Virginia
House Defeats Ban on Access to Public Schools
On Friday, February 19, the Virginia House voted down Senate Bill 1316, which would have banned all home schoolers from participating in public school extracurricular activities. Under current law, each school district has the discretion to either allow or prohibit home schoolers from participating in its extracurricular activities. S.B. 1316, sponsored by Senator H. Russell Potts, would have removed this discretionary authority from local school districts by placing a blanket ban on home schoolers’ participation in public school activities.
Although Home School Legal Defense Association’s official position concerning home schoolers’ access to public schools is one of neutrality, we opposed this bill because it was a direct attack against home schooling.
During an exchange before a senate committee, Senator Potts advocated the position that home schoolers not play in public school sports. He said, “You’re either in school or not in school. You cannot have a situation in which the star running back who is not a student in our schools is laying (sic) on the couch at home all day and the fullback on the other team is in school all day.”
After this speech, the ban squeaked past the senate. HSLDA attorney Christopher Klicka testified before the Virginia House Education Subcommittee and visited more than 25 key offices. Delegates Dick Black, Jay O’Brien, and James Dillard agreed to actively oppose S.B. 1316 if it got to the floor. The Virginia Department of Education, which also opposed the bill, circulated HSLDA’s talking points among various house delegates. HSLDA sent out alerts to its membership and the calls poured in.
On Friday, the house education committee passed S.B. 1316 by a unanimous vote to the floor where Delegates Black and Dillard led the fight to a 57–35 victory to kill the ban once and for all.
Articulate, courteous calls from informed home schoolers often make the difference between victory and defeat. HSLDA thanks our Virginia members for their active opposition to this legislation.
Parent-Taught Driver Education
A new bill will open the door for the approval of more parent friendly driver education courses. H.B. 2996, introduced by Delegate Jay Katzen at the urging of HSLDA and the Home Educator’s Association of Virginia, would allow the state board of education to approve courses for parent-taught classroom driver education. After completing the parent-taught classroom instruction at home, students may take the behind-the-wheel portion at a public school on a space available basis or at a commercial driving school.
Drafted by HSLDA, this legislation was also supported by the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles. Now that H.B. 2996 has passed both the house and senate, HEAV and HSLDA will continue to work with the Virginia Department of Education and DMV to promote parent-taught behind-the-wheel instruction in future legislative sessions.
Daytime Curfew Provision Stopped
Following lobbying by HEAV and phone calls from home schoolers, H.B. 2697 was stripped of language which, in effect, would have allowed localities to set a curfew during school hours for home schoolers. Additionally, the legislation includes a provision initiated by HEAV and HSLDA last year to protect home schoolers by limiting curfews to nighttime hours.
Minor Changes in Home School and Religious Exemption Law
The Virginia Legislature has passed two bills—H.B. 2384 and S.B. 962—which make the following small changes to the home school statute:
- The Code citation for the religious exemption has changed from §22.1-257(B)(2) to §22.1-254 (B)(1). There are no additional requirements. Any future communications to the school board regarding a family’s religious exemption must use this new citation.
- The deadline for submitting the Intent to Home School form will remain August 31 for only one more year. Effective July 2000, the Intent to Home School form must be submitted to the division superintendent’s office by August 15. This applies only to home schoolers operating under the home school law.
- Lastly, 16 year olds who decide to take the GED are no longer required to be home schooled three consecutive years prior to taking the GED test.
The Census is Coming!
Every three years, Virginia holds a school census. This is not a mandatory census, so home schoolers are free to refuse to participate. Unfortunately, many census takers are paid based on the number of names they collect, and some have made threats to home schoolers who refuse to cooperate. Every Virginia school district receives $700 for each school-age child counted in the census, whether or not the child attends the local public school. Many Virginia families have strong religious objections to having their tax dollars support the public schools, and non-participation in the census provides their only real way to express their religious objections to public school instruction. If a census taker tries to force you to provide information you would rather not provide, simply explain to him or her that the Virginia school census, established by Virginia Code § 22.1-281, is voluntary rather than mandatory. Explain that you have strong religious objections to subsidizing secular public schools with your tax dollars. If the census taker refuses to take this for an answer, politely ask him or her to call your attorney at Home School Legal Defense Association.
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Carry Me Back to Old Virginny
by
James Bland
“. . . There’s where the cotton and the corn and ‘tatoes grow . . .”
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