Home Schooling and Private Schooling in the
United States:  2006-2009   
TEXAS

Compulsory Attendance Ages: “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.” If a child is 17 but has been issued an equivalency
certificate, that child is exempt. Texas Education Code Annotated § 25.085(b).
Required Days of Instruction: 180 days. Only required for public schools. § 25.081. Required
Subjects: Good citizenship, math, reading, spelling and grammar. Home School Statute: None.

Alternative Statutes Allowing for Home Schools:

1. Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 25.086(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.
Since this law does not specifically mention home schooling, the Texas Education Agency
announced that home schooling was illegal in 1985. After over 80 innocent home school families
were criminally prosecuted for truancy, HSLDA joined with other home school plaintiffs to file a
class action suit against every school district in Texas (over 1,000). The class action suit, Leeper
v. Arlington Indep. School Dist., No. 17-88761-85 Tarrant County 17th Judicial Ct. Apr. 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 (Leeper, Slip Op. At 10);
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.” Slip Op. at 9. Therefore, the court interpreted the law 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
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 and 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 Leeper case. (See
Texas Education Agency, et al. v. Leeper, et al., 843 S.W.2d 41 [Tex. App. – Ft. Worth 1991]). 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 Texas Educational Agency, et al. v. Leeper, et al.. (893 S.W. 2d 432, 1994) clearly settling the
issue: “home schools” can operate as private schools under the law.

2. On October 4, 1995, Mike Moses, Commissioner of Education, issued a memo on home schools
stating, “It is the current opinion of the Commissioner of Education and the Texas Education
Agency Legal Counsel that a written statement of assurance, provided by the parents to the school
district, meets the requirements of Leeper and verifies compliance with compulsory attendance
laws.”

3. As a result of the Leeper decision, home schools do not have to initiate contact with a school
district, submit to home visits, have curriculum approved or have any specific teacher certification.
Home schools need only have a written curriculum, conduct it in a bona fide manner and teach
math, reading, spelling, grammar, and good citizenship.

4. Two important developments were successfully lobbied by HSLDA which curtail the powers of
the Child Protective Service against home schooling: a) social worker training mandate: “It is the
intent of the Legislature that the training curriculum for CPS Caseworkers funded out of Strategy A.
1.2, Child and Family Services, include instruction in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution and parents' rights,” (Texas House Bill 1, 2003), and b) Parental Rights Act: “A state
agency may not adopt rules or policies or take any other action that violates the fundamental right
and duty of a parent to direct the upbringing of the parent's child.” Tex. Fam. Code § 151.005.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), passed with the help of HSLDA members, gives
religious home schoolers another legal means to protect their right to home school. If the parents’
free exercise of religion is substantially burdened by having to comply with the homeschool law,
the parents may use the RFRA as a defense or file suit against the state. Under this statute, the
burden is on the state to prove that its requirement "furthers a compelling state interest" and is
the "least restrictive means" of fulfilling its interest that children be educated. This Act restores
the highest protection of the individual's right to freely exercise his religious beliefs taken away by
the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1997 City of Boerne decision. 520 U.S. 507.

§ 51.9241.  ADMISSION OF STUDENT WITH NONTRADITIONAL SECONDARY EDUCATION.   
In this section:

(1)  "Institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.***
(2)  "Nontraditional secondary education" means a course of study at the secondary school level in
a non accredited private school setting, including a home school.
(a)  Because the State of Texas considers successful completion of a nontraditional secondary
education to be equivalent to graduation from a public high school, an institution of higher
education must treat an applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate student
who presents evidence that the person has successfully completed a nontraditional secondary
education according to the same general standards as other applicants for undergraduate
admission who have graduated from a public high school.
(b)  An institution of higher education may not require an applicant for admission to the institution
as an undergraduate student who presents evidence that the person has successfully completed a
nontraditional secondary education to:
(1)  Obtain or submit evidence that the person has obtained a general education development
certificate, certificate of high school equivalency, or other credentials equivalent to a public high
school degree;  or
(2)  Take an examination or comply with any other application or admission requirement not
generally applicable to other applicants for undergraduate admission to the institution.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 232, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

"Public junior college" means any junior college certified by the board in accordance with
Section 61.063 of this chapter.

*** 61.003"General academic teaching institution" means The University of Texas at Austin; The University of
Texas at El Paso; The University of Texas of the Permian Basin; The University of Texas at Dallas; The
University of Texas at San Antonio; Texas A&M University, Main University; The University of Texas at
Arlington; Tarleton State University; Prairie View A&M University; Texas Maritime Academy; Texas Tech
University; University of North Texas; Lamar University; Lamar State
College--Orange; Lamar State College--Port Arthur; Texas A&M University--Kingsville; Texas A&M
University--Corpus Christi; Texas Woman's University; Texas Southern University; Midwestern State
University; University of Houston; University of Texas--Pan American; The University of Texas at
Brownsville; Texas A&M University--Commerce; Sam Houston State University; Texas State University--San
Marcos; West Texas A&M University; Stephen F. Austin State
University; Sul Ross State University; Angelo State University; The University of Texas at Tyler; and any
other college, university, or institution so classified as provided in this chapter or created and so classified,
expressly or impliedly, by law.

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