Homeschool Law in the United States of America: Texas

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

The instruction must be bona fide (i.e., not a sham).
The curriculum must be in visual form (e.g., books, workbooks, video monitor).
The curriculum must include the five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship.

Home schooled students are exempt from compulsory attendance according to Section 25.086(a)(1) of the Texas Education Code because home schools have been determined by Texas courts to be private schools.

(a) A child who is required to attend school under this section shall attend school each school day for the entire period the program of instruction is provided.
(b) Unless specifically exempted by Section 25.086, a child who is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade, and who has not yet reached the child's 18th birthday shall attend school.

(a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory school attendance if the child:

(1) attends a private or parochial school that includes in its course a study of good citizenship . . .

or

(5) is at least 17 years of age and:

(A) is attending a course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency examination . . .

or

(B) has received a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate . . .

"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 the compulsory attendance statute in 1915. The basic question was, are home schools private schools?

The Tarrant County District Court ruled that home schools are indeed private schools. On April 13, 1987, presiding Judge Charles J. Murray issued a decision (binding on all 1,100 school districts) which was a complete vindication of the rights of parents to educate their children at home in the State of Texas."