Texas homeschools operate as private schools under Texas Education Code §25.086 and the 1994 Leeper v. Arlington ISD court ruling. You do not notify the Texas Education Agency or your local district. You do not test your child or file reports. The legal requirement is short: teach in good faith, use visual materials, and cover five specific subjects.
Verified June 2026 · Texas Education Code §25.086 · Leeper v. Arlington ISD, 885 S.W.2d 174 (Tex. 1994) · Texas Education Agency
| Requirement | What Texas Requires |
|---|---|
| Notification | None. No forms to file with the state or district. |
| Required subjects | Reading, spelling, grammar, math, good citizenship |
| Daily or yearly hours | Not set by law |
| Testing or evaluation | Not required |
| Recordkeeping | Not required by law (keeping records is still wise) |
| High school diploma | Parent-issued; no state form needed |
| State funding | TEFA: $2,000 per child for 2026-27 (verify current enrollment at tea.texas.gov) |
| Withdrawing from public school | Written notice to your school required |
What Makes Texas Different
Texas homeschool law traces back to one court case decided over thirty years ago. In 1994, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in Leeper v. Arlington ISD that home education is a form of private schooling under Texas law. That decision settled the question of state authority over home schools and has held ever since.
The practical result is clean: the Texas Education Agency treats your home school the way it treats other private schools. It does not audit you, approve your curriculum, or track your students. Your district has no oversight role. You do not report to anyone.
For parents coming from states that require annual testing or district notification, this can feel strange at first. There is no workaround, no form you were supposed to file and forgot about, no annual review. Texas homeschools are genuinely free from regulation beyond the three requirements written into the law.
The Three Legal Requirements
Texas Education Code §25.086(a)(1) exempts children from compulsory attendance when they attend a private school that covers good citizenship. The Leeper court defined what that means for home education. Three things must be true.
Bona Fide Instruction
The teaching must be real. You are educating your child, not just keeping them out of school without any instruction. This is a low bar: if you buy materials, set a regular schedule, and work with your child, you meet it. Texas courts have not taken action against families who are making a genuine effort to teach.
A Visual Curriculum
Your materials must be in visual form. That covers books, workbooks, printed worksheets, and screen-based digital content. Audio-only instruction would not meet this requirement on its own, though you can supplement with audio or video. Every mainstream homeschool publisher's materials qualify.
Five Required Subjects
Your curriculum must cover all five of these:
- Reading
- Spelling
- Grammar
- Mathematics
- Good citizenship
Texas law sets no hours per subject, no weekly schedule, and no required progression through grade levels. "Good citizenship" has no statutory definition. Parents teach it through history reading, civics discussions, community service, or dedicated character education programs. All of those approaches satisfy the requirement.
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How to Start Homeschooling in Texas
If your child has never been enrolled in a Texas public school, nothing needs to be filed before you begin. Choose your curriculum, set a schedule, and start teaching. No registration, no notice, no waiting period.
For families withdrawing from public school, the first step is sending a withdrawal letter to the school. That process is covered in the next section. Once your child is withdrawn, you can begin the same day.
Three things help most new Texas families get started well.
Choose your curriculum first. Texas does not require a specific publisher, but you do need visual materials covering all five subjects. Most families start with a language arts program that bundles reading, spelling, and grammar together, then add a separate math program. That covers four of the five required subjects in two purchases. Good citizenship rounds out through history reading, basic civics, or a character education program.
If you are unsure where your child stands in reading, that is the right place to start. The free reading assessment takes about ten minutes and gives you a concrete starting level, which makes curriculum selection a lot easier.
Set a schedule based on your family, not on a school calendar. Texas sets no required school days or hours. Most families with elementary-age kids find two to three hours of focused work in the morning covers what they need. You adjust based on your child's age, pace, and how much material you are covering.
Keep basic records even though the law does not require it. A simple folder with a list of topics covered, work samples, and any assessments you run gives you documentation if questions ever come up. Those same records become the foundation of a high school transcript later.
Pulling Your Child Out of a Texas Public School
Withdrawing from a Texas public school is a one-step process. Send a written letter to your child's school stating you are withdrawing the child to enroll in a private home school under Texas Education Code §25.086. Address it to the principal or the school office. Hand-deliver it, email it, or send it by certified mail, and keep a copy for yourself.
The district's job is to update the child's enrollment record. School staff cannot require proof of your teaching qualifications, a curriculum plan, or any guarantee of what you plan to teach. Under the Leeper framework, your home school is a private school and the district's oversight authority ends at the withdrawal letter.
One area to plan for in advance: if your child has an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) through the district, those services end when you withdraw. Families who need support for a child with a learning difference will need to find private evaluations and services outside the school system.
