Legal Requirements for 
Homeschooling in Texas

Texas

Texas is a very homeschool-friendly state

Traditional Homeschooling in Texas

Vaccinations required:   YES, exemptions allowed.  See below.
State mandated subjects to be taught:  YES

Texas is a state with strong homeschooling advocacy.

To homeschool legally in Texas, you must follow three state law requirements:

• The instruction must be bona fide. Bona Fide means in good faith.  You are actually intending to educate your child and that is why you are homeschooling.
• The curriculum must be in tangible form - something you can touch or see. (e.g., books, workbooks, video monitor).
• The curriculum must include the five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship.

If you are withdrawing your child from public or private school, you will need to submit  a Courtesy Letter (or e-mail) of Withdrawal formally withdrawing the student from the school they were previously attending.  Some sites recommend that if you are using a letter, it be mailed via postal service with a return receipt request, or hand delivered. 

Per the Texas Education Agency (TEA) "School districts which become aware of a student who is potentially being homeschooled may request in writing a letter of assurance from the parents that the student is being homeschooled. This letter may require assurances that the homeschool curriculum is designed to meet basic education goals including reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and a study of good citizenship. Please note that a letter of this type is not required each year."

Forms for the Courtesy Letter (or e-mail) of Withdrawal and a letter (or e-mail) responding to a district's request for a letter of assurance can both be found here. (THSC)

A wonderful and comprehensive resource for Homeschooling in Texas is Texas Home School Coalition (THSC)which you can find here.  Membership to Texas Home School Coalition is $120.00 per year or $40.00 per quarter ($160.00 per year). 

THSC recommends keeping a record of work completed.  They provide many helpful forms for records keeping with their membership.

Texas is a state that has fought for parental rights in homeschooling.  Folks there are proud of how liberal of a homeschooling state it is.  Watch this video to see comparisons with a few other states.  It will make you proud and glad to live in Texas.

Using Public Funds  
In Texas this is called:  "Public School at Home Programs"

When it comes to  publicly funded homeschooling education programs, Texas  does not offer any.  There are state-approved public online education programs (which are free because they are ISDs - Independent School Districts).  But as such, their curriculum is entirely scripted.   (They are in no way comparable to charter schools that specifically cater to homeschoolers, allowing parents to create and personalize their homeschool curriculum; which many states offer).  Texas requires a minimum of four hours of instruction daily when using Public School at Home Programs.  Additionally, students are required to take state-mandated tests.

These programs are all online programs,  relying heavily on computer interaction.  

 The following sites offer publicly funded online learning in the State of Texas (However, they all list enrollment in public school during the prior year as a necessary criteria for enrollment.  Only iUniversity Prep addresses how to enroll homeschooled children.)

• Texas Virtual Academy  Grades 6 - 12  A Responsive Educations Solutions  and K12 Partnership charter school.  As a Responsive Education Solutions charter school, there are weekly in-person expectations for students who are not performing on grade-level or did not pass a prior-year state assessment. In-person assessments and instructional sessions occur on Saturdays at most Responsive Education Solutions campuses across the state.
• Texas Online Preparatory School  Grades 3 - 12  A K12 Partner.  Students receive books and materials.  In the early grades students spend no more than 20 - 25 percent of their time on the computer.  For Middle and Highschool student's time on the computer increases.  However,  "offline work will always be essential."
  
• Texas Connections Academy  Grades 3 - 12   You can look at the curriculum of each grade level here.
• iUniversity Prep  Grades 4 - 12  iUniversity Prep is the only one of these schools to acknowledge homeschooling.  However, this is what the site says on their FAQ page:  "My student is currently being homeschooled, how may I enroll my student in iUniversity Prep?"  The school's response:  "The student must provide evidence of  public school enrollment during the prior academic school year".  The next question asks:  "My student has previously been homeschooled, will you honor homeschool credits?" School's response:  "Families will need to submit student work samples, along with the curriculum utilized.  Students may be assessed to determine course competency.  Credits will be determined accordingly."

Vaccinations in Texas

Texas Minimum State Vaccine Requirements for Students Grades K - 12 states that "a student shall show acceptable evidence of vaccination prior to entry, attendance, or transfer to a childcare facility or public or private elementary or secondary school in Texas.  Homeschools in Texas have been determined by the Texas Supreme Court to be a type of private school."  

Texas, however, does not provide a provision explicitly requiring homeschool parents to maintain records of immunization or exemption.  Parents who choose to maintain these records are not asked to provide them to anyone.

Should you choose to NOT immunize but wish to be in accordance with the law, information on how to obtain an affidavit can be found here.

The Differing Voices Regarding Vaccinations 

Dr. Joseph Mercola's website in which he presents information questioning the efficacy of vaccinations and health concerns related to vaccinations.

Health Impact News - in which Dr. Kurt spends a good bit of time telling you why he  and his wife do not nor ever will vaccinate their children

National Vaccine Information Center - the oldest and largest consumer led organization advocating for the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections in the public health system.

The Immunization Partnership - a website committed to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases by educating the community, advocating for evidence-based public policy and supporting immunization best practices.

Immunize for Good - a website that wants to "present up-to-date, well-studied information that will prepare you to make a confident, informed decision for your child's health".

Vaccine Information - by the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) in partnership with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this website for the public presents straightforward information about vaccine-preventable disease and their vaccines.

Current Vaccination Legislation in Texas - 2017

Vaccination laws in Texas - reported by NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center)

Parental rights in Texas were affirmed when a bill (HB 7) was passed protecting families from having their children vaccinated by Child Protective Services (CPS) without parents' informed consent. Of the 184 bills that the NVIC Advocacy Portal team tracked in 2017, 23 were in Texas.

Among the Texas bills NVIC opposed, there were three bills proposing to use tax dollars to promote vaccination; one bill removing parental consent by allowing minor children to consent to HPV vaccination; four bills mandating public vaccine exemption disclosure resulting in shaming of schools with high vaccine exemption rates; two bills removing the right to opt-in informed consent for personal medical information to be entered into the vaccine tracking system; two bills to restrict vaccine exemptions; and one bill to eliminate conscientious and religious exemptions.

All of these bills ... FAILED, thanks to the work of NVIC's volunteer state directors, supporters and allied groups in Texas.

© Copyright Learninghelps.com