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TEXAS LAWS
CONCERNING
HOME EDUCATION
WHAT THE LAW SAYS:
Compulsory Attendance:
Texas Education Code Annotated 25-085(b)
Ages: "as much as
6 years of age, or less than seven years of age and has previously been
enrolled in first grade,
and who has not completed the academic
year in which his 17th birthday occurred." If a child is 17 but has been
issued an equivalency certificate, that child is exempt. Tex. Educ Code
Ann. 25-085(b).
Days: 170 Days. Only for public
schools.25-085(b)
Subjects: Good citizenship, math,
reading, spelling, and grammar.
Home School Statutes: None
Alternative Statutes allowing for Home Schools:
1. Tex. Educ. Code Ann. 25-085(a)(1). "Any child in attendance upon a
private or parochial school which shall
include in its course a
study of good citizenship" is exempt from the requirements of compulsory
attendance. The
class action suit, Leeper v. Arlington ISD (No.
17-88761-85 Tarrant County 17th Judicial Ct., April 13, 1987),
resulted in a trial level decision in favor of home schooling. The court
ruled that:
a. Home schools can legally operate as private schools in Texas;
b.
Article 7, section 2 of the Texas Constitution only authorizes the
legislature to establish and maintain public education, not private or
parochial education;
c.
Home schools must be conducted in a bona fide manner, using a written
curriculum consisting of
reading, spelling, grammar, math and a
course in good citizenship. No other requirements apply.
d.
the court ruled that the interpretation of the law cannot be left to
each criminal prosecution. "If
arbitrary and discriminatory
enforcement is to be prevented, laws must provide explicit
standards for those who apply them." Therefore, the court
interpreted the law in an explicit way based on the historical
treatment of home schooling. "The evidence establishes that from
the inception of the first compulsory attendance law in Texas in 1915,
it was understood that a school age child who was being educated
in or through the child's home, in a bona fide manner by the
parents...was considered a private school...The dictionary in use in
Texas at the time of the passage of the first compulsory attendance law
contained definitions of the words "private" and "school" which
encompassed children being taught at "home." (Id. At 4 and 5)
e. "This judgment does not preclude the Texas Education Agency, the
commissioner of Education, or the State
Board of Education from
suggesting to the public school attendance officers lawful methods,
including, but not
limited to, inquiry concerning curricula dn
standardized test scores, in order to ascertain if there is compliance
with
the declaration contained in this judgment." (Leeper,
Final Judgment At 13)
f. On November 27, 1991, the Court of Appeals of Texas completely
affirmed the case. (See Texas Education
Agency, et al. V.
Leeper, et al., No. 2-87-216-CV, Court of Appeals, 843 S. W. 2d 41 [Tex.
App. - Ft. Worth
11/27/91]). The court stated that the Texas
Education Agency "deprived the home school parents of equal
protection under the law" since their private schools in the home were
unfairly discriminated against "on the sole
basis of location
in the home," rather than outside the home. The court emphasized, "that
initiation of prosecution
of plaintiff parents violates the
parents' equal protection rights by establishing an unreasonable and
arbitrary
classification of parents which is not rationally
related to any state interest."
g. On June 15, 1994, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the
Court of Appeals decision in TEA, et al.
v. Leeper, et al.,(No.
D-2022, Texas Supreme Court 1994).
2. In 1989, the TX Legislature exempted private and parochial schools
from new requirements for schools;
"Nothing in this act applies
to students in attendance upon a private or parochial school, which
includes home
schools, in accordance with 25-085, Education
code." (See Acts 1989, 7th Leg. CH 658,11.)
Teacher
Qualifications: None
Standardized Tests: None. The
court in Leeper specifically stated that the school district could not
mandate
standardized testing.
For More Information on the Do's and Don't's of Homeschooling in Texas,
check out the website for the Texas Home School Coalition at:
http://www.thsc.org/FAQ/default.asp |