Grapevine, TX Learning Pod

The Institute for Justice sent a letter to Grapevine officials warning that their attempts to regulate a learning pod violated the Texas Learning Pod Protection Act.

The city told Ruby Brock, an educator with nearly three decades of experience, that she couldn’t keep teaching 14 children in a dedicated location unless she complied with a laundry list of requirements. She would have to rezone the property, obtain a new certificate of occupancy, obtain a conditional use permit, install a fire suppression system, comply with landscaping requirements, and obtain a department of health inspection and permit just to give out pre-packaged food and drinks. The paperwork, permits, public hearings, and renovations would take months to sort out, and easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The Texas Learning Pod Protection Act prohibits municipalities from imposing regulations on learning pods that would not apply to different organizations.