The primary elections in which the political parties choose their nominees for the general election in November took place the first week of March 2022.
As usual, THSC vetted almost 100 candidates for state and local offices and we published our endorsements encouraging homeschoolers to vote for these candidates.
With thousands of new homeschool parents, we often get questions about why we engage in political elections when homeschooling is legal in Texas. With local city and school board elections coming up on May 7 and Primary Runoff elections on May 24th, it is critical for families to understand why participating in elections is so important.
One of the answers to this question lies in the history of the modern homeschool movement in Texas. As significant numbers of families began to homeschool their children in the early 1980s the state of Texas, through the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Attorney General’s office, asserted that this practice was illegal and encouraged the prosecution of these families.
As a result over 100 families across the state were prosecuted. Many lost their cases and were put in jail. Some fled the state.
After almost ten years of litigation against the state of Texas on this issue, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the families of Texas and against the state in 1994. The legal prosecution of Texas homeschoolers and harassment by local officials had a great impact on the culture of homeschooling in Texas.
I have often heard from homeschool families moving to Texas from other states that we “talk a lot about freedom.” The reason for that is we experienced a lack of it for many years and engaged in a decades-long battle for that freedom. We continue to do so today.
A key element in this ongoing battle is to educate officials as they are running for office on the fundamental, God-given rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, including the right to home school. Unfortunately, many officials today do not have the same high view of family rights as do we.
Too often families find themselves under attack by potential legislation at the state level or ordinances and public school policies at the local level. Even today, many families who withdraw from public school to homeschool are pressured by school districts trying to intimidate them into staying in the school. Some school officials have even outright lied to families about whether they are allowed to withdraw their children.
Having pro-family elected officials at all levels of government is what provides the mechanism to pass pro-family policies and hold rogue officials accountable to those rules.
That is why we strongly encourage all homeschoolers to register to vote and to support those who understand and are committed to the God-given right of parents to raise their children, including the right to homeschool.
Please register to vote if you have not already done so and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our endorsements in these upcoming elections. Our freedom depends on it.
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
The primary elections in which the political parties choose their nominees for the general election in November took place the first week of March 2022.
As usual, THSC vetted almost 100 candidates for state and local offices and we published our endorsements encouraging homeschoolers to vote for these candidates.
With thousands of new homeschool parents, we often get questions about why we engage in political elections when homeschooling is legal in Texas. With local city and school board elections coming up on May 7 and Primary Runoff elections on May 24th, it is critical for families to understand why participating in elections is so important.
One of the answers to this question lies in the history of the modern homeschool movement in Texas. As significant numbers of families began to homeschool their children in the early 1980s the state of Texas, through the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Attorney General’s office, asserted that this practice was illegal and encouraged the prosecution of these families.
As a result over 100 families across the state were prosecuted. Many lost their cases and were put in jail. Some fled the state.
After almost ten years of litigation against the state of Texas on this issue, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the families of Texas and against the state in 1994. The legal prosecution of Texas homeschoolers and harassment by local officials had a great impact on the culture of homeschooling in Texas.
I have often heard from homeschool families moving to Texas from other states that we “talk a lot about freedom.” The reason for that is we experienced a lack of it for many years and engaged in a decades-long battle for that freedom. We continue to do so today.
A key element in this ongoing battle is to educate officials as they are running for office on the fundamental, God-given rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, including the right to home school. Unfortunately, many officials today do not have the same high view of family rights as do we.
Too often families find themselves under attack by potential legislation at the state level or ordinances and public school policies at the local level. Even today, many families who withdraw from public school to homeschool are pressured by school districts trying to intimidate them into staying in the school. Some school officials have even outright lied to families about whether they are allowed to withdraw their children.
Having pro-family elected officials at all levels of government is what provides the mechanism to pass pro-family policies and hold rogue officials accountable to those rules.
That is why we strongly encourage all homeschoolers to register to vote and to support those who understand and are committed to the God-given right of parents to raise their children, including the right to homeschool.
Please register to vote if you have not already done so and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our endorsements in these upcoming elections. Our freedom depends on it.
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
