Ed Law Briefly: Home Schooling Parents Challenge the Right of Texas School District to Verify Curriculum and Learning

RCEd Commentary 

Background: Michael and Laura McIntyre were charged with misdemeanor truancy in connection with home schooling five of their nine children. The El Paso school district filed the complaint after the couple resisted efforts to confirm that the children were indeed being formally educated.

The McIntyre children were originally taught in an empty space in a motorcycle dealership. Michael’s twin brother, Tracy, who co-owned the dealership, testified that he never saw the children reading, doing mathematics, or tackling any other customary academic subjects. He overheard the children tell a cousin that they did not have to do school work because they were going to be raptured.

The children’s grandparents met with El Paso school officials to express concerns that their grandchildren were not attending school or otherwise being educated properly. The attendance officer investigated and learned that the oldest child had run away from home at seventeen years old to “attend school.” When she enrolled at a public high school, she was unable to provide information about the level of education or curriculum she received at home school. The McIntyres refused to elaborate. 

Similarly the McIntyres repeatedly rebuffed district efforts to obtain additional details about the remaining home schooled children, declined to participate in meetings, and refused to sign a form verifying the quality of the curriculum.  

The Home School Legal Defense Association sent a letter to the school district repeating an earlier assertion that the McIntyres were “in full compliance” and did not have to submit any other information.

After the truancy charge, the McIntyres filed a lawsuit claiming a violation of the U.S. Constitution, the Texas Constitution, the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Texas Education Code. The school district responded that the McIntyres had gone to court too quickly, and should have given the administrative process an opportunity to resolve the complaint.

Issue: How do courts reconcile the rights of parents to home school their children versus the rights of school officials to oversee curriculum? As well, at what point can the courts intervene?

Legal Principles: This case centers primarily on a legal principle known as “exhaustion.” Under that standard, potential plaintiffs must engage every available administrative chance to solve the problem before filing a lawsuit. In other words, a plaintiff must “exhaust” all school district appeals before seeking legal remedies. For example, if a school district has a three-step appeals process (principal, superintendent, and board of education), then a person challenging a decision must touch each step or risk being expelled by the court.

The public policy reason is clear. It is possible the district could rule in a plaintiff’s favor at some appeal level and save the time, expense, and resources of the legal system. Anxious plaintiffs or inattentive lawyers sometime seek legal intervention at an interim step – and courts have been consistent that they must use the district-established process first and get a final answer before the courthouse doors open.  

Outcome: The court ruled in favor of the district, saying the McIntyres were pre-mature and should have exhausted administrative remedies before resorting to a lawsuit against the district. The court also ruled on the main issues in the case, finding no violation of the Texas Constitution, Religious Freedom Restoration Act or education code, nor any violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The court came down strongest on the point of exhaustion. Citing a 2005 case by the same Texas Court of Appeals, the ruling explained, “Requiring exhaustion of administrative remedies is not meant to deprive an aggrieved party of any legal rights. It is meant, rather, to provide an orderly procedure by which aggrieved parties may enforce those rights.”

Lessons for Principals and Teachers:

• As a principal how do you respond when a home schooled student arrives to enroll in your building and must be placed in a traditional grade?
• What are your state laws regarding home schooling?
• Are truancy laws in your district well enforced and your attendance system precise enough to detect when students are missing for extended periods of time?

Texas Court of Appeals – El Paso:
El Paso Independent School District v. McIntyre, No. 08-11-00329-CV (August 6, 2014).

_{Note: This information is not intended as legal advice. Federal and other court decisions can differ depending on what region of the country you live in. State laws also weigh in on certain issues. All cases are for educational purposes only, and meant to demonstrate how courts or administrative agencies have acted in specific instances as well as to provide information that can bolster the overall legal literacy of teachers and administrators. Local school attorneys can provide more detail about local law.}