Homeschooling in Texas?

Question

I want to start homeschooling, and I live in Texas. What do i have to do? I have been in the public school system for 9 years, so do i have to notify anyone that I'm going to start homeschooling? Are there papers? If so, where do i get them? How long does it take to start?

Answer 1

The homeschool laws for Texas can be found at hslda.org
Your parents need to send a letter of intent to homeschool to the public school. It is a good idea to send this certified, return receipt, just for backup. Without the notice of intent, you will be considered truant.
It doesn't have to be fancy, just "on this date, our child (name) will pursue a private education that includes, reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship.
An example can be found at THSC.org (texas homeschool coalition.
You can start whenever you are ready. You will need a curriculum of some type, whatever your parents have in mind and that is it.
Texas is an easy state to homeschool in, but some areas try to make it tough on homeschool families, so make sure your parents are aware of their rights, by giving them these two websites. They may want to consider joining one or both of these organizations.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Some parents give the school district a letter of intent, it's really up to your parents if they want to do it. The school just needs to know that you will be getting your education elsewhere and doesn't need to be informed that you will be homeschooled. You can get your school records from them also. In Texas you don't have to inform anyone that you will be homeschooling. You just do it. You'll need to find a well rounded curriculum. You can find them already made or you can make your own from several sources. Some are expensive and some can be printed from the internet or found at the public library. The previous answers had good sites to visit for legal info and those sites also have links for getting started in homeschooling.

Answer 3

So not true. The diploma you earn is worth anyone the school hands out. Any person can walk into a office store and purchase one to fill out themselves. No college even asks to see a diploma!! They want to see a transcript, ACT scores, and some referrals from volunteer work. And no one needs an excuse to homeschool. It's a moral and legal right to homeschool, and actually the original learning method for humans. Schools are a recent invention. Be Ware. Any counselor at school is probably not going to have either the law or the pros of homeschool in mind. People in school are part of the system and there is no incentive for knowing about homeschooling.

Answer 4

Listen to Terri, ignore Saby. If you are currently *in* the public school system, your parents need to notify the district that you are being withdrawn. The ONLY time you don't need to notify them is if you never attended school here (homeschooled starting at mandatory attendance age or moved here from out-of-state). Otherwise, you will be truant and an officer can come and drag you back to school, even from home (unless your parents have completed the steps below).

ALL your parents need to do is send a letter of intent to the school district (make sure it is sent via certified mail, return receipt requested). The day after they mail the letter, you can stay home. As Terri said, THSC has a sample letter on their website.

Answer 5

There are a number of good sites out there with information about how to get started with homeschooling in Texas. Here's a good one:

http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool/Texas.shtml

Answer 6

I'm in 10th now and it's my almost 2nd year being homeschooled. All my mom did was go to the school, withdraw me and write on the withdraw form that she will be homeschooling me from then on. BTW: I'm in Texas too. It's that easy.

Answer 7

Last time I checked in Texas it was really easy. Your parents need to go to the school district and inform them that you will be homeschooled. That's it.