Homeschooling in Texas

[Swimmer1112]

We are considering moving to Texas. I am just starting to research. We have a rising 8th grader. I have some questions about homeschooling in Texas. What is it like homeschooling in Texas? Are there laws or state regulations that I should look into? Do you need to let the school district or state know that you are homeschooling? In California, we have to file an affidavit, is there something similar that is required in Texas? What are the high school graduation requirements? 

[Porridge]

I posted a very similar question a few months ago!

 Here you go—

 

[goldenecho]

It's so simple to homeschool in Texas.   If you are moving there there's really nothing to do.   No registration, no one to inform.   Unless you have registered a child for a school there, there is nothing to do but educate your children. 

The only requirements to legally homeschool in Texas are that:

    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 basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics and good citizenship.


(https://thsc.org/how-to-homeschool/)

For the most part, no one will ever check if you are meeting these requirements though.   The only time it comes up is the rare case where someone reports a family for educational neglect, and occasionally in cases where divorced parents disagree on homeschooling.  If you are a foster parent there may be limitations as well.  But that's basically it. 

Texas is so homeschool friendly that the Texas Education Agency actually links to the two major homeschool advocate organizations in Texas in their page on homeschooling.    https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/general-information/finding-a-school-for-your-child/home-schooling
 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by goldenecho
added info

[alpacawalker]

The requirements for homeschooling in Texas are as Goldenecho wrote very minimal.  However if you are considering having your student attend high school at any time in the future, you will want to make sure you contact the local school district to find out their process for enrolling homeschooled students.  Depending upon the district, they may not accept any coursework unless it was through an approved provider such as TTU.  Our district was not even sure if they would take the Univ of TX high school classes.  The lack of requirements makes it easy, but we also don't have any access to music, part time enrollment, or sports programs in the local schools in my area.  Resources for homeschoolers vary by area so you may want to consider that in your research.  Secular class are pretty non existent in our county.  I drove an hour each way for a science/lab class that wasn't based on the young earth view.  Due to covid, we didn't attempt to take the PSAT this year so I can't comment on the process of scheduling to take SAT/ACT tests at one of the schools.  Facebook homeschool groups may be helpful if you have narrowed down your search to an area.   

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

1 hour ago, alpacawalker said:

The requirements for homeschooling in Texas are as Goldenecho wrote very minimal.  However if you are considering having your student attend high school at any time in the future, you will want to make sure you contact the local school district to find out their process for enrolling homeschooled students.  Depending upon the district, they may not accept any coursework unless it was through an approved provider such as TTU.  Our district was not even sure if they would take the Univ of TX high school classes.  The lack of requirements makes it easy, but we also don't have any access to music, part time enrollment, or sports programs in the local schools in my area.  Resources for homeschoolers vary by area so you may want to consider that in your research.  Secular class are pretty non existent in our county.  I drove an hour each way for a science/lab class that wasn't based on the young earth view.  Due to covid, we didn't attempt to take the PSAT this year so I can't comment on the process of scheduling to take SAT/ACT tests at one of the schools.  Facebook homeschool groups may be helpful if you have narrowed down your search to an area.   

Agreed. If you’re a secular homeschooler, you’ll want to stick to major cities (Houston, Dallas, Austin) & their suburbs or your community resources will be severely limited. In both of the latter two, aim north of the city proper for the best access (not sure about Houston). 

[LinRTX]

The SAT is easy since you register on the SAT site. For the PSAT:

Section 29.916 of the Texas Education Code requires that public schools offer the PSAT to homeschool students that live in the district. Homeschool students are permitted to take the PSAT at public schools in their district and must pay the same fee as public school students.

This would be the high school where your child would go to school.

[goldenecho]

Just wanted to ad that I made the opposite journey (started homeschooling in Texas and moved to California).  Did you use a charter or a PSA in CA?  If your children were attending a charter or other public school you probably have to withdraw there.   Not sure what else has to be done on CA end.

If your kids go back to public school in Junior High in Texas, they will be tested for placement.  (My kids weren't high school age when we left...the oldest was in Junior High).

We lived in Waco and it had a wonderful homeschool community.   There were both religious and inclusive groups (we attended an inclusive co-op...which was not religious but welcomed religious homeschoolers and non-religious alike).  It leaned a little more secular (and sadly I think is no longer running).   There was two Christian groups, another inclusive group that was more religious (non-denominational prayer at start of meetings), and homeschool activities such as a gaming place that had homeschool day, various groups that organized get togethers, etc.   It was large enough for multiple homeschool groups but small enough you would see the same people at a lot of things.

 

[SDMomof3]

6 hours ago, goldenecho said:

Just wanted to ad that I made the opposite journey (started homeschooling in Texas and moved to California).  
 

How do you feel about homeschooling in Ca vs Texas. My dh has been talking about relocating to Texas lately. He started look for jobs in Texas. So we maybe head there. 

[Ellie]

On 4/6/2021 at 9:41 PM, Swimmer1112 said:

We are considering moving to Texas. I am just starting to research. We have a rising 8th grader. I have some questions about homeschooling in Texas. What is it like homeschooling in Texas? Are there laws or state regulations that I should look into? Do you need to let the school district or state know that you are homeschooling? In California, we have to file an affidavit, is there something similar that is required in Texas? What are the high school graduation requirements? 

I moved to Texas from California. 🙂

No affidavit. Otherwise pretty much the same. NO requirements for graduation. No interaction with the public school in any way, shape, or form.

I always recommend HSLDA membership. There are many resources for members, even if you never have to use legal representation.

[goldenecho]

On 4/8/2021 at 6:25 PM, SDMomof3 said:

How do you feel about homeschooling in Ca vs Texas. My dh has been talking about relocating to Texas lately. He started look for jobs in Texas. So we maybe head there. 

I liked homeschooling in Texas.   But there is no supports (at least not government supports...there's lots of other homeschooler support but I imagine that depends on what area you are in.) 

I think at some points the supports would have been worth the strings that come with them (like at first when my husband lost his job right when we were buying curriculum to homeschool).   A charter would have sounded really nice right then. 

But overall I liked Texas for homeschooling a little more than CA (may just be the area I was in, as I moved from a mid-size city to a BIG city, but it was just easier to connect with the homeschool commutiy there. 


As far as rules if you do a PSA in CA it's basically the same (save one form to fill out and keeping attendance records). But I still like California more in general (including everything about it, not just homeschooling culture).  Being able to do things outside without having 100 degree heat or a billion bugs or allergies that drive me insane is important to me. 

[Porridge]

I want to reiterate what others have said. I think one of the key differences is that there are no public charters for homeschooling in TX, so no access to funding or mentorship / accountability (through an ES). Also, my understanding is that the community college system in CA is quite strong (if you're in a larger metro area), and a good resource for high school. I don't know if the same is true for Texas community colleges.