What if your homeschooled child was picked up by the police any time of day and wrongfully charged with a class C misdemeanor? It would be traumatic for both the child and the family. That’s why THSC has stood up against city councils for years to fight curfew ordinances that are bad for homeschoolers.
On Jul. 10, 2019, the Houston City Council will be taking public testimony on the city’s juvenile curfew ordinance and considering whether the ordinance should be continued. We need homeschoolers to come and testify against this ordinance!
The daytime curfew in Houston runs from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the nighttime curfew runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m on school days and nights. Anyone under 17 or their parents can be fined up to $500 for being out during these hours.
Although homeschoolers are “exempt” from compliance with the curfew ordinance, such an exemption only helps if the enforcement officer 1) believes the family and 2) the family can “prove” that they qualify. THSC opposes all juvenile curfews on principle and because it forces families, even if they are exempt, to justify their presence in public during school hours and prove that they should be there.
Families who homeschool or who otherwise follow different school hours or days compared to public school students are often out in public during normal school hours.
Under curfews, they could summarily be stopped, questioned, detained and fined for violation of a city’s curfew ordinance.
The burden is then on the family to prove their innocence. THSC opposes curfew ordinances not only for the sake of the homeschool community but for the sake of the rights and well-being of all families.
If you are a homeschooler in the Houston area or if you have been affected by this ordinance in Houston or similar ordinances in other cities, we need your help!
Read THSC’s Letter to Houston City Council
We Need Your Help To Ensure That This Ordinance Is Not Renewed!
How you can help:
- District A – Brenda Stardig – 832.393.3010
- District B – Jerry Davis – 832.393.3009
- District C – Ellen R. Cohen – 832.393.3004
- District D – Dwight Boykins – 832.393.3001
- District E – Dave Martin – 832.393.3008
- District F – Steve Le – 832.393.3002
- District G – Greg Travis – 832.393.3007
- District H – Karla Cisneros – 832.393.3003
- District I – Robert Gallegos – 832.393.3011
- District J – Mike Laster – 832.393.3015
- District K – Martha Castex-Tatum – 832.393.3016
- At-Large Position 1 – Mike Knox – 832.393.3014
- At-Large Position 2 – David Robinson – 832.393.3013
- At-Large Position 3 – Michael Kubosh – 832.393.3005
- At-Large Position 4 – Amanda Edwards – 832.393.3012
- At-Large Position 5 – Jack Christie – 832.393.3017
Attend and testify at the public hearing on this ordinance at the next Houston City Council meeting on July 10! The details on the ordinance are as follows:
- Houston Juvenile Curfew Ordinance Public Hearing
- When: Wednesday, Jul. 10, 2019 at 9 a.m.
- Where: Houston City Hall Council Chamber — 901 Bagby, Houston, TX 77001