The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers
VaHomeschoolers.org
Your Resource. Your Voice. Your Association.
The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers
VaHomeschoolers.org
Your Resource. Your Voice. Your Association.
Standard Disclaimer: Nothing on this page is intended to be legal advice. For legal assistance, contact a competent, licensed attorney.
Increasing numbers of parents are choosing the homeschooling option for their children, for myriad reasons. Some parents realize homeschooling's opportunity for high academic achievement. Others homeschool for philosophical, social, or religious reasons. Many parents have discovered that a custom education best serves their child's unique interests or abilities, or that homeschooling offers the flexibility to facilitate family time when mom or dad works on an unconventional schedule. The National Home Education Network provides a list of the 55 top reasons to homeschool. Whatever reasons families cite, they can all agree that homeschooling is the best educational option for their children.
Canada's National Post reports that Children schooled at home have better social skills. "Children who are educated at home have better social skills and achieve higher grades on standardized tests than students in private or public schools, according to a new report."
The November 2000 issue of HR, a magazine published by the Society for Human Resource Management, includes an article titled "Home is Where the School Is." The story's focus is on homeschool graduates in the workplace.
You can read other research on homeschooling online, such as "Homeschooling Comes of Age," by Patricia M. Lines, "Research Shows the Benefit of Homeschooling," by Dr. Raymond Moore, and Wendy Priesnitz's article, "Studying Home Educated Adults."
Learn your state law, understand that homeschooling is legal, and that you can deal effectively with the superintendent's office. Also, investigate different approaches and understand your child's learning style. Then choose the method that makes most sense, and be willing to adapt it or throw it out as your judgment directs. You may find some helpful information at VaHomeschoolers' New to Homeschooling? page.
Any parent or guardian may homeschool in Virginia. There are 4 options available. See Virginia Law Related to Homeschooling.
Compulsory schooling in Virginia begins when the child is age 5 as of September 30 of the school year. However, this canbe delayed if the parents feel the child is not ready to attend school. Read Celeste Land's article, "Much Ado About Kindergarten" for full information.
In Virginia, parents do not need permission to homeschool. They simply notify the local district of their intent to homeschool, and meet certain criteria.
The law says "22.1-254...every parent, guardian, or other person in the Commonwealth having control or charge of any child...shall...or provide for home instruction of such child, or have such child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent." See Should You Homeschool Another Person's Child? for more information.
No. The IRS Web site includes the notation "There is no deduction for your child's home schooling expenses. These are nondeductible personal, living, or family expenses. Please refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions." Virginia also offers no homeschool deduction.
No. According to CPS Policy Consultant Betty Zarris, "homeschoolers are not targeted by CPS in Virginia." See Answering the CPS Questions for more information.
Most homeschool families feel no need for any sort of special insurance, because, as VaHomeschoolers co-founder Will Shaw pointed out, "Wise council at the front end of homeschooling means that 99% of parents are not going to meet with any problems."
Some parents feel the need to carry umbrella legal insurance or join a pre -paid plan that covers a wide range of possible legal needs for the family. If you are considering homeschool legal insurance, be sure to investigate thoroughly before sending any money. A search using the www.Google.com search engine should result in your finding background information on any group that offers legal protection for homeschoolers. Make sure there is an actual policy that spells out the legal obligations of the legal services organization.
New homeschoolers understandably worry about meeting state requirements and interacting with division superintendents. Even veterans may feel intimidated by the presumed authority of the school officials with whom they necessarily have contact. Handling it Ourselves illustrates one way to respond confidently and appropriately when dealing with school officials who may ask for more than the law requires. When the School Division Asks Too Much explains how some homeschoolers have empowered themselves and effectively handled requests for tables of contents of books or other items that are beyond the legal requirement in Virginia. Evidence of Progress answers the question, "What happens if the local school division rejects the test, results of the test, or the portfolio?"
