Texas Homeschool Laws (2026): Do You Need to Register?
Checked against the state's sources on ; next check .
Updated
The year at a glance
No set date
- Letter of assurance, only if a district asks
No. Texas has no homeschool statute and nothing to file. Home schools count as private schools under Tex. Educ. Code § 25.086(a)(1) and the 1994 Leeper decision. The statute names one subject, good citizenship, and sets no days, hours, records or tests.
- File
- Nothing to file with the state. Letter of assurance, only if a district asks. Notice
- Count
- No legal minimum: Texas has no homeschool statute and no day or hour requirement Days and hours
- Keep
- None required Records
- Test
- No test or evaluation required Testing and evaluation
On this page
Texas asks less of homeschooling families than any other state this site covers. There is no form to send, no count of days to reach, no test to schedule and no portfolio to hand over. That doesn't mean there's no law at all. It means the law is short, and most of what you read about Texas homeschooling online is custom rather than a rule.
How to start
Texas never passed a homeschool statute. Teaching at home is legal because a home school is treated as a private school, and private school students are excused from public school attendance. The exemption in the Education Code, § 25.086(a)(1), covers a child who "attends a private or parochial school that includes in its course a study of good citizenship".
The courts settled that a home can be that kind of school. The Texas Education Agency explains: "Home schooling has been a legal alternative to public schooling since 1994." It goes on to say that in the case of Leeper et al. v. Arlington ISD et al., "the Texas Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision that children being taught at home are exempt from the compulsory attendance requirement to the same extent as students enrolled in private schools."
To begin, you decide to teach, choose your materials and start. If your child is enrolled in a public school now, it's sensible to tell the school in writing that you're withdrawing to homeschool, so the attendance office isn't left guessing; that is practical advice, not a legal step.
Notice
No notice is required, and nobody registers Texas home schools. The agency is direct about its own role: "The TEA does not regulate, index, monitor, approve, register, or accredit the programs available to parents who choose to home school."
The one point of contact the agency describes comes from the district, not from you: "A public school district that becomes aware of a student who is potentially being home schooled may request in writing a letter of assurance from the parents that the student is being home schooled." There's no deadline attached, because there's no filing to be late for. It only arises if a district asks.
There is no state form for the reply either. A letter of assurance is a short letter the parent writes, saying the child is being home schooled.
Required subjects
The statute names one subject: good citizenship. The agency's page repeats this and adds nothing more: "Parents who choose to home school are required to follow a course of study that includes good citizenship."
You'll often see a longer list of five subjects quoted as Texas law: reading, spelling, grammar, math and good citizenship. That list isn't in § 25.086. It traces back to the stipulated facts in the Leeper litigation, where the parties described what a genuine, non-sham home curriculum looked like. The Texas Education Code itself requires only the study of good citizenship, so treat the five subjects as a sensible description of a real curriculum and not as a legal requirement. The research behind this guide flags the fuller list as unverified as statutory text, for exactly this reason.
Days and hours
Neither the statute nor the agency sets a number of school days or instructional hours for a home school. You choose your calendar. Some families still like a target, because it makes the year easier to plan and gives a clear finish line.
The attendance tracker shows no legal minimum when you pick Texas; it keeps the running totals without a goal. If you'd like a goal anyway, choose your own target there, or lay out a year in the year planner with the days you want to teach.
Records
Texas requires no attendance record, no log and no portfolio. What you keep is up to you.
A modest file is still worth having. If a district ever asks for a letter of assurance, or your child later enrolls in a public school, a list of the courses covered and some record of the work makes the conversation easier. The agency notes that most districts have policies to assess the mastery level of courses taken at home, and the results can be used for grade placement or credit.
Testing and evaluation
There is no required test and no required evaluation. Texas doesn't ask home schools to report scores or progress to anyone. Families who want an outside measure can choose a standardized test on their own schedule, but it has no legal role. The state also doesn't issue a diploma to home-schooled students; the agency says it considers finishing a home school education equivalent to graduating from a public high school for college admission.
Records checklist
None of this is legally required in Texas. It's an optional file that would let you answer a letter-of-assurance request or support a later transfer:
- A list of the curriculum and books used for each subject, including good citizenship.
- An attendance or reading log, if you choose to keep one.
- A few work samples from each year.
- A copy of any letter of assurance you send, and the district's request.
- For high school, a transcript with courses, credits and grades.
Sources (3)
- Texas Education Agency: Home Schooling tea.texas.gov
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.086 (Texas Legislature) statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- Tex. Educ. Code § 25.086 (texas.public.law) texas.public.law
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