How to avoid in-person schooling in Plano, TX for 2021-22 school year?

Question

Texas legislature killed funding for remote learning in the upcoming 2021-22 school year, meaning that children will have to do in-person schooling again.

Because of the increased spread of the delta variant of COVID and the lack of approved vaccines for smaller children, I'm deeply worried about in-person schooling.

What are my legal options to avoid sending my child to school? Is it possible to convince / force schools to provide remote learning due to the increasing health risks?

Answer 1

Yes, it’s possible

Education is compulsory in Texas for children between the ages of 6 and 18 (unless they have a high school diploma) subject to a number of exemptions that don’t seem applicable.

This can be met by:

• attending a public school - which has the problem you identified,
• attending a private school - some of these may be offering distance education. These obviously cost money - median for Texas is about $10k pa.
• home schooling - which obviously meets the issue but may not be something you can do.