Public school interscholastic sports are controlled by the Virginia High School League, which requires the taking and passing of five courses at the actual school at which the student would participate in a VHSL-governed program. According to VaHomeschoolers co-founder Will Shaw, "The only exception is if the kid is taking and passing five at a VHSL-participating public school in a given public school division, and that school does not offer a particular VHSL-governed program. There is then a provision for an exception to participate in a VHSL-governed program at another nearby public school. The system and its rules are set up with only full-time public school students in mind." VHSL has no dominion over PE classes or sports activities that are not interscholastic.
File papers with your local school superintendent. The law does not require forms, and those provided by local divisions may contain errors, such as requesting more information than required by law. VaHomeschoolers has a convenient form available for those who prefer to use one. While using a form is not mandatory, it may expedite administration in some local school divisions.
Experienced homeschoolers often advise against it. The local division office may send you forms or information with their own take on the law, which may be confusing.
Parents may submit one NOI letter or form that includes all children.
Yes. This is required for those filing under any of the options within the Home Instruction statute.
Virginia law says you must provide the information if asked. Many homeschooling parents prefer to submit the information only after they are asked, and most school districts do not ask for vaccination records from homeschoolers.
The Virginia Home Instruction statute says parents must "provide a description of the curriculum to be followed for the coming year." For those filing under Option 1 or 2, there is no definition as to what that description must contain. Some Option 1 and 2 families provide a description as brief as a sentence or paragraph.
Under Option 4, the law requires parents to submit "a program of study or curriculum which, in the judgment of the division superintendent, includes the standards of learning...for language arts and mathematics." Unschoolers generally don't use Option 3.
VaHomeschoolers member Linda Davies responds, "My method has been to use the SOLs as a guideline to create an outline of what I report. If we have done a lot of project stuff - I use a matrix to show what skills were learned. Sometimes I break down the project into neat parts - for example - an environmental project has both math and literature elements (I only report on these two). So I report on the skills gained. Sometimes I can only supply a description of what was done and achieved. Other times I can provide 'outside' evidence - like a copy of a plan or report - or an article.
For the younger ones I have submitted samples of work from the beginning of the year, middle and end (to show progress). Since in all three cases - they did/do like doing worksheets (which I feel are a waste of time) but they like doing them as fun - so I send those in - along with a general description of key activities we did during the year and what skills were worked on.
While I do NOT teach to the SOLs or plan to the SOLs - by reporting using them as the outline - helps me to write in the terms that the School Board understands and wants to see. I spend about 10 hours on this effort max."
Most experienced homeschoolers recommend you report the child at the grade level corresponding to his age. This way, if there are any unforeseen problems--such as an extended illness--there is some wiggle room.
The curricula pre-approved by the state are not necessarily better or worse than any other program; the publisher has simply completed the administrative process for obtaining approval. Therefore, they tend to be the more expensive programs. Also, a curriculum provider can set additional requirements beyond those set by the state.
However, many families find it convenient to have the program of study prepared by a curriculum publisher, and are happy to be assured that the program they use meets all state requirements.
Under Option 4, parents may homeschool any way they want, as long as their proposal includes the SOLs for language arts and math. However, there is no mechanism for testing homeschooled children's knowledge of the SOLs; we are not beholden to the SOL tests. See the Option 4 section of VaHomeschoolers's Guide to Homeschooling in Virginia for sample NOIs for Option 4 filers.
A single NOI can state the differing Options being used.
No. Some parents prefer the convenience of using a form, while others would rather write a brief letter for the Notice of Intent and provide their own format for the proposal and curriculum description. However, use of a form can expedite the administrative process in certain school systems.
My local school division tells homeschoolers we have to provide copies of a scope and sequence or tables of contents of books for every subject each year. This is a huge amount of paper to mail, and putting it together is a major hassle. Also, a lot of homeschoolers dont plan that far in advance, or they unschool and don't know what books will be used until after the fact. What can we do?
