Virginia Homeschool | November 16, 2006 HEAV Legislative Update

HEAV Legislative Update

November 16, 2006

K12 Virtual Charter School Start-Up
Nelson County has partnered with K12, Inc., to create Nelson County Academy of Virtual Learning. This new public school program was launched on November 13, 2006. The district is actively recruiting homeschoolers in Nelson County, but will accept students throughout the state. Nelson County is promoting it as “joining an educational support system that brings together the best elements of home instruction and public schooling.” In October, the superintendent sent a letter of invitation to current Nelson County homeschoolers inviting them to participate in two public meetings to discuss the new “homeschool program.”

Don't Be Confused!
The virtual school is a public school program. Although K12 is an approved correspondence course under option 3 of the homeschool statute, it is not a homeschool course if used as part of the Nelson County Academy of Virtual Learning, or if used in other virtual schools nationwide. It is a public school program targeting homeschoolers with very appealing gifts—free books, free materials, free help. With the K12 virtual school, each child will be assigned a licensed public school teacher for oversight. Parents will be offered free lesson-planning programs, books, and instructional materials, etc. The course is publicly funded—no tuition will be charged. The course content is correlated with the Virginia SOLs. Grades K-8 will be available this month, and grades 9-12 will be available in the fall of 2007.

DOE Unaware
The DOE was unaware of the development of this type of virtual school in Virginia until Celeste Land of the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers brought it up during our recent meeting with the DOE. The DOE was dismayed that a virtual school, funded by taxpayer money, was in place without their knowledge. Both HSLDA’s Scott Woodruff and HEAV’s Yvonne Bunn expressed concern about this development and noted this is a trend across the nation. A letter from Nelson County superintendent Roger Collins and the DOE clarified an important question brought up by Celeste—students participating in the Nelson County Academy of Virtual Learning will be considered public school students, not homeschoolers.

Threat to Home Education
Virtual schools create many threats to homeschools. Some parents may be lured into thinking free curriculum and educational supplies will help their budgets, but there is an unseen cost. They will be giving away the hard-earned freedoms of homeschoolers. Through participation in a virtual school, government school administrators will now be able to oversee and tightly control homeschools—as well as regain the lost revenue each student represents. What often begins as a voluntary, “helpful” government program, will usually result in more regulations. If some homeschoolers voluntarily agree to more government oversight, why not expand the oversight to all homeschoolers?

A virtual public school program under the guise of home education comes with many strings attached. If parents agree to participate in a virtual school, they are no longer free to make curriculum adjustments for their child. They are no longer free to use the curriculum that will best suit the learning styles of their children. They are no longer free to move at a pace that is right for their child. They are no longer free to choose core materials that teach from a Christian perspective.

A Trojan Horse
Virtual schools are a Trojan horse for homeschoolers. Control and intrusion into the family typically follow government assistance!

For more information about the dangers of virtual schools and what is happening across the country, click here.

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Renewed Discussion of Interscholastic Sports Access
Participation in public school sports has been a long-standing issue for some homeschooling parents. Ken Tilley, executive director of the Virginia High School League, requested a meeting with homeschool and private school organizations to discuss possible changes in the VHSL rules. These changes may lead to future participation in interscholastic sports for non-public school students. The immediate goal was to build relationships among the key players.

Dialogue Built on Earlier Meeting
HEAV representatives first met with VHSL about 10 years ago to discuss the VHSL’s policies prohibiting homeschool participation. HEAV submitted a proposal for the VHSL board to consider. They tabled the recommendation. Many times since, individual parents have contacted their legislators asking them to propose legislation that would compel VHSL to amend its policy. In past years, several bills have been introduced, but failed to move out of their respective committees. The league has decided to review their policy for all non-public school student participation.

Those in attendance included a high school principal, an attorney and lobbyist for private school interests, an athletic director, and representatives from the Virginia High School League, the Virginia Council for Private Education, the Virginia Department of Education, Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV), the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers, and Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA).

No Problems in Other States
We had a very amicable discussion about the trends across the nation regarding sports access. Approximately 40 states allow private school participation in interscholastic sports and 12 allow homeschool participation. No states allowing participation by homeschoolers have reported problems or have attempted to reverse their policies.

Private schools are not sure they want to pursue sports access with public schools. They are satisfied that most of their leagues are well established and running smoothly. Those in attendance were generally optimistic that we could move forward with a proposal that would meet the needs of non-public school students without infringing on the rights of homeschool and private school parents.

Committee Formed
A committee was formed to research laws in other states and recommend policy changes to VHSL. Yvonne Bunn of HEAV, Scott Woodruff of HSLDA, and Celeste Land of the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers will participate on the committee, as well as representatives from the DOE, VHSL, and VCPE. At the conclusion of the meeting, several people commented that they were glad to get to know homeschoolers and understand their needs.

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Concerns Discussed with the Virginia Department of Education
HEAV and other organizations met with the DOE to discuss issues of concern for homeschoolers: excessive requirements for the description of curriculum; limited public school acceptance of homeschool transfer credits, lack of PSAT notification, and the start-up of a virtual charter school in Nelson County. Yvonne Bunn (HEAV), Scott Woodruff (HSLDA), and Celeste Land and Scott Price (Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers) met in Richmond on November 8 with Anne Wescott, Michelle Vucci, and Charles Finley of the DOE.

Your feedback, please!

The issues mentioned above are very important to homeschoolers in Virginia. I’d like to know what’s going on in your city or county. Do you have a virtual school in your area? Would you like to see access to interscholastic sports for homeschoolers? Is your superintendent requiring more than a list of subjects and/or books for a “description of curriculum”? Were there any problems taking the PSAT in your area? Please let me hear from you!

I’d like to know your concerns as we prepare to enter the 2007 General Assembly session. Do you have questions regarding the law, or would you like clarification on homeschool requirements? If so, please e-mail me at legislative@heav.org.

I’ll keep you posted as things develop.

Sincerely,

Yvonne Bunn, HEAV Director of Government Affairs

Home Educators Association of Virginia

e-mail: legislative@heav.org

phone: 804-278-9200

web: http://www.heav.org