Homeschooled Children Not Being Taught in Texas While Waiting For Rapture, Court Sides With Family

The Texas Supreme Court has decided in favor of a family who was not teaching its homeschooled children because they were waiting for the rapture, or the second coming of Jesus Christ. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of Michael and Laura McIntyre.

According to a CBS DFW report, the court favored the McIntyre family based on a technicality. The McIntyres had reportedly said that Texas school district officials violated their 14^th Amendment rights when the officials tried to verify that the McIntyre children were learning.

Michael and Laura McIntyre have nine children. The children were being homeschooled in the motorcycle dealership of the family in the El Paso district.

Texas family waiting to be raptured not teaching home-school children https://t.co/ReESJ6gbZT What about rights of children to an education?

— CampaignForChildren (@Campaign4Kids) June 25, 2016

Constitutionality Questions On Homeschooling

Q13 Fox reported that the Texas Supreme Court justices referred the McIntyre homeschooling case to the lower courts in the state,  as questions on constitutionality did not pertain to educational policy . According to the report, the state's high court did not address constitutional questions on whether children who are homeschooled must be properly educated.

The Christian Science Monitor reported that Michael and Laura McIntyre had earlier sued the El Paso school district for their perceived violation of their rights. However, a Texas appeals court ruled against them in their homeschooling case and it was eventually turned over to the Texas Supreme Court.

Homeschooling In Different States

The Christian ScienceMonitor's report also said that there are around 300,000 homeschoolers in the states of Texas. This figure is said to be around one-sixth of the total number of homeschoolers in the United States.

Additionally, it was stated that among the different states, 24 have mandated that homeschoolers need to be assessed using tests or portfolios. Nine states mandate that test scores of homeschoolers be reviewed by the state.

Should the children continue to be homeschooled despite the parents' belief in rapture? Share your thoughts below.