State law does not require that homeschoolers filing under the home instruction statute (22.1-254.1) provide the local school division with a scope and sequence, tables of contents of books, or even book list. Unless the family is filing under Option 4 (no B.A. or higher degree, no certified teacher, not using a pre-approved correspondence course), the local school division has no legal power to require anything more than a description of the program of study.
Even under Option 4, the local school division's assessment of the program of study is limited to whether it includes the SOLs for language arts and mathematics and includes the parents' "evidence of ability to teach" their children; not whether it includes scope and sequence, tables of contents of books, etc. These things are not mentioned in the law.
A lawyer on one of the statewide e-mail lists once suggested that homeschoolers provide a "description of the program of study" similar in scope and depth to how one would describe a house. When describing a house most people would say something like "the two-story brick colonial with blue shutters," but wouldn't get into the type of truss system, carpet fiber content, bricklaying style, shingle warranty, etc.
When the Prince William County school division asked one homeschooler for the tables of contents of books, she wrote them a letter stating that she had read the law, saw no provision for what they asked, and said if they could point out the specific wording of the law--that required me to provide what they ask--she would be happy to comply. They sent the so-called "approval" letter a few days later, and have not asked her for any extra materials since.
Other homeschoolers in Prince William Countyand beyondhave written similar replies and received the same outcome. While this didn't change the school divisions policy, it did stop further requests of the parents who stood up for themselves.
Many experienced homeschoolers believe it is important to stick to the law and not provide extra documentation, because otherwise superintendents come to expect more than the legal requirement from every homeschooler, which seems to have happened in some districts. This illustrates the importance of knowing and following the law. When a parent politely declines to provide materials beyond the legal requirements, they help protect the freedoms of all homeschoolers.
Handling it Ourselves illustrates one way to respond confidently and appropriately when dealing with school officials who may ask for more than the law requires. When the School Division Asks Too Much explains how some homeschoolers have empowered themselves and effectively handled requests for tables of contents of books or other items that are beyond the legal requirement in Virginia. [See also: Evidence of Progress]
Truancy is a class 3 misdemeanor on first conviction, a class 2 on second conviction. The civil process can involve "child in need of supervision" (CHINS) actions. Under the civil process, the Juvenile and Domestic district court judge has power to do things you don't want. When a school division discovers a non-reporting homeschooler, the reaction may be polite and reasoned, with perhaps a letter or phone call asking about the educational status of the child(ren). But, some people's first serious trauncy contact has been in the form of a summons to appear in court the following business day. There have also been people who, after years of "underground" homeschooling, encounter situations in which they need to reveal their status or forgo important opportunities. The decision to not report is a bad idea. Promoters of non-reporting don't adequately explain this. VaHomeschoolers encourages all homeschoolers to use one of the legal avenues for homeschooling in Virginia.
Homeschooling is a term that encompasses a spectrum of educational methods from highly structured to no structure. There are as many ways to homeschool as there are families homeschooling. Explore the various methods and choose which works for you and your child.
See VaHomeschoolers' Homeschooling Styles page for descriptions of a variety of styles, plus additional links.
You may use any that you wish. Some parents use the SOLs or a "typical course of study" outline provided by Worldbook or another source. Others prefer to use unit studies, and may find resources in books, workbooks or on the Web. A resource some find helpful is the book, Home Learning Year by Year: How to design a homeschool curriculum from preschool through high school by Rebecca Rupp. You can find many other homeschooling books at the VaHomeschoolers Bookstore.
My child was 6 when we mailed the letter of intent, but we listed him as being in kindergarten. Do I understand that because he is 6, he must be tested even though he is listed as being in kindergarten?
While you do not have to test him, you do have to provide "evidence of progress," which may include the results of a standardized test, an independent assessment or a portfolio evaluation. See the testing and assessments of our newsletter page for articles on testing and assessments.
