Imperfect Genius

I’m confused about homeschooling in Virginia. What paperwork do I need to file? I’m not sure I understand the law, do I have to have a teaching certificate? What are my options? Should I claim a religious exemption?

Homeschooling in Virginia is actually pretty easy, but the “legalese” can be confusing to newcomers. There are three different provisions in Virginia law that allow families to homeschool, which present a total of six different filing options. I’ll review each of these here.

1 - Home Instruction Statute

This is the actual homeschooling law in the Virginia Code. For statistical purposes the state considers only the children of families who file under this provision to be “home instructed”.

The other two provisions are slightly different and are found under the compulsory schooling law, but in reality life they are used by homeschooling families, too. So this distinction is really just a matter of paperwork rather than an indication of who actually homeschools.

There are four different options for filing under the Home Instruction Statute. Some families will find that they fit into more than one category and therefore have their choice of which option to use. Certainly everyone in Virginia who wishes to homeschool can qualify under at least one of these options.

Option One : used when either parent holds a high school diploma. Proof of a high school diploma can be any one of the following things: a high school diploma; a high school transcript; an associate’s degree, baccalaureate degree, master’s degree or other higher degree. Note that a GED is not considered a high school diploma. A photocopy of the diploma or degree should be attached to the Notice of Intent and submitted to the division superintendent by August 15. You need to include a brief description of curriculum (a few sentences about the program of study you’re planning to use). The superintendent has no authority to judge or reject the program of study submitted under this option.

Option Two : used when either parent is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education. Include a copy of your teaching certificate. Otherwise identical to option one.

Option Three : used when the family chooses to enroll their child in a state approved correspondence course. The Department of Education (DOE) maintains a list of such courses, you can pick from any of them. You’ll need to provide evidence of enrollment, such as a paid receipt or acceptance letter.

There are many other correspondence courses available that may not have been approved by the DOE yet. Approved courses are not necessarily superior to those which are not on the list. You can encourage the company to apply for approval or you can simply file under one of the other three options and use the course you want.

Option Four : used when the family does not have a high school diploma or teaching certificate and chooses not to use a pre-approved curriculum. This is sometimes referred to as the “none-of-the-above” option. You have two choices under this option - A) show evidence that you are able to provide an adequate education for the child or B) include the SOLs in your curriculum description. Parents used to be required to do both, now they can choose one or the other.

Providing evidence that you can give your child an adequate education sounds really difficult, but it’s not. The DOE handbook has these guidelines: To assess the parent’s ability to provide an adequate education, the division superintendent should determine whether the document itself exhibits a mastery of the language by the writer; whether it includes plans for instructional activities; and whether it presents a reasonable scope and sequence of content that shows a broad overview of what the parent plans to teach the child during the school year.

Note that homeschooled children are not required to take the SOLs! If you choose to use option B (the SOLs) you only need to include them in your description of curriculum - the law does not require you to follow each standard. Many homeschoolers simply state that they have obtained a copy of the SOLs (which can be downloaded from the DOE website) and will use them as a reference.

Also, the superintendent can judge your curriculum description only on whether or not it includes the SOLs for mathematics and language arts for the appropriate grade level OR on whether you have provided evidence that you can give your child an adequate education. He/she is not allowed to determine whether the program of study is an appropriate substitute for school.

2 - Certified Tutor Method

This provision allows parents who are “a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the [state] board of education and approved by the division superintendent” to filing as a certified tutor of their child[ren].

In other words, if you have a Virginia teaching license and want to teach your children at home, you can use this method. Alternately, if you do not have a teaching license you could hire someone who does to tutor your child. Although that’s not really homeschooling, it is allowable under this provision.

One reason some parents with a teaching license decide to use this option is because they do not have to file with the school every year or submit proof of progress and are not required to submit a description of their program of study.

This is the main difference between the Certified Tutor option and the Home Instruction Statute. You file once and provide documentation (such as re-certification of your teaching license) as needed.

3 - Religious Exemption

This is reserved for families who have a deeply held religious belief which prevents them from complying with compulsory schooling. Filers who wish to take a religious exemption (RE) must demonstrate a “bona fide religious training or belief” that opposes school attendance.

Once the claim is recognized by the school board the family has no need to file again. The RE law is often misunderstood. Let’s clear up the confusion by starting with the specific wording of the Virginia Code:

A school board shall excuse from attendance at school: any pupil who, together with his parents, by reason of bona fide religious training or belief is conscientiously opposed to attendance at school. For purposes of this subdivision, “bona fide religious training or belief” does not include essentially political, sociological or philosophical views or a merely personal moral code.

The law specifically excludes those families who have primarily philosophical objects. The exemption is not to be used by families just wishing to avoid paperwork, nor is it designed for people who dislike government oversight. I certainly understand these views, but they are not applicable under the RE law.

To understand the RE law, first we must understand that the Home Instruction Statute fulfills the compulsory schooling laws, as home instruction is seen as an acceptable alternative to attending school, and parents are expected to file certain paperwork every year. Furthermore, the school retains oversight of these families and their children’s educational progress.

Some families hold religious beliefs that are not compatible with the Home Instruction Statute. For example, they might believe that God has directed them to raise and educate their children, and to comply with the Home Instruction law is to give the state more authority over their family than God.

This is just one example - others might hold slightly different views and families can be of any religious persuasion, as long as they can demonstrate that their religious beliefs cause them to be conscientiously opposed to attendance at school. Note that the RE law is not intended for those who merely have an objection to school or believe that the education of their children is none of the government’s business.

There has been a great increase in the number of families claiming RE. This has not escaped certain policy makers, who feel families are using the RE law to avoid filing paperwork each year. This may or may not be the case, but the large number of claims might put the religious exemption in jeopardy of being rewritten or completely eliminated.

The RE law was not intended to be a route to homeschooling, but rather as a way out of compulsory schooling for the few families who truly cannot align the home instruction requirements with their religious beliefs. If your family can be accommodated by the Home Instruction Statute you should filing using one of those options.