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Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV)

To: Home Educators of Virginia
From: Joe Guarino, Director of Government Affairs

Monday, February 16, 2004

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA BILL TO BE HEARD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19

We have a great opportunity to make the most sweeping change in Virginia’s homeschooling laws in 20 years! HB 675, the Homeschool High School Diploma bill, will be heard before the full Senate Education and Health Committee on Thursday,
February 19, at approximately 8:00 a.m., in Senate Room B of the General Assembly Building. If you can attend this meeting, your physical presence will go a long way in demonstrating the importance of this bill to our community.

The bill will be presented with the recommendation of the Public Education Subcommittee that it be reported to the full Senate. The subcommittee met Friday, February 13, and agreed by a vote of 3-1 to report the bill. This vote was another important step toward passage of this bill. Thank the following senators for their supportive votes:
 
Sen. Steve Newman 804-698-7523 district23@sov.state.va.us
Sen. Frank Ruff 804-698-7515 district15@sov.state.va.us
Sen. Edd Houck 804-698-7517 district17@sov.state.va.us

The bill’s patron, Delegate Bell, presented the bill to the subcommittee. He emphasized two points: First, the test scores of homeschooled students with both parents having high school diplomas are on average 15 to 19 percentile points higher than the average scores of public school students with teachers having baccalaureate degrees and certification. Second, even with the passage of this bill, under the homeschool statute, parents will still have their children tested and submit the results to their local superintendent by August 1 each year. These two points seemed to assuage most of the subcommittee members’
concerns.

When the subcommittee chairman asked if anyone in the audience supported the bill, I rose and spoke in favor of the bill. A representative from the Virginia Home Educators Association did the same, as well as Jeff Erway, a homeschooling
father. Another supportive father, Jesse Clarke, also attended the meeting. When the subcommittee chairman asked if anyone opposed the bill, a representative of the Virginia Education Association spoke. He cited anecdotal evidence that homeschoolers, when re-entering public schools, are not where they should be academically in various subjects, thus bringing the overall SOL scores for the school down. When asked if he had any actual numbers, he said no.

ACTION: The full committee will hear the bill on Thursday. Since these senators represent all senators, you may contact any or all of them. Please contact the following senators who have not yet indicated how they will vote, and ask them for their support:

 

Senator Blevins 804-698-7514 district14@sov.state.va.us
Senator Edwards 804-698-7521 district21@sov.state.va.us
Senator Howell 804-698-7532 district32@sov.state.va.us
Senator Lambert 804-698-7509 district09@sov.state.va.us
Senator
Lucas		 804-698-7518 district18@sov.state.va.us
Senator Saslaw 804-698-7535 district35@sov.state.va.us
Senator Whipple 804-698-7531 district31@sov.state.va.us

Over the past few weeks, as the bill went through both chambers, four major concerns were voiced in opposition. Please feel free to mention these to the legislators as talking points in support of the bill.
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CONCERN #1: The test scores of homeschooled students with both parents having high school diplomas are on average 20 points below students with both parents having baccalaureate degrees.

RESPONSE: While this statement is true, these lower scores are mostly 15 to 19 percentile points higher than the average scores of public school students with teachers having baccalaureate degrees and certification. These lower scores still put homeschool students in the top third of all students.

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CONCERN #2: If we allow parents with high school diplomas to teach their own children, how will we know how well they are doing?

RESPONSE: The Virginia Code has already been addressing this for 20 years. Under the homeschool statute, parents must have their children tested and submit the results to their local superintendent by August 1, of every year. If the scores
fall below the fourth stanine or 23rd percentile, the child’s education program may be put on probation for one year. If--after one year--the student’s scores have not improved, the parents must make other arrangements for the education of their child.

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CONCERN #3: How would high school graduates be able to teach a subject about which they know very little or in which they are weak?

RESPONSE: One of the goals of homeschooling is to create life-long  learners--self-directed, self-motivated individuals. If a parent does not feel adequate to teach their high school student a difficult subject like calculus or advanced biology, they have several options: (1) They can order an online course and manage their student's progress. (2) They can send him to a local school (public or private) for that one class. (3) They can have him participate in a local homeschool co-op. Or (4) They can hire a tutor. Whatever the topic, parents can--and do--find ways for their student to learn difficult subjects.

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CONCERN #4: Homeschoolers re-entering public schools are not where they should be academically in various subjects, thus bringing down the overall SOL scores for the school.

RESPONSE: First, the opposition admits this information is purely anecdotal, and that no numbers have been gathered because it is not a widespread problem. Second, even if a homeschooler  were to return to a public school, the overall
SOL scores for that school certainly should not be affected that much by one set of low scores.