West Virginia
Athletes for Freedom
The English word “athlete” comes from a Greek word that means prize, or one who competes for a prize. West Virginia home schoolers have truly been athletes for freedom this year, and have now won their prize.
On March 22, Governor Cecil H. Underwood signed into law Senate Bill 189. This means that during the 2000–01 school year, West Virginia families can home school all their children—regardless of their age or grade—even if the parents have only a high school diploma.
This one-year suspension of the requirement that home school teachers have four more years of education than their pupil is a tremendous opportunity for the home schoolers of West Virginia to demonstrate that excellence in education is not tied to bureaucracy or regulation. Home School Legal Defense Association salutes John Carey of Christian Home Educators of West Virginia for spearheading the effort to pass this legislative reform and we thank all the home schoolers who prayed, called their legislators, and attended the subcommittee hearing on this proposal. (For more details, see the March/April Court Report, "Light in the Basement," page 22.) — Scott A. Woodruff
