Texas
A friend in a small-town police department
Recently, a public school principal in a small Texas town asked the chief of police to send a truancy officer to visit a local homeschooling family with a demand that they file paperwork with the school district about their homeschool program. The principal insisted that this family was violating the compulsory attendance law in Texas and he would consider the children truant until paperwork was filed with the school district.
What the principal didn't know, however, was that the chief of police is a homeschooling father! The chief immediately called Home School Legal Defense Association to confirm that Texas homeschooling families are not legally required to submit any paperwork to the school district. He also asked HSLDA for advice on how to handle the situation with the public school principal. We gave the police chief recommendations to help resolve the situation and commended him for handling the situation wisely.
"I am very proud of my kids and I love homeschooling," he replied.
We are grateful to God for His providence in bringing this homeschool father to this family's aid at just the right time.
Testing applies to all applicants
A common problem many homeschool graduates face is discrimination in the college admissions process. However, in helping a homeschooler who was seeking admission to the University of Texas in San Antonio, HSLDA was pleasantly surprised to find that UT applies a consistent admissions policy to all applicants. We learned that all students (public, private,or homeschool students) must pass the Texas Assessment of Academics Skills (TASS) test and score at least a 970 on the SAT or a 20 on the ACT. However, any student who scores at least a 1070 on the SAT or a 23 on the ACT is not required to take the TASS.
Federal law ensures equal treatment of homeschooled applicants. (See our article "Ending College Discrimination" in the July/ August 2002 Court Report) If your homeschool graduate experiences difficulty in obtaining college admission or financial aid, contact the HSLDA legal staff and we will be happy to work with the college or university to resolve the situation.
— Christopher J. Klicka
