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.
by Celeste Land, The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers, Government Affairs
Legislators in the Virginia General Assembly are wrapping up their work on regular legislation and now focusing on the budget. As the session comes to a close, the fates of most non-budgetary bills have already been decided. Here is an update on the progress of some familiar homeschooling bills, as well as many more bills of interest which we have been following this legislative year.
Two bills to amend the home instruction statute have now passed both the full House and Senate and are on their way to the desk of Governor Kaine, who is expected to sign them into law. HB 767 (Tata, R-Virginia Beach; requested by the Virginia Department of Education) streamlines options for families filing under the home instruction statute, while HB 1183 (Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge; requested by HSLDA) clarifies and expands testing and evaluation options. The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers wishes to thank both Delegate Tata and Delegate Lingamfelter for their assistance in shepherding these bills through the legislature this year.
You can read the revised text of the home instruction statute as it will read after July 1, 2008, assuming Governor Kaine signs these bills into law.
The expected passage of these bills marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another. The new laws will have a significant impact on local school divisions and homeschooling families alike, affecting policies and procedures across Virginia. VaHomeschoolers will be meeting with the state Department of Education in the coming months to discuss how the new laws can best be implemented at the state and local level. We'll also be working with homeschoolers around the state, helping them understand how the new laws affect their families.
You can read more about HB 767 and HB 1183 and their possible impact on homeschoolers in our earlier Legislative Reports.
Read the full text of the final version of HB 767.
Read the full text of the final version of HB 1183.
Because of the economic downturn, tax credit bills took a beating in this year’s General Assembly. Educational tax credit bills HB 420 (Marshall, R-Manassas) and HB 985 (Nutter, R-Christianburg) were both tabled (died) in House Finance Subcommittee 3 on January 25. Another bill, HB 1164 (Saxman, R-Staunton) passed the House of Delegates by a close margin, but failed to report out of the Senate Finance Committee. HB 1164 would have created income tax credits for businesses and individuals who make contributions to educational scholarship foundations. Scholarship foundations could be established to benefit public schools, private schools, or homeschooled students. Under this bill, homeschooling parents would not have received a tax credit for their educational expenses, but qualifying homeschooling families could have received scholarships for educational expenses from a scholarship foundation.
Read the full text of HB 1164.
Read the full text of HB 420.
Read the full text of HB 985.
Homeschooled teens learning to drive will be impacted by HB 889 (Lohr, R-Harrisonburg), which increases the minimum driving hours for all learner’s permit holders to 45 hours, of which at least 15 must be after sunset. (The current law requires 40 hours, of which at least 10 must be after sunset.) Parents must also certify in writing that the teen has completed the required number of hours required by law. HB 889 has been approved by both the House of Delegates and the Senate, and now goes to the Governor for his approval.
Read the full text of HB 889.
Under current Virginia law, sixth grade girls are required to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), beginning on October 1, 2008. Delegate Marshall (R-Manassas) introduced HB 188, which would have extended the date of the requirement from October 1, 2008 to July 1, 2010. The bill passed the full House of Delegates, but was rejected by the Senate Education and Health Committee on February 21. Another bill by Delegate Marshall, HB 89, would have removed the HPV vaccine requirement completely from the Code of Virginia; that bill was tabled (killed) in House Health, Welfare, and Institutions on January 15.
Read the full text of HB 89.
Read the full text of HB 188.
The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers does not take a position on immunizations and vaccinations, but provides information on required immunizations as a service to our members. Read more about homeschooling and immunizations.
HB 259 (Fralin, R-Roanoke) creates a new section of code entitled “students transferring from a public school,” which would require school divisions to obtain written or electronic documentation when a student transfers from a school division. According to Delegate Fralin’s office, HB 259 is not intended or expected to impact homeschooled students, who are not considered public school students under the Code of Virginia. VaHomeschoolers will be discussing the implementation of this legislation with the Virginia Department of Education later this year, and will report if there are any repercussions for homeschooling families.
Read the full text of HB 259.
HJ 9 (Peace, R-Mechanicsville) is a resolution celebrating the life of United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jeremy L Tinnel, a homeschooled native of Richmond who died in the line of duty while serving his country in Iraq. The resolution was approved by the full House and Senate, and a copy of the resolution was given to Lance Corporal Tinnel’s family.
Read the full text of the resolution.
Some of our members have asked us about HB 1382 (Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach) and SB 788 (Quayle, R-Suffolk), companion bills addressing whether Department of Social Services employees other than lawyers are authorized to complete, file, and sign petitions in Department of Social Services cases. This legislation, requested by Attorney General Bob McDonnell, was intended to be a housekeeping bill, clarifying the fact that an Attorney General opinion in 1988 gave social services employees the right to fill out certain types of routine paperwork under an attorney’s supervision, and that social services employees have been filing such paperwork for the past 20 years without incident. In response to concerns about potential abuses, both HB 1382 and SB 788 were amended, clarifying that the right to file such paperwork was limited to designated social workers and only pertained to certain situations involving child support. While the legislation is of interest to many citizens for a variety of reasons, The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers does not perceive this legislation as pertaining to homeschoolers at this time.
Persons wishing to express an opinion on legislation should contact their own delegate or senator as appropriate. For complete text of any bills, see "Legislative Information" on the General Assembly's web page or contact VaHomeschoolers for more information.
The General Assembly’s Constituent Viewpoint office provides a toll-free, intrastate telephone message center (during session) to take calls from citizens of the Commonwealth wishing to express an opinion on legislation. Callers will be asked to provide their name, address, and the issue on which they are expressing their opinion. The message will be transmitted to the constituent's appropriate legislators. If a caller seeks additional information concerning legislation or wishes to speak directly with a legislator, the operator will provide the telephone number. The hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The number for the toll-free opinion line is (800) 889-0229. Callers in the Richmond area may dial 698-1990.