VIRGINIA
Home Schoolers Score Victories
Fairfax County Public Schools, after four years of harassment and conflict, have finally relented on the issue of "description of curriculum." Under the Virginia home school law, home schoolers are required to submit a "description of curriculum" along with their notice of intent to the local school district. The Fairfax County Public Schools took the position that the "description of curriculum" had to include the "content" or "objectives" of the curriculum. Thus, any family in Fairfax County who submitted a list of subjects and corresponding textbooks as their description of curriculum received a letter of disapproval. In any given year over the last four years, at least 50-60 families were rejected by Fairfax County concerning their "description of curriculum." Many of these families received numerous letters throughout the school year threatening legal action if they did not comply. An additional problem occurred when these families tried to obtain driver's licenses—since they were not recognized by the school district, they could not obtain letters acknowledging that they were legally home schooling. A few families were visited by truant officers.
For years, Home School Legal Defense Association attorney Christopher Klicka defended these families in letters to the Fairfax County Public School authorities, explaining that the county's position was completely illegal. Klicka emphasized that the Virginia home school law does not give local school districts any authority to approve or disapprove "description[s] of curriculum." School districts simply perform the administerial function of collecting the data. Furthermore, every other district in the state except Fairfax accepted a list of subjects and corresponding textbooks as a description of curriculum.
On February 15, 1995, Fairfax Assistant Superintendent Healy conferred with his council and officially decided that booklists, rather than descriptions of learning objectives, are acceptable to satisfy the statute's requirement of a "description of curriculum." In a letter to HSLDA, Healy said, "Therefore we will be at this time treating a booklist or a list of materials as curriculum because it appears that the applicants may view it as such." In the same letter, the assistant superintendent also recognized that Fairfax County does not have the authority to approve descriptions of curriculum.
We praise the Lord for this breakthrough. Home schoolers are to be commended as well for standing on principle and refusing to let Fairfax County institute its illegal policies. We expect that home schoolers will not be harassed or threatened concerning their "description[s] of curriculum" for a long time to come.
Virginia Legislature Improves Driver's License and Permit Law
One problem that home schoolers have in many states is getting drivers' licenses. A large number of states now require children between the ages of 16 and 18 to provide documentation from their schools, showing that they are not drop-outs. In many cases, the legislation requires this documentation to come from the local public school districts. This creates many problems for home schoolers in Virginia, where many families with religious exemptions are not on record with their local public school systems.
At the beginning of the Virginia legislative session, HSLDA attorney Christopher Klicka drafted a proposal to solve this problem. Under this new legislation, Virginia Code § 46.2-334(1)(a) has been amended. It adds the following sentence: For minors attending nonpublic schools, such certification shall be made by the private school principal or any of his designees; for minors receiving home schooling, such certification shall be made by the home schooling parent or tutor."
Delegate Jay Katzen, a Republican from Warren and Fauquier Counties and one of Virginia's best home school advocates, introduced the bill and did a tremendous job on behalf of parents in seeing the legislation through. Delegate Katzen gave the House and Senate a simple argument in favor of the bill: "Vote for H.B. 2534 if you think home school students should be able to obtain driver's permits and driver's licenses as easily as any other student in Virginia."
H.B. 2534 makes life easier for home schoolers and also provides evidence of home schooling influence on the Virginia legislature—the bill passed unanimously! The new law will become effective July 1, 1995.
H.B. 2874, which would have allowed home schoolers to participate in athletic teams, academic teams, and other extra-curricular activities, died in the House Education Committee without action.
Meeting with Governor George Allen
On February 15, 1995, the Home Educators Association of Virginia sponsored a luncheon with Governor George Allen. The event coincided with Allen's declaration of February 12-18 as Virginia Home Education Week. In attendance were several key administrators and home school support leaders from around the state, the Secretary of Education, and many state legislators and officials. HSLDA Senior Counsel Christopher Klicka and his wife Tracy also attended, representing the L.I.F.E. support group from Fauquier County. The Klickas sat with State Superintendent William Bosher and were able to discuss whether there should be greater regulations of home schoolers under the religious exemption statute. Christopher Klicka produced HSLDA's statewide study of religious exemption home schoolers, demonstrating that these home schoolers score, on average, in the 80th percentile on standardized achievement tests. He explained that the religious exemption home schoolers have earned the right to be left alone. Superintendent Bosher afterwards pledged his support for home schooling in general.
Governor Allen spoke to the gathering, extolling the virtues of home schooling. He also read aloud his Virginia Home Education Week proclamation. (For an excerpt of this proclamation, see the last issue of the Court Report.) Governor Allen pledged to pressure Virginia Senator John Warner to oppose the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. "We don't want the U.N. commanding our troops, so we certainly don't want the U.N. controlling our children," Allen said. The crowd responded with thunderous applause. (Governor Allen's pressure, along with many HSLDA members' letters and calls, were certainly effective. Senator Warner has issued a letter unequivocally opposing the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.)
After the luncheon, Christopher Klicka had the opportunity to talk with Governor Allen for several minutes about home schooling and the U.N. Convention. Mr. and Mrs. Klicka, along with more than 20 home-schooled religious exemption students, were also able to meet with several state senators and representatives. The Home Educators Association of Virginia is to be commended for an excellent event which served to promote home schooling in the Old Dominion. The day had a highly positive impact, creating a good will between legislators and home schoolers which will last for a long time.