What to Teach and How Much
Beyond the five required subjects, Texas leaves every other decision to you. You choose the curriculum, the sequence, the daily hours, and the pace. No scope-and-sequence must be submitted and no curriculum must be pre-approved.
Most parents new to homeschooling in Texas start with an all-in-one language arts program that covers reading, spelling, and grammar together, plus a separate math program. For younger kids still building reading skills, a dedicated phonics-based reading program makes a stronger foundation than a general language arts program alone. If you want to know where your child is before picking materials, the free reading assessment is the fastest way to find out.
As kids move into middle and high school years, you can expand into science, history, foreign language, and electives. None of those are required for the legal exemption. They matter for a college-bound student's transcript, covered below.
High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in Texas
Texas parents issue their own high school diplomas. There is no state form to complete, no government approval needed, and no third-party evaluation required. When your child finishes the course of study you designed and meets your graduation standards, you award the diploma.
For college-bound students, the transcript matters more than the diploma itself. Build a four-year record that lists each course by name, credits earned, the grade, and the grade point average across grades 9 through 12. Texas state law requires colleges and universities to evaluate homeschool graduates by the same academic standards they apply to public and private school graduates. Most Texas admissions offices are comfortable reading home-education transcripts.
A significant change took effect starting with Fall 2026 applications: HB 3041, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2025, made homeschool graduates eligible for the TEXAS Grant program for the first time. If your child plans to attend a Texas public college or university, confirm current eligibility and requirements with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, since rules can shift between legislative sessions.
The guide walks through building a homeschool plan from the start, which also gives you a working framework for tracking credits and progress through the high school years.
Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA)
Texas launched the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program with Senate Bill 2 in 2025. Applications opened in early 2026 for the 2026-27 school year, with homeschool families among the eligible recipients.
Under TEFA, homeschool families accepted into the program receive $2,000 per eligible child per year in a state-managed account. Funds cover approved education expenses: curriculum materials, textbooks, tutoring, online courses, and other qualifying costs.
Eligibility for TEFA is not open to all families. The program uses a priority tier system. Families with lower household incomes and students with disabilities are prioritized in the first tier. Families at higher income levels may sit in a lower priority tier or on a waiting list, depending on funding availability in a given year.
The program is still new and the rules will shift as the Texas Legislature revisits funding levels and eligibility terms. Before planning around the $2,000 per child, confirm your family's current eligibility and the status of the enrollment window at tea.texas.gov.
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A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
When we first went through Texas homeschool law, we kept waiting to find the part we were missing. Other states on our list had notice requirements, annual testing mandates, or portfolio review processes. Texas kept coming back with nothing additional to report.
The short list is real. Texas made a clear policy decision after Leeper: home schools are private schools, and private schools handle their own education. The state stepped back, and that has not changed in over thirty years.
For you, that means the friction most people expect when they start homeschooling does not exist here. No forms to file, no district meetings, no end-of-year test appointments. Your energy goes to your child and your curriculum.
Two things we would flag. First, TEFA is new and the rules are still settling. The $2,000 per child is worth knowing about, but confirm your eligibility before counting on it for your curriculum budget. Second, if you are withdrawing from public school, send the letter in writing and keep a copy. It is not complicated, but having a paper trail protects you if anyone at the school pushes back on the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we Need to Notify Anyone Before we Start Homeschooling in Texas?
No. If your child has never attended a Texas public school, you do not notify the school district, the Texas Education Agency, or any other government body. You start teaching. If your child is currently enrolled in a public school, you send a written withdrawal letter to the school first, then begin homeschooling the same day if you want to.
What Subjects Am we Required to Teach?
Texas requires five subjects: reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship. There is no required number of hours per subject, no testing requirement, and no grade-level standard set by the state. You choose the curriculum and the pace.
Does My Child Have to Take Standardized Tests?
No. Texas does not require standardized testing, portfolio reviews, or any form of evaluation for homeschooled students. You assess your child's progress on your own timeline with whatever tools you choose.
How Do we Create a High School Diploma and Transcript?
You issue the diploma yourself. No state form or agency approval is needed. For a transcript, track each course by name, credit hours, grade earned, and grade point average across grades 9 through 12. Texas colleges must evaluate that transcript by the same standards they apply to public school graduates.
What Is TEFA and How Do we Apply?
TEFA (Texas Education Freedom Accounts) is a state-funded program that gives eligible homeschool families $2,000 per child per year for education expenses. It launched for the 2026-27 school year using a priority tier system. Check current eligibility requirements and the enrollment window at tea.texas.gov, as details may change each legislative session.
Sources
Texas Education Code §25.086, Exemptions
Texas Home School Coalition: Requirements to Homeschool in Texas
Texas Education Agency (tea.texas.gov): TEFA program details