Home Educators Association of Virginia Legislative Update

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

Thursday, June 1, 2006

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GOVERNOR KAINE SIGNS HOMESCHOOL BILLS!

Governor Kaine has signed both homeschool bills changing option (i) from a baccalaureate degree to a high school diploma! The new law goes into effect July 1, 2006. This is the most significant change in the homeschool statute since the homeschool law was first passed in 1983! Now parents with a high school diploma will no longer be required to be under the additional oversight of option (iv). They will not have to choose between including the state SOLs in their curriculum under option (iv) and choosing an approved correspondence course under option (iii). They will have more freedom to direct their child’s education by complying with option (i). 

Our thanks go to Delegate Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville) and Senator Phil Puckett (D-Tazewell) who each championed separate bills through the House and Senate. Both legislators did an outstanding job representing the interests of homeschoolers. HEAV lobbyist, Martin Brown, deserves to be recognized for working closely with the legislators and garnering bipartisan support for this important change. 

MEETING HELD WITH DOE TO DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW LAWS
HEAV representative Yvonne Bunn, HSLDA Virginia attorney Scott Woodruff, and Parrish Mort and Scott Price of the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers met with the Virginia Department of Education last week to discuss implementation of the new homeschool laws. Anne Wescott, Michelle Vucci, and Charles Finley represented the VDOE. The meeting included an amicable discussion of how to implement the changes in option (i) and (iv), the testing revisions, and the new PSAT/AP laws. 

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA VERIFICATION
Proof of having a high school diploma for option (i) may include a copy of any one of the following: a high school diploma; a high school transcript; an associate’s degree; a baccalaureate degree; a master’s degree; or other higher degree. A GED is not considered a high school diploma. A photocopy of the diploma or degree should be attached to the Notice of Intent and submitted to the division superintendent by August 15.

OPTION (IV)
The change in option (iv) from “and” to “or,” now allows a parent to use either the SOLs for language arts and mathematics OR to “provide evidence that the parent is able to provide an adequate education for the child.” It was agreed that the descriptive statement already in the DOE handbook should be the criteria. It states, “To assess the parent’s ability to provide an adequate education, the division superintendent should determine whether the document itself exhibits a mastery of the language by the writer; whether it includes plans for instructional activities; and whether it presents a reasonable scope and sequence of content that shows a broad overview of what the parent plans to teach the child during the school year.” 

TESTING
Option (i) testing requires on or above the 4th stanine (23 percentile) composite score on ANY nationally normed standardized achievement test. HSLDA’s Scott Woodruff presented several detailed suggestions for option (ii) testing strategies. Although no decision was made, DOE representatives agreed to submit the suggestions to the superintendent for discussion. 

PSAT/AP
Public schools must now notify and allow homeschoolers to take PSAT and AP tests at their schools. We stressed that homeschoolers should not be charged more than public school students for the tests.

ISSUES DISCUSSION
Each organization also discussed ways to resolve some policy problems with various school districts. Some homeschoolers have been denied applications for the Governor’s School; many high schools have refused to accept credits from homeschool students transferring to public high schools; and a few schools are requiring parents to get “approval to homeschool” before they allow parents to withdraw their child from public school without truancy charges. After discussing these issues with the DOE, we are hoping they will address them in their policy handbook. 

DOE representatives will soon be meeting with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to discuss our recommendations for implementing the new laws. Afterwards, the DOE will formulate new homeschool policies and update their Home Instruction in Virginia policy manual. We will keep you abreast of developments.

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

It is less than one week until the 23rd Annual HEAV State Convention & Educational Fair. You won’t want to miss this year’s line-up of exceptional speakers, great bargains, and exhibitors with the latest and greatest materials available! Register at the door. Spouses and non-homeschooling grandparents attend for FREE.

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