Various authorities, such as the Virginia Department of Education, E.D. Hirsch, or certain web sites offer their opinion on standards for each grade level. However, being the parent in charge of your child's education, you have the luxury of tailoring the education to the child. Some parents--especially those new to homeschooling--prefer to use such standards as a guideline, while others choose to set standards based on their child's unique attributes.
For some families, a standardized test is the easiest method. You can also use a portfolio or independent assessment.
When and how you test depends on the publisher or supplier of the test. Each has its rules. You can find 3 articles on testing, including a rundown of tests and providers, in the testing testing and evaluations section of our Newsletter page.
Most school districts will accept the results of any nationally-normed test. If you have questions, it is best to consult experienced local homeschoolers.
The 4th stanine requirement is for assessment option 1 (the Stanford 9 test). The law only requires submission of the composite score on the test approved for use in the public schools--which is the Standford 9. Any other test or evaluation may be submitted and is subject to the superintendent's judgment.
I am worried he won't "pass," but don't want to retest if he does alright.
A parent may test or have a child tested at any time during the school year, so long as the results are submitted by August 1st.
Test administration requirements are set by the publisher of each test.
Portfolios also often contain lists of books either read to children or that they read themselves. They may contain handouts picked up at museums and other places you visit. They could have photos of projects or artwork inspired by the books read and movies seen.
You can turn in a portfolio (we suggest you provide a copy and save the original) to your local superintendent's office or to an independent evaluator. Most portfolio evaluators will expect the contents of the portfolio to reflect the SOLs.
The evaluator sets the requirements of the evaluation, so it is wise to ask about these upfront. The evaluator provides a letter to the parent, stating that she or he has met with the child, has seen the child's work, and believes it shows evidence of adequate progress.
See Testing and Assessments: Options, Pros and Cons, Information.
Unless one submits the results of a Stanford Form 9 standardized achievement test, any end-of-year evidence of adequate progress is subject to the local superintendent's judgement. Most school divisions are fair and reasonable. Rarely, they are not. The superintendent may (at his or her discretion) place the homeschool on a probationary status. However, if a portfolio is rejected as not showing satisfactory progress, a parent might offer to submit a standardized test as an alternative, or offer to have a credentialed person evaluate the child and his or her work. The school division might reject these alternatives.
If probationary status is not acceptable to the parent, or if alternative assessments are not practical or acceptable to the parent or the school division, the parent may appeal a superintendent's decision. This entails simply telling the superintendent (within 30 days of his negative decision) that you want to appeal the decision to an independent hearing officer. The superintendent then must set it up. Independent hearing officers are attorneys and they are selected from a list maintained by the state Supreme Court. You do not need an attorney to make such an appeal.
There have been very few appeals by homeschoolers to independent hearing officers. The few known to VaHomeschoolers were resolved mainly in the parents' favor. The hearing officer apportions cost of the hearing among the parties by the in a manner consistent with his findings. This means there is some financial risk in making an appeal to an independent hearing officer.
Evidence of Progress answers the question, "What happens if the local school division rejects the test, results of the test, or the portfolio?
Virginia's State Standards of Learning (SOLs) are used in the Commonwealth's public schools. SOL testing of students is used as an accountability measure "by tying school accreditation to student achievement."
The law does not require parents, who are using Options 1, 2, or 3 to use the SOLs in any way, although parents may choose to use them as they wish. Only under Option 4 is a parent required to include the SOLs in the proposed program of study. Many Option 4 parents include copies of the SOLs with their proposals, and state they will be using them as a guideline.
However, Virginia's homeschooled children are not subjected to SOL testing; standardized tests (such as the Stanford 9, CAT and ITBS) are not tied to Virginia's public school SOLs.
You can ask your local school superintendent for a copy of the SOLs for specific grade levels, write to Virginia Board of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120 for a hard copy of all the SOLs for every grade, or obtain them on-line.
