Homeschooling in Texas is legal and relatively straightforward. The Texas Supreme Court issued a decision guaranteeing the right of Texas parents to teach their children at home without fear of prosecution. (Leeper et al. v. Arlington ISD et al., June 15, 1994)

In Texas, homeschooling is considered a type of private school. Your homeschool is exempt from the compulsory attendance statute. Therefore, Texas does not regulate the number of days private schools must be in session per year or the number of days a student must attend. There is no requirement for the number of hours you must homeschool each day.

Texas Homeschool Curriculum

Texas does not mandate a specific curriculum for homeschoolers. But your curriculum must include the five basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship.

Your homeschool curriculum is also legally required to:

• Provide bona fide instruction. (i.e., “sincerely; without intention to deceive; authentic.” ).
• Must be in visual form (e.g., books, workbooks, video monitors)

You can choose the educational materials and methods that best suit your children’s needs. Your local school district has no authority to approve curricula used by your private homeschool. Texas does not regulate students once they are removed from the public school system. There are no reporting agencies and no testing requirements for homeschoolers.

Public School Notification

You are not legally required to register with your local school district or receive their permission to homeschool. If your child was previously enrolled in public school, you must formally withdraw them. This is often done by letting the school administration know you intend to homeschool. This notification is frequently referred to as a “Letter of Intent.”

This notification should include:

• The date of when homeschooling begins.
• The names and ages of the children you plan to homeschool.

You don’t need to list the curricula you plan to use or any other information about your homeschooling plans. A public school district that becomes aware of a potentially home-schooled student may request in writing a letter of assurance from the parents that the student is being homeschooled.

Teaching Qualifications

You can teach your child yourself, hire a private tutor, or join a co-op or college class. You’re ultimately responsible for deciding the curriculum, schedule, and whether your child advances to the next grade. Some parents choose to do standardized testing, while others don’t. In Texas, no specific teaching qualifications are required for parents who homeschool their children. You do not need to be a certified teacher to homeschool.

Special Education Homeschooling

Texas has no restrictions on homeschooling your “special needs” children. Texas enables students five years old or younger with special educational needs to access special education services (i.e., early childhood services) as long the parent signs a consent to have the children evaluated.

• Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C. Children and youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

The state’s public schools must evaluate and determine services for students with special educational needs. Federal funding must be allocated to that student, and these resources must be available in the district where the student would typically attend.

Speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and reading services are the most common services homeschool parents use. These services are recommended in the homeschooled student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) after the evaluation with the child at the parent’s consent.

Entering Public School After Homeschooling

Homeschooled students can enter public school at any time. However, most districts have policies and procedures to assess the mastery level of courses homeschooled students have taken. The assessment results may be used for grade placement, credit award, or both. Homeschooled students are treated the same as students transferring from unaccredited private schools. 

For many parents, homeschooling high schoolers requires a four-year commitment since placement into the public school system means that the school district will require placement tests to determine grade placement, and they will decide if and when the student graduates.

Maintaining Homeschool Records

Texas does not require homeschoolers to record attendance and test scores, keep records, or report to State agencies. However, some find they need proof documents in divorce and separation situations where the non-custodial parent or the court asks for documentation. Records of your student’s educational progress, otherwise known as the student portfolio, such as attendance records, test scores, and work samples, may be helpful.

It is typically a good idea to save everything your homeschooler is doing from about 8th grade on. Optimally, you will have some written overview of the material covered and activities completed, including keeping the paperwork and any files from each class should you need them (larger projects can be photographed or videoed and filed digitally) as a reference.

When the time comes to create homeschool high school transcripts, your record keeping should make it a simple process to enter the needed information into the transcript template. You will want to keep a copy for your records for future needs.

High School Transcripts and Graduation

Texas considers the successful completion of a homeschool education equivalent to a public high school graduation. In Texas, higher education institutions must treat a homeschool graduate to the same general standards, including specific standardized testing score requirements, as other applicants for undergraduate admission who have graduated from a public high school.

While you can customize your student’s high school curriculum, it is recommended that if your student is college, trade school, or military-bound, they earn the minimum number of credits generally needed for graduation, 22, with the maximum number being 26 of recommended courses.

These can be a combination of online courses or other types of homeschool curriculum. The core recommended course sample is:

• 4 credits of English/Language Arts
• 4 credits of Mathematics (including Algebra I, II, and Geometry plus an additional course)
• 4 credits of Science (including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics plus an additional lab course)
• 4 credits of Social Studies
• 1 credit of Physical Education
• 1 credit of Fine Arts
• 5.5 credits of Electives
• 2 credits of Foreign Language Studies

As a private school administrator, you determine the criteria needed to graduate from your homeschool. Your student would likely need a homeschool transcript for multiple reasons. While it would be good to create a transcript for your student, it is not a requirement.

Texas homeschooling requirements can change, so staying informed about updates is essential.