School districts may request a letter of assurance from parents who intend to home-school a child in order to officially cancel enrollment at a public institution. This written statement may be required to include information about the curriculum that will be provided at home. The written statement of assurance holds the parents accountable to provide a bona fide educational experience for a child in lieu of public school attendance. The parents do not have to visit with a school official in person or provide examples of the curriculum that will be offered.
Parents are required to institute a written curriculum that includes math, reading, spelling, grammar, and good citizenship. The curriculum does not have to match that provided in a public school but does have to be done in a good faith effort with the best interests of the student in mind. Home-schooled students are not required by law to take any standardized tests but those who wish to later transfer into a public school may be assessed for placement and potential transfer credit. The transfer testing requirements for home-schooled students must be the same as those for students from unaccredited private schools.
Attendance for home-schooled students has long been a divisive issue with regards to prosecution for truancy. Public schools require 180 days of instruction each year. Home-schooled students are exempt from the compulsory attendance requirement to the same extent as students educated at other private institutions. In a statement issued by the Texas Education Agency in March 2010, school officials were reminded that their only responsibility for contacting Child Protective Services is to protect a child from possible abuse or neglect. Determinations on whether a home-schooled student is meeting reasonable expectations for attendance are at the discretion of public school districts and local judicial authorities.