VIRGINIA
Home Schoolers Battle Legislation
During the legislative session this year, Virginia home schoolers had much to do to protect their rights. By God’s grace, a significant piece of legislation entitled S.B. 1011 was passed. And several bills which had the potential to negatively impact home schoolers were successfully amended.
Severe Immunization Bill Introduced
House Bill 1954 was introduced in order to require home schoolers to submit immunization records to local health officials on demand. Under this bill, local health officials would also have the authority to make visual inspections of children. Families furthermore would have been required to turn in the results of physical examinations.
When HSLDA first learned about the immunization bill, we began to prepare a memo to send to all our members. Unfortunately the bill was on a “fast track,” and there was not time to mail an “alert.” The Home Education Association of Virginia issued a phone alert throughout the state. As a result, hundreds of phone calls came in to each member of the education committee in just one day. Jim Moon, Yvonne Bunn, Will Shaw, and Henry Enochs, all with HEAV and Christopher Klicka, along with home school father Tracy Johnson, drove to Richmond in order to testify on this bill. By the time everyone arrived, the legislators, including the sponsor of the bill, were willing to adopt numerous amendments which HEAV and HSLDA were suggesting. As a result, H.B. 1954 was drastically amended in order to better protect home schoolers.
House Bill 1954 has been amended so that home schoolers still have to do immunizations, but there are two exceptions. One is that the bill was changed so that the parents need only object to immunizations on religious grounds thereby making their children exempt. No longer do the children have to prove themselves that they have religious objections to immunizations. Secondly, a family can get an exemption if they provide a letter from a doctor which states that the immunizations would be dangerous to the child. The bill was further amended so that health officials are not involved and have no authority to do visual inspections of the children.
Under the present bill, families need only retain the immunization records. It is only upon request of the division superintendent that a family would have to submit a one-page notarized form stating that their children have been immunized or notify that they have religious objections to immunization or a medical excuse. Furthermore, the bill was amended so that the superintendent has no authority to request physical examination records. By God’s grace and the active involvement of hundreds of home school families, this bill was tremendously compromised in favor of protecting the rights of home schoolers in Virginia.
Mandatory Kindergarten Bill
The department of education initiated Senate Bill 913 which would have effectively required all children to attend school or be in compliance with other exemptions under the compulsory attendance law by the age of five. A similar bill was also introduced in the House (H.B. 2279). Although home schoolers lobbied intensely against this legislation, the bill passed out of committee in both the House and the Senate. However, Jay O’Brien, a delegate in the House who favors home schoolers, was able to attach an amendment which would allow parents to choose not to send their five-year-old to school if they believed the child was not mentally, physically, or emotionally prepared. The bill with the attached amendment passed the House with a large margin of the vote, and passed the Senate by a very close vote of 20-19.
Governor L. Douglas Wilder, however, altered the favorable amendment with a line item veto and gave local school authorities the right to approve exemptions for five year olds from mandatory kindergarten. Once again this legislation went before the House and Senate for approval. The Governor’s amendment was overwhelmingly defeated. The Senate then voted 39-1 and the house voted 87-0 to pass the favorable amendment making kindergarten not mandatory!
One senator commented that based on the outpouring of telephone calls they received, it would appear that half of the state of Virginia was home schooling.
Virginia Religious Exemptions Have Difficulty
In Cumberland County, the Dusan family was denied a religious exemption by the board in a 2-1 decision. As reported in our last newsletter, HSLDA immediately appealed that discriminatory decision to the Cumberland County circuit court.
Not content to wait until the appeal was heard, however, the school district went ahead and filed criminal truancy charges against the family. This type of action is uncalled for and totally unnecessary. HSLDA Attorney Jordan Lorence was able to convince the prosecutor, who was also the school board attorney at the meeting, to agree to postponing indefinitely the criminal trial pending the results of the civil appeal to the circuit court. Meanwhile, HSLDA has discovered that the school district has already missed their deadline in responding to the Dusans’ appeal.
Please pray for the Dusan family, that God will grant them encouragement and strength during this time and that He will protect them and give them favor in the eyes of the court.
In Prince William County, Attorney Christopher Klicka appeared before school staff and the board’s attorney on behalf of two member families seeking religious exemptions. Both hearings lasted over an hour and proved very trying for the families. The first family, the Cochrans, endured what can only be deemed as hostile interrogation. Not only were their religious beliefs belittled by the school officials, but an unfair and irrelevant emphasis was placed on their personal educational background. In fact, the officials were so belligerent that Mrs. Cochran was visibly shaken and extremely upset. The second family, the Hudgins, were subjected to the same type of interrogation. In their case, the school officials insisted on speaking to their older child in an effort to determine if the child held the same religious beliefs. When the family firmly refused the interview, the officials threatened to press truancy charges if they did not comply. Attorney Klicka was able to gain some time by offering alternative evidence of the child’s religious beliefs.
Please pray for the Cochrans and the Hudgins. Both have remained steadfast and unwilling to back down from their convictions, even in the face of hostile school officials.
Religious Exemptions Granted Throughout the State
Despite the above conflicts and trials, by God’s grace other families are successfully receiving their religious exemptions. For example, Attorney Klicka wrote letters and provided documentation to school boards on behalf of several families who were granted religious exemptions without a hearing: the Harts in Shenandoah County, the Mills in Madison County, and the Skeltons in Chesterfield County.
After many phone calls to the board attorney by Attorney Klicka, the Smith family of Colonial Heights escaped a hearing and were granted assurance that their religious exemption would be granted. Shortly after receiving their exemption from Hampton City, the Pilla family moved to Poquosan County. They were granted a religious exemption after submitting their own letter and proof of their previous exemption from Hampton City.
Other families who received religious exemptions after submitting a letter and supporting documentation describing their religious beliefs are: The Loopes in Fauquier County, the Teates in Loudoun County, the Walkers in Madison County, and the Rulemans in Fairfax County. We join these families in thanking God for His protection of their right to exercise their convictions.
