Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

When is a private school not a private school? Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Smith continues his journey through the legal cases that have shaped modern homeschooling in America.

Mike Smith:
Texans have a reputation for freedom and independence. But in the 1980s this did not apply to homeschooling. The seeds of the most important case in Texas homeschooling history were sown in 1981 when the Texas Education Agency decided to ban homeschooling by declaring that teaching a child at home could no longer be defined as a private school.


The Leeper family was prosecuted by the Texas authorities for homeschooling. Fort Worth attorney Shelby Sharpe took the case in order to defend the constitutional right of parents to homeschool.


HSLDA joined with Shelby as a party in a class-action suit on behalf of all the Texas homeschoolers. It was argued that homeschoolers were being denied equal protection under the law since the only difference between themselves and a private school is their location. The state could provide no sufficient reason why it should be treating homeschoolers differently. On April 13, 1987, the court of appeals ruled that homeschools could indeed be classified as private schools and on June 15, 1994, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the decision.


It took much time and effort, but it was an important victory. Due to this decision, homeschoolers were freed in Texas and a precedent was set which has been used in other states.


And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.