Several different correspondence school driver education programs have been approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for homeschoolers. Courses may vary in length, presentation, cost, and registration requirements. Veteran homeschooling families in your community may have recommendations about which program will best fit your needs. At this time, most correspondence school programs are requesting some type of formal documentation of homeschool status, such as a copy of the letter acknowledging Notice of Intent or Religious Exemption. (You may request such a letter from your school division if you have not already received one.) This documentation is being requested because only homeschooled students are allowed to take the correspondence school courses in Virginia. If a correspondence course allows a non-homeschooled student to take one of their courses, they could lose their approved status with the Virginia Department of Education. None of the approved correspondence school courses include the Partners for Safe Teen Driving component which may be required in your school district; you will need to take this component elsewhere. The public school, private school, and driver training schools in some school districts (e.g., in Northern Virginia) offer Partners for Safe Teen Driving as part of their classroom package.

There is no official minimum age for taking the classroom component. Many students begin the course a few months before age 15 years and 6 months in preparation for the learner’s permit exam. If you are over the age of 18, you are not required by law to take a driver education classroom course. However, you may wish to take such a course to prepare for the learner’s permit exam. Teens under the age of 18 who are homeschool graduates are still required to take the classroom component, but are not allowed to take the correspondence school/distance learning driver education courses. Homeschool graduates may still take the classroom course through a local public school, private school, or driver training school.

Virginia law says that teens must take the classroom component before receiving a driver’s license, but does not specify exactly when the component is to be taken. It is therefore legally possible to first get a learner’s permit before signing up for the classroom component. However, you must show proof of completion of the classroom component before registering for the in-car/behind-the-wheel course. Also, according to the DMV, hours spent driving prior to completing the classroom component do not count towards parent-taught in-car instruction. Some parents are reporting that taking this component before obtaining a learner’s permit better prepared their teens for the learner’s permit exam and gave their teens more motivation to complete the course in a timely manner.