Legal / Legislative Updates

VIRGINIA

“Teacher’s License Not Enough To Homeschool”

Homeschooling mother Jacqueline McDaniels (name changed to protect family’s privacy) notified Accomack County Public Schools that she would be homeschooling her children under the tutoring provision of the Code of Virginia § 22.1-254(A).* Mrs. McDaniels also sent the school system a copy of her teacher’s license. She did not expect to hear from them again until 2011, when her license is due for renewal.

When the Accomack district sent Mrs. McDaniels a letter a year later telling her that she needed to file a notice of intent to homeschool, she knew something had gone wrong. So, being a member of Home School Legal Defense Association, Mrs. McDaniels called our offices for help.

Virginia gives licensed teachers an option not available to other homeschooling parents. They can file a notice of intent or use the religious exemption like others, but they can also notify the district that they will be tutoring-their children or other people’s children-under the Code of Virginia tutoring provision, § 22.1-254(A).

If a parent files a notice of intent, the school system expects them to complete several requirements, including listing the name of each homeschooled child, submitting a year-end assessment, and filing a new notice every year. If the parent tutors under the Code of Virginia § 22.1-254(A), they do not need to list the names of the children they will be teaching, file a year-end assessment, or provide notice each year.

In fact, tutoring under § 22.1-254(A) is so much easier than opting to file a notice of intent, it is difficult to imagine why any homeschooling parent who is a Virginia licensed teacher would want to file a notice of intent.

On behalf of Mrs. McDaniels, HSLDA Staff Attorney Scott Woodruff wrote a letter to the secondary school instructional coordinator for Accomack County Public Schools, who had asked Mrs. McDaniels to file a notice of intent. Woodruff explained the situation and pointed out that Mrs. McDaniels was under no legal obligation to file a notice of intent since she was a tutor.

A few days later, the official wrote back and said he would no longer request a notice of intent.

In 1993, HSLDA went to court to prove that homeschooling parents who are licensed teachers can tutor under Code of Virginia § 22.1-254(A). The Prince William County School Board had hauled homeschooling dad Charles Berlin into court, claiming he was breaking the law. He had not filed a notice of intent because his wife, Nancy, was a licensed teacher. HSLDA Senior Counsel Christopher Klicka defended him. In the end, Judge Richard Potter of the Circuit Court of Prince William County, ruled that Berlin did not need to file a notice of intent since his wife was a licensed teacher whose credentials the school system had recognized under § 22.1-254(A).

The Virginia Department of Education acknowledged this victory for homeschool freedom. Subsequently, the state superintendent of public instruction sent a memo to all school systems telling them that the tutor option was available to homeschooling parents possessing a teacher’s license.

— by Scott A. Woodruff