Teaching Through Tough Times

Sept. 6th, 2005, Houston, Texas Tim Lambert, president of the Texas Home School Coalition, reaffirmed today that home school families from other states who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Texas are free to teach their children rather than place them in a public school. "These families have all been through terrible times and they need to be given every opportunity to put their lives back together and recover emotionally, physically and economically. The last thing they need to be worrying about is whether or not they can continue to teach their children themselves," Mr. Lambert said.

"Home schooling is legal in all fifty states and families who have been displaced by this horrible tragedy can continue to teach their children at home or wherever the family is," Mr. Lambert declared. Families who need curriculum may contact Project Noah in Houston which provides curriculum to home school families in need. www.projectnoah.org or 281-225-4561

"The state of Texas recognizes home schools as unaccredited private schools, and Texas does not regulate, monitor or oversee private schools," he said. "Home school families are not required to register with the state or local school officials or get permission from them to home school," he explained. The only requirement to home school in Texas is to pursue in a bona fide manner (not a sham) a curriculum that covers the basic educational goals of reading, spelling, grammar, math and a study of good citizenship. Home school families contacted by local school officials are not required to submit their curriculum to school officials but only to give a letter assuring that they have such a curriculum and they are pursuing it in a bona fide manner.

"Evacuee home school families who experience problems with Texas officials related to home schooling while in Texas should give them a copy of the letter from the commissioner of education (www.thsc.org/pdf/TEAletter.pdf) that explains how the Texas Education Agency directs schools to deal with home educators and/or contact us."
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The Texas Home School Coalition Association is a state-wide advocacy organization with over 60,000 families on its mailing list that has worked to support families who wish to teach their children at home in Texas for almost twenty years.