Reasons to Homeschool: In Texas, Home Schooled College Applicants Are a Success
By Mimi Rothschild
Every year, home school kids are finding the college application process easier and easier and, in large part, they can thank the efforts of the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC). The Texas Home School Coalition works as a go-between, helping colleges understand the rules regarding home school admissions. They advise home schoolers about what is expected of them as far as admission requirements. The THSC has worked hard to get the state school admission process down to an equal playing field. Now it is finally for home school students. Here's a brief timeline:
- 1985 – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) filed criminal charges for truancy against 100 families across the state who home schooled their children. The case brought the verbal back-and-forth between home school families and the state school board to a head.
- 1985 – The 100 home school families fought back. They retaliated against the Texas Education Agency by filing a class action suit against every single school district in Texas: 1,060 school districts in all.
- 1986 – The Texas Home School Coalition (THSC) was formed in an effort to assist the 100 home school families who were caught in litigation. It was formed as well to stand up for the rights of home schoolers in general, providing services to promote their interests.
- 1994 – The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Texas home schools were quite legal. They stated that home schools could, in fact, be considered private schools and without any regulations concerning attendance. The only stipulation was that the home schools must have a written curriculum that included "reading, spelling, grammar, math and a course in good citizenship."
- 1998 - Congress made it legal for graduates of home schools to apply for and receive federal financial aid without the requirement of additional tests not required for public and private school students.
- Before 2003 - Many colleges required that home school students have more impressive SAT or ACT scores or even write essays and papers that they did not require from public and private school graduates.
- 2003 – This discrimination against home school students in the state college and university arena was stopped by the Texas legislature when it passed a law that required these schools to hold home school applicants to no more rigorous standards than any other applicant.
The discrimination has made such a complete turnaround that now state supported schools actively recruit home school students. Professors often look to home school college students to set the pace in the classroom and many of these students credit their home school background in giving them the faith base and study skills necessary to handle a heavy college workload.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children's rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.
Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.
In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education Websites Blog consists of helpful online content and activities for Christian homeschooling families.
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