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A C R O S S T H E S T A T E S
Virginia
Religious Exemptions and Home School Law Deadlines
1990–91 marks the second school year in a row that no HSLDA members have been denied religious exemptions by a school board. Thirty-one HSLDA members were officially granted religious exemptions by various counties throughout the state. Most of these approvals involved a letter, a telephone call, and a religious exemption packet from the HSLDA legal staff, although some required a formal hearing before the school board.
Several families recently granted religious exemptions were not yet listed in the Home School Court Report. The Suttons in Madison County, the Wallcrafts in Westmoreland, the Boonayers in Newport News, and the Van der Lindes in Albemarle were all granted religious exemptions by merely supplying a description of their religious convictions. HSLDA attorney Chris Klicka wrote letters to school boards in three other counties who were misinterpreting the law or had no record of granting religious exemptions. Each of these HSLDA families were subsequently granted religious exemptions by their school boards: the Wallaces in Russel County, the Revells in Isle of Wight, and the Ooleys in Greene County.
[CAPTION] Yvonne Bunn, President of Home Educators Association of Virginia (HEAV) opens the state leadership reception at the annual conference in Lynchburg with an enthusiastic welcome.
New Johnson Case in Prince William County
Meanwhile, HSLDA's Virginia Supreme Court case, Johnson v. Prince William County, in which they lost on the facts but won on the points of law, has been helpful in getting the most recent religious exemptions granted.
The Johnson family, however, is being harassed by Prince William County because they technically lost the case since four of the seven Virginia Supreme Court justices thought the Johnsons' beliefs were inconsistent. The Johnsons have requested a new religious exemption hearing based on matured beliefs, new evidence of witnesses who will vouch for their sincerity, and the testimony of an expert to demonstrate that their beliefs are religious.
At the time of this printing, the school board is trying to dodge the new hearing request. Instead they prodded the school district to pursue prosecution of the family. In response, the school district sent the family two letters demanding that the children be enrolled in public school—even though there were only three weeks left in the school year.
HSLDA tried to persuade the officials to allow the family to try to get a new religious exemption over the summer. But three days before school was officially out in Prince William County, the Johnsons were served with an arrest warrant at 11:00 p.m. The prosecution expedited the trial by setting it for July 3. Since that time Attorney Klicka has been able to convince the prosecutor to delay the case for the entire summer, and if the situation is resolved by September, the prosecutor has agreed to drop the case.
Please pray for protection for the Johnson family. Also pray that the Prince William County School Board will give them a new hearing and grant them a religious exemption.
Virginia Home School Law and Testing
By August 1, all families who operated under the home school law this past year must send their local superintendent either the results of any national standardized achievement test—with scores above the 40 percentile—or an evaluation that demonstrates progress.
Families planning to follow the home school law for the 1991–92 school year must make certain that they have notified their local superintendent by August 31. Please note, however, that home schoolers are not required to use the local school district's form. This is an especially important consideration since many of the local forms declare that by signing it the home schooler agrees to comply with district policies. A home schooler should not agree to follow such policies since these often exceed the law.
Home schoolers can either reply with a letter containing the required information or use the state's original notice of intent form. HSLDA members can contact HSLDA for a copy of this form. It is important to submit the form in during the month of August. Home schoolers have been prosecuted for filing their notices late. It is a good idea to send the notice of intent by certified mail.
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