Education in Texas

Primary and secondary education
has over 1,000 s, ranging in size from the gigantic to the 13-student  in rural south Texas. All but one of the s in Texas are separate from any form of, hence they are called "independent school districts", or "ISD" for short. School districts may (and often do) cross city and county boundaries. School districts have the power to their residents and to use. The sole exception to this rule is, which serves all of the city of.

The public school systems are administered by the (TEA). The TEA is divided into twenty Educational Service Center "regions" that serve the local school districts.

Especially in the metropolitan areas, Texas also has numerous of all types (,, and ). The TEA has no authority over private school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools will obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests as a means of encouraging future parents that the school is genuinely interested in educational performance.

It is generally considered to be among the least restrictive states in which to home school. Neither TEA nor the local school district has authority to regulate home school activities; state law only requires that the curriculum 1) must teach "reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics and a study of good citizenship" (the latter interpreted to mean a course in ) and 2) must be taught in a  manner. There are no minimum number of days in a year, or hours in a day, that must be met, and achievement tests are not required for home school graduating seniors. The validity of home schooling was challenged in Texas, but a landmark case, Leeper v. , ruled that home schooling was legal and that the state had little or no authority to regulate the practice.

Colleges and universities


The (UT), established by the  in 1876, consists of nine   and six health institutions. UT System institutions enrolled a total of 182,752 students in fall 2004 making it one of the largest systems of in the nation. In 2004, the, which is the largest institution in the UT System and in the state of Texas, maintained an enrollment of 50,377 students. The University of Texas at Austin was once the largest institution in the United States, but it is now one of the top three largest by population. Seven programs at UT Austin rank in the top 10 in the nation and 22 degree programs rank in the top 25, according to a comprehensive study of the quality of graduate schools conducted by the. Four of the seven medical schools of Texas are within the. In 2004, the was ranked the 12th highest ranking medical school in the United States, with four of Texas's 11.

The, established by the 1871 Texas legislature, is the second largest state university system of higher learning in Texas. Its flagship institution, located in College Station, opened in 1876 and is the state's oldest public institution of higher education. Funded research generally exceeds that of all other Texas universities including UT Austin, and Texas A&M ranks among the top ten national universities in research. It is the second largest university in the state of Texas and also one of the top 10 largest schools in the nation. The University of Texas's rivalry with Texas A&M dates back to the late 19th century.

The is the largest urban state system of higher education in the, which has four  with three located in Houston. Its flagship institution is the (UH), which is the only doctoral degree granting extensive research institution in Houston and is the third largest in the state of Texas with an enrollment of over 36,000. The interdisciplinary research conducted at UH focuses on such areas as, space commercialization, , , , exploration and. UH is also home to over 40 research centers and institutes. Amongst the University of Houston's colleges is the. The UH Law Center's Health Law and Policy Institute is ranked number one in the nation while the Intellectual Property Law Program is ranked fifth, according to .

Houston is also the location of, which boasts one of the largest s of any university in the world. The small undergraduate student body has one of the highest percentages of National Merit Scholarship winners in the United States. Rice University maintains a variety of research facilities and laboratories. Rice is also associated with the Houston Area Research Center, a consortium supported by Rice, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston.

Another college in Houston is the. It was founded by the in 1947 as a  university. Former UST president Archbishop J. Michael Miller currently serves in the as the  of Catholic universities throughout the world. The campus is also home to some major historic buildings, such as the Link-Lee Mansion (once the largest house in Texas) and Hughes House (the childhood home of ).

Further, Houston is home to, the first to house a law school; it was also the first state-supported institution in the city of Houston. Over the years, the university's educational facilities and programs expanded, and many of its graduates began to achieve local, regional, and national recognition for their influence in politics, education, business, technology, medicine, and the arts. Its pioneering spirit continues today.

The, has three schools in the region, all of which are in the. The flagship institution is the (UNT) located in. UNT, considered one of the top music schools in the nation, is the largest in the region and forth largest in the state with an enrollment of over 34,500. The fields taught at UNT focus on such areas as business management, education, engineering,, and science. The UNT system also oversees the, the only university located in the of , and the , the only college in Texas that specalizes in.

Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is also the home to several other universities including three UT System institutions,, and the. , in Denton, is the largest state-supported university for women in the United States. In additton traditional 4-year schools, four community college districts have a combined total population of almost 150,000 students. The Metroplex is home several private universities such as, which has the Metroplex's largest law school, , and. For more information see:

is home to many colleges and universities, such as, the second-largest institution of the University of Texas System, which is expanding to become a research university. Other universities in the city are the, , , , and.

in serves as the largest educational institution in. It was founded in 1923 and has a current enrollment of over 29,000 including undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students. In addition to Lubbock, Texas Tech has Texas campuses in, , , , and. It has international campuses in and.

The consists of Texas Tech University's eight campuses and  in. s, found in, , and , Texas, are also part of the Texas Tech University System.

, chartered in 1845 by the, is the oldest university in Texas operating under its original charter. It purports to be the largest university in the world, having an enrollment of over 14,000 students. Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. The 735-acre campus is located just southeast of downtown, roughly bounded by , Speight Avenue, Eighth Street and the.

Other major public universities in Texas include (formerly Southwest Texas State University).

Top Texas universities by Nobel Laureate affiliation
Texan universities ranked s are:
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