthusiastic explanation of the laws pertaining to home education in Texas.
Gary W. Leeper, et al. vs. Arlington Independent School District, et al.
This is the text of the final judgement of the case of Leeper v. Arlington ISD. The conclusion in this case was that "a school-age child residing the the state of Texas who is pursuing under the direction of a parent or parents or one standing in parental authority in or through the child's home in a bona fide (good faith, not a sham or subterfuge) manner a curriculum consisting of books, workbooks, or written materials including that which appears on an electronic screen of either a computer or...
Sample Letter of Withdrawal
This is a sample letter to send to your school district when withdrawing your child from school.
CPS Memorandum on Homeschooling
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services memo to all CPS staff regarding lack of CPS authority over home schooling
North Texas Home Educators’ Network (NTHEN)
The North Texas Home Educators’ Network (NTHEN) provides services and support to homeschool families and homeschool support groups in north and northeast Texas. Their goal is to ensure homeschool leaders and parents have the proper tools and resources to create an enriching education experience for every homeschool student. NTHEN is the largest regional homeschool organization in Texas, serving local support group leaders in more than 80 counties and from more than 160 support groups throughout ...
Home Schools: An Opinion from TEA
Jim Nelson, Commissioner of Education, provides some general information with respect to the Texas Education Agency's position on home schooled students.
Is Unschooling Legal?
Although it hasn't been tested in court, as far as this mother is concerned for her family unschooling is perfectly legal in the state of Texas. Here's how she sees unschooling fits the Leeper decision for her and her family.
Leeper Case Decisions
In March 1985, attorney Shelby Sharpe, on behalf of several home school families and curriculum suppliers, filed a lawsuit against all the school districts in Texas on behalf of all home educators in Texas. In what became known as the Leeper vs. Arlington class action suit (Leeper v. Arlington I.S.D. No. 17-88761-85), home educators asked the court to give a declaratory judgment on the question of whether or not the legislature had intended home schools to be private schools when they enacted th...
Sample Letter of Assurance
This is a sample letter of assurance to send to your school district in response to requests for information.
Texas Education Agency Home School Informationq
Includes a home school information cover letter, the Commissioner's April 20, 2004, Home School Policy Letter, and the text of the Texas Education Code governing operation of schools and School Attendance.
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Featured Resources
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For the Learners' Sake: Brain-Based Instruction for the 21st Century
This proposal for a platform of education reform needed to prepare students for a 21st-century workplace and society draws on information and ideas from two current areas in neuroscience: brain research (physiology and applications to learning) and s...
A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling
In 1991, shortly after receiving both the New York State and New York City Teacher of the Year Awards, John Gatto resigned to begin a new career as an education reform advocate. In this collection of 16 essays, Gatto analyzes the problems of American...
Discovery of the Child
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The Grammar Of Our Civility: Classical Education In America
This book explains the history of classical education in America and offers a vision for the role of classical education in 21st century America.
Create! Press
Create! Press carries creative approaches to teaching creative writing and composition. Their products include the Create-A-Story game, Writing Adventures, Stepping Stones, and more.