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Home Educators Association of Virginia Legislative Update

To: Virginia Home Educators
From: Yvonne Bunn, HEAV Director of Government Affairs

Thursday, January 26, 2006

GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE: ACTION NEEDED ON HB 1340

You can help make homeschooling better in Virginia! Delegate Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville), the patron of HB 1340, has requested that homeschoolers
call their delegates to support HB 1340, a bill that will provide equal oversight for ALL homeschooling parents -- parents with a baccalaureate
degree, as well as those with a high school diploma. We expect the bill to come before the full House for discussion at noon this Friday and for a
vote on Monday. YOUR CONTACT TODAY (THURSDAY) AND FRIDAY COULD REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BACKGROUND
HB 1340 is the same bill HEAV introduced in 2004.

Currently ALL parents who meet one of the requirements under the homeschool statute can homeschool -- even those with a high school diploma.
Parents with a high school diploma usually comply with option iii (use a correspondence course) OR option iv (include the SOLs objectives in their
curriculum subject to the approval of the division superintendent, and provide evidence that they are able to provide an adequate education for
 their child). This has resulted in unequal application of the law and excessive requirements in numerous districts. HB 1340 would give a parents
 another option.

Here are some reasons to support HB 1340:

- Data shows homeschoolers are doing a good job.

- Test results show that children, whose parents have a high school diploma, are scoring 15 to 19 percentile points higher than the average
student on nationally-normed standardized tests.

- Studies show there is no correlation between the educational background of homeschooling parents and the academic success of their students _
all homeschoolers do well!

- Homeschoolers are still tested and have accountability measures in place.

- The homeschool statute still requires standardized testing and other checks and balances that protect the educational progress of homeschooled children.

- It works in other states. Virginia is the only state that requires a baccalaureate degree to homeschool. By changing the homeschool law,
Virginia will be joining ten other states that require a high school diploma to homeschool. The other 40 states do not require any educational
qualifications.

- The West Virginia Department of Education recently studied homeschool parents with high school diplomas. Their study determined that children of
homeschool parents that have high school diplomas actually did as well, or better, than students of public and private schools. Based on this
information, the legislature removed restrictions on parents with high school diplomas.


CURRENT STATUS OF THE BILL
HB 1340 passed the House Education Committee on Monday, January 25, 2006, and a companion bill, SB 499 (patroned by Senators Puckett, Houck, and
Quayle), has already passed the full Senate (30-Y, 9-N). HB 1340 (patroned by Delegate Rob Bell) is the House version of the same bill. It passed
the House Education Committee Wednesday along party lines (14-Y, 8-N).

HEAV, HSLDA, and VaHomeschoolers are working together to secure enough votes in the House for the debate on Friday and the vote on Monday. Your
delegate needs to hear from you today!

WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Your representative wants to know what you think. It is very important you contact YOUR OWN delegate by phone or e-mail. E-mail is good for a
tally of support or opposition, but calls are more effective.

Your message should be very brief and respectful. If your delegate voted for HB 1340 in committee, thank him and ask for his continued support.
 See detailed information on the vote count at http://legis.state.va.us/.

When you call, be sure to tell your delegate you are his or her constituent and ask him to vote “yes” for HB 1340 -- a bill that gives
homeschooling parents with a high school diploma the same oversight as parents with a college degree. Studies show that regardless of the parents'
 educational background, homeschooled students score as well or better than students taught by state-certified teachers with four-year college
 degrees. Homeschooling works!

If you send an e-mail message, again be brief. Mention the bill number (HB 1340), tell him you are in his district, ask him to support the bill,
 and give one brief reason.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I CALL?
When you call, you will probably speak with a secretary or legislative assistant who will simply take the information. They may ask for your
address to identify you as a constituent and to send a response. If you send an e-mail message, you may or may not get a reply depending on the
volume of messages received in the office.

WHO IS MY DELEGATE?
Not sure who your delegate is or how to contact him or her? Go to the Virginia General Assembly homepage at http://legis.state.va.us/ (hold down
your Ctrl key and click the blue link), then click on “House of Delegates,” then “Who's My Legislator.” Or go to directly to
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform and enter the required information.


Thank you for your calls and e-mails - working together, we CAN make a difference!

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HOW YOU CAN PARTNER WITH US DURING THE SESSION
1. Receive, review, and pass on our HEAV Legislative Updates. Get on our e-mail list, and encourage others in your support group to sign up at
www.heav.org for our regular Legislative Updates.
2. Pray for our legislative team.
3. Support the work of HEAV through volunteering and financial contributions (see our special “Gift-Giving Offer” at www.heav.org).

TRACK HOMESCHOOL BILLS YOURSELF WITH LOBBYIST IN A BOX
The Virginia General Assembly has given private citizens the ability to track up to five bills with the bill tracking software Lobbyist in a Box.
You can find out more about this software at http://leg1.state.va.us/h015.htm.

JOIN US AT HEAV'S DAY AT THE CAPITOL
Show your support for homeschool legislation and Home Educators Association of Virginia by coming to Richmond on February 22 for our second Day at
the Capitol. This is an excellent way to learn about our state government. Over the years thousands of homeschool families have joined us to
express their support for homeschooling to their elected and appointed representatives in Richmond.

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HEAV - Serving the homeschoolers of Virginia through information, legislation, and resources since 1983! Be sure to sign up to receive the FREE
Virginia Home Educator magazine and Legislative Updates at http://www.heav.org

HEAV (Home Educators Association of Virginia)
2248-G Dabney Road
Richmond, VA 23230
804-278-9200
www.heav.org
office@heav.org