Home schooling in Texas, specifically Collin County, has really become a popular option for many families over the last decade.

This is mainly because with the increased growth in an area comes the need to accommodate many styles of learning. Public education in Texas is constantly changing. Texas has been working hard to accommodate students from many different cultural backgrounds as well as students with different learning styles. Since public education isn’t always the best option for some families, many have turned to home schooling to fill the void.

The state of Texas only has three major requirements to home school in Texas.

  1. The instruction must be bona fide. All that this really means is that the home school curriculum being used must be legitimate, factual, and correct information that is used in an effort to educate and inform. There are many affordable materials that are improving each year. Old materials that are a bit more about entertaining and less about educating have fortunately begun finding their way off of shelves.
  2. The curriculum must be visual form. Some good examples of visual educational materials are books, workbooks, video monitor materials, power points from respected sources etc. This removes the “lecture off of previous knowledge” method, which really has no structure to it beyond someone using his or her knowledge rather than factual book knowledge. This requirement by the state is completely understandable and feasible.
  3. Lastly, the curriculum must include the big five basic subjects in any school setting. Those subjects are reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship. While this seems to be a pretty obvious requirement, there have been several cases in recent years of high school age children who were fully focused on agricultural education in the home school setting. This can be included, obviously, but not at the sacrifice of any single one of the five basic subjects.

For families that are not a fan of the state testing and the information reporting that is done on their children, home schooling has become a realistic option. Home schools are considered “private” and therefore do not have to report to state agencies or participate in state mandated testing. In a time in education where state testing is focused on now more than ever, many parents feel that the state is forcing teachers to teach the test rather than materials. While there may be some truth to some of these thoughts, many parents find out that the alternative is simply not enough of a challenge.

There are several things to consider when thinking about taking a child away from public education and starting a home schooling program. Some of these things are the social impacts that home schooling can have, the overall goal of the home schooling program, and what exactly is the reason for choosing this path. While there are no right or wrong answers, careful consideration must be given. A challenge that is often seen for parents who are home schooling their children is that they do not understand the developmental expectations of their children. This leads to their program failing to be rigorous enough to fully challenge their child and promote growth.

To help with these decisions, here are several well-respected links that will give an educator or parent all he or she needs to be informed and compliant.

www.texasunschoolers.com/resources/texas-homeschool-laws
This is all about the laws that are Texas home school. Any legal aspect of Texas home schooling is covered on this website.

www.thsc.org/homeschooling-in-texas/state-requirements/
This is the go-to site for Texas home schooling. The THSC (Texas High School Coalition Association) is a group or club that will help to form a network for home schooling needs.

tea.texas.gov
This is the TEA (Texas Education Agency) website that is dedicated to Texas education. Besides a legal standpoint on the issue, specific areas of this website will help answer those small questions which will arise as this decision is made.

www.homeedsa.com
While this website features an article with San Antonio based questions, the guideline for the questions is the legality and curriculum required statewide. This is one of the better FAQ sites on Texas home schooling.

www.a2zhomeschooling.com
This is a full encompassing site on home schooling. This site is unique in that anyone can check out other states and their laws as well to see how Texas compares. A great site for those who are new to all that is home schooling.