Virginia
Forms Not Required
A member family recently asked the Augusta County school board to recognize that their child was exempt from compulsory attendance based on a religious exemption. The school board demanded that the family fill out and notarize a six-page exemption questionnaire. When the family refused, a lawsuit was filed claiming the child was “in need of supervision” for failure to attend school.
The questionnaire asked the parents to name “the local church . . . which embodies the . . . beliefs you hold,” the length of time the parents have been affiliated with that church, whether the parents are enrolled members of the church, the specific elements of the school program to which the parents object, and “how those elements . . . conflict with” the parent’s beliefs. It also asked the parents to attach “pertinent portions of the documents . . . which serve as the written basis for your religious . . . belief.”
The statute authorizing the religious exemption does not require filling out any particular form. So long as information sufficient to establish entitlement to the exemption is submitted, the school board must recognize the exemption even if the school board’s form is not used. Home School Legal Defense Association is representing the family and will ask the judge to dismiss the lawsuit. Members who are asked to fill out such a questionnaire should contact our office promptly.
— Scott A. Woodruff
