Imperfect Genius

Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers

This is the best place to find clear explanations of the Virginia homeschooling laws, legislative updates, and answers for newcomers. VaHomeschoolers offers a wealth of information, including lists of support groups around the state. I refer to this website over and over again. VaHomeschoolers also presents a curriculum and conference fair each year in August at the Science Museum in Richmond.

Here are several sections of the site I want to point out:

Changes To VA Law Changes were passed during the last year and become effective on July 1st, 2006. The changes are subtle and can be confusing. I really appreciate this page which shows the original law, the parts that have been removed (strike-thru) and the parts which have been added (italicized).

FAQs About Homeschooling This page has a question/answer format which covers many common issues such as getting started, testing, SOLs, socialization, IEPs, and support. On the site you can also find a guide for newcomers and pages that provide help with filing paperwork, including sample Notice of Intents letters that other parents have used.

The Code of Virginia Knowing the law is important when it comes to homeschooling for two reasons. First, you want to be an informed parent who complies with the law and you also want to protect your rights and not be pressured to give more than the law requires. This page presents the entire code of Virginia that pertains to homeschooling. For your convenience the Va Homeschoolers site also provides the code concerning diplomas, immunization records, testing, and part-time enrollment.

Some homeschooling sites offer their own interpretaion of the law rather than providing members with the actual code itself. I highly suggest you read the Virginia code yourself, the interpretations on some websites may or may not jive with the law, so you should check it out yourself. If you’re confused or overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you want to read the law directly from the official Virginia Legislative Information System you may locate the sections that pertain to homeschoolers by using the search strings “home instruction”, “home-instructed”, and “religious exemption”.

VaHomeschoolers webite offers many other pages on various topic and has tons more info available right at your fingertips. We’re lucky to have such a great state organization!

Virginia Eclectic Homeschool List

Known as the VaEclecticHS group, it’s a Yahoo email list that has 600+ member families from all over the state of Virginia. These are the friendliest, most helpful folks I’ve run across since we started homeschooling. Got a question about homeschooling? Ask it here. Feeling overwhelmed? Talk about it with fellow homeschoolers. Want to share something neat your kids did today? By all means, share away!

The list represents a wide-range of homeschoolers, from “pros” with 20+ years under their belt to parents with preschoolers who are just thinking about homeschooling. Families from all backgrounds, religions, and homeschooling styles come together to form a really neat virtual community. If you only join one homeschool email list, VaEclecticHS is the one I’d recommend hands down.