Why This Exists
Spiritual formation, intellectual formation, and vocational formation cannot be separated. They are one integrated work. This conviction drives the need for educational environments where faith is not compartmentalized but woven through every aspect of learning.
Texas presents a unique opportunity. The state's regulatory environment, cultural landscape, and recent federal policy shifts create favorable conditions for Christian microschools to flourish. This playbook aims to compile the relevant information, organize it clearly, and transmit it to those called to this work.
This is not comprehensive. It is incrementally built, one file at a time, as understanding deepens.
Principles of This Repository
Cite Primary Sources
Every claim in this playbook should be traceable to its source. Prefer primary sources over secondary reporting:
- Legislative text first: Link directly to bill text on congress.gov, legiscan.com, or capitol.texas.gov
- Official government sources second: Governor's office, Texas Comptroller, agency guidance
- Reputable reporting third: When primary sources are unavailable or need context
Claims without sources should be treated as provisional. If you find unsourced claims, please contribute by adding citations or flagging the gap.
Why Texas?
Texas has specific characteristics that make it worth focusing on:
- Regulatory environment: Texas homeschool and private school laws provide significant freedom for faith-based education models
- Cultural context: Strong existing communities of faith that can support microschool networks
- Scale: Large population means lessons learned here can reach many families
- Policy momentum: State-level interest in expanding educational options
Generalizing too early loses the specificity that makes a playbook useful. Other states have different laws, different cultures, different challenges. This playbook is for Texas.
How to Use This
If you're exploring whether to start a Christian microschool in Texas, start with the Policy section to understand what's now possible. Move to Philosophy if you need to articulate the "why" to others. Use Practical when you're ready to act.
If you're already running a microschool, consider contributing case studies or practical lessons learned.
Contributing
This is an open resource. If you have knowledge that would help others in this work, contributions are welcome.
To contribute, DM garysheng on LinkedIn or X.
About
This playbook is maintained by Gary Sheng. The goal is to lower the barrier for faithful people to create educational environments where the next generation can be formed spiritually, intellectually, and vocationally as one integrated work.
This repository grows incrementally. Each file is added when there's something substantive to say, not before.