According to the VA DoE's "Fact Sheet on Home Instruction," the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all children with disabilities have available a free appropriate public education designed to meet their individual needs in conformity with the child's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Both the regulations and the United States Department of Education's General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) make clear that public education is not the only alternative for children with disabling conditions. However, children who are being educated in home instruction programs, are still entitled to take part in related services provided by the school division for which they are eligible. School divisions must remain ready to serve these children when parents seek services either through regular enrollment or as nonpublic students.
Still, each county seems to determine its own interpretation of the law. Some school divisions have become tighter, rather than looser, in provision of services to handicapped or disabled non-public students, both home and private schooled. The Home Instruction Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools believes that the FCPS system should "bend over backward" to assist homeschoolers. She said that if a child has an IEP in school, and is subsequently homeschooled, the IEP becomes an ISP - which is the same, except it doesn't inlcude testing for the child. Ms. Kammerdeiner states that children with ISPs are "entitled to all services" recommended by the ISP. She said that, while they will not test homeschooled students with ISPs, they will make recommendations about testing protocol accomodations for these children.
If you are not in Fairfax County, contact your local division and ask about the policy on homeschooled students with IEPs.
How can I be sure my children will be well socialized?
For some families, socialization is the primary reason for homeschooling. Many families find that positive socialization is a natural byproduct of homeschooling. Homeschooled children socialize through clubs, park days, activities, field trips, picnics, cooperative ventures, dance classes, scouts, church groups, sports, volunteering, and their friends can rank in age from babies to the elderly.
First peruse VaHomeschoolers' list of local support groups. You might also join an e-mail discussion list where you can ask about local groups.
There are many benefits to belonging to a local homeschool group or network, such as obtaining advice from seasoned homeschoolers, finding social opportunities, and attending field trips, and classes and other events sponsored by the group. However, simply meeting informally with a few other families in your area can provide most group benefits. A park day, picnic or other outdoor gathering is a great way to scope out potential new homeschool friends.
There are two basic types of homeschool support groups: general, and those with a specific focus. Within these, there are myriad variations. Understanding the variety can help you find the one that is right for you.
Too many to list! There are thousands upon thousands of sites available, from encyclopedias to unit studies to custom worksheet generators. See VaHomeschoolers' resources page for lost of reviewed links, plus tips for finding specific materials.
Virginia's public schools usually do not provide textbooks to homeschoolers, so those families who want to use textbooks must locate them on their own. There are very many sources of texts and other books, a number of which offer cost savings: A to Z Home's Cool's used curriculum page, the Homeschooling Used Curriculum Sites page, the Vegsource Homeschool Talk & Swap boards, 1 Bookstreet, used book stores and local or regional curriculum swaps and sales.
Can local jurisdictions institute a daytime curfew? Do we have to be careful about letting our children out and about in the community during school hours?
Due to increased awareness of homeschooling, most families only receive the occasional "no school today?" question from chatty store clerks. It seems most people understand that hsers are out and about during the day, and they don't think it odd to see our kids during school hours anymore. Most don't wouldn't worry at all about being stopped or interrogated about being in public during school hours. There was a time when some districts did have daytime curfews. For instance, Front Royal had a daytime curfew, which made it illegal for the children of one family to walk to mass during school hours. Virginia Home Education Association (now The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers) fought hard to eliminate daytime curfews, which was finally accomplished during the 1998 session of the General Assembly, when "HB1064 carried an amendment that limits the curfew making power of local governments to the hours of 10 pm to 6 am. Daytime curfews have the effect of criminalizing the wholesome and legitimate activities of homeschooled minors not in the company of their parents during daytime hours. VHEA worked tirelessly toward this goal in both 1997 and 1998, causing introduction of anti-daytime curfew legislation in both sessions." [VHEA Newsletter] Read Eliminating Daytime Curfews: The unusual story behind the Headlines by Ellen Neal for full information.
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