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Texas

Cretive Counties Impose Regulations

In Texas, home schools have the same status as private schools. The only governing requirement is that the home school use a written curriculum covering the following five subjects: reading, spelling, grammar, arithmetic, and good citizenship. Each year, however, school districts across the state continue to impose additional requirements on home schoolers. This year is no exception, and since the school year began in August, HSLDA has received hundreds of calls from Texas members. The following examples illustrate the variety of contacts home–schooling families are facing.

• Rock, Texas: An HSLDA member family received a six–page form from their school district. The form asked for details regarding the minutes of instruction per day, qualifications of the teacher, methods of instruction, methods of record keeping, and the results of a standardized achievement test. The cover letter accompanying the form stated, “Should you fail to return the form, or should you refuse to answer the questionnaire, I will notify the district attendance officer who will be compelled to institute a court proceeding against you for thwarting the compulsory attendance law.”


• Slidell, Texas: An HSLDA member family was told that they must have their curriculum reviewed and approved by the local school district.


• Tyler, Texas: John and Rachel Stephens, HSLDA members, were summoned to appear before the local justice of the peace on the allegation that their child was not attending school. The school district had not made any inquiries or notified the family–an official had simply turned the matter over to the justice of the peace.


• Ennis, Texas: A home–schooling family was reported to the Department of Human Services on the false allegation that their child had a speech impediment. A social worker came to the family's home and tried to elicit information on their educational program, their discipline methods, and the socialization of their child.


• Houston, Texas: A number of school districts, including the Fort Bend and Mineral Wells ISD’s, have sent out a policy requiring families to submit their curriculum for examination by the local school district. This policy, which was also circulated last year, states, “The parents' refusal to cooperate with the district and permit the examination of the curriculum shall result in the district's pursuing legal action to enforce the compulsory attendance law.”


• Other districts: Over 30 school districts across the state have begun circulating another form. This new document varies in length from one to two pages and attempts to gain information beyond the districts’ legal scope of inquiry. Forms have requested details regarding the amount of daily instructional time for each of the five required subjects or have asked families to submit standardized test scores. One of the forms even states, “A home visit may be required by the attendance officer.”

In each of these instances HSLDA has acted to protect our members by responding to the officials on their behalf. As of the writing of this newsletter, none of the school districts have fulfilled the threats stated in their policies. In the case of the Tyler, Texas, family, Attorney Klicka contacted the judge and was able to convince him to cancel the hearing, thereby dismissing the allegation.

HSLDA’s legal staff continues to advise Texas members not to submit their curriculum for review and approval by their local school districts. Curriculum review is not required by the law and could easily lead to further problems. In addition, we are informing members that they are not required to complete the various forms that many districts are distributing.

Leeper Case to be Reviewed by the Texas Supreme Court

The Leeper v. Arlington Independent School District case, in which HSLDA is a plaintiff, has been the key precedent protecting the rights of families to home school freely in the state of Texas. The state lost at both the trial level and at the court of appeals level, but they have now appealed the case to the Texas Supreme Court. The court agreed to take the case, and on January 26th, Texas attorney Shelby Sharpe will present oral arguments before the Texas Supreme Court.

This case is vitally important for Texas home schoolers, and we ask that home school families across the nation will join us in prayer for the Lord’s protection in this matter. We are specifically praying that the justices will rule justly and that the two lower court decisions will be upheld.