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
The first two weeks of the 2008 Virginia General Assembly have been full of surprises for homeschooling legislation. This has been a session full of plot twists, behind-the-scenes meetings, and unexpected turns of events – and we still have seven weeks to go in the session!
Much has happened to two bills to amend the home instruction statute, as well as a bill to allow homeschoolers to play on public school sports teams. But, before talking about recent developments on the legislative scene, a few words about "telephone blitzes":
Some organizations are already asking homeschoolers to bombard certain committees and subcommittees with phone calls about specific bills. At first glance, this sounds like a really great idea - an opportunity for callers to do something important and constructive for homeschooling freedoms.
However, phone call campaigns can have unintended consequences. They often annoy legislators, making them less likely to vote the way you intended. They can accidentally prolong the life of a bad bill, or draw unwanted attention to a good bill. This is why The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers does not call for telephone blitzes except in emergency situations where all other attempts at resolution have failed. We certainly do encourage citizens to contact their personal delegate and senator to express their opinions and support.
You can read more about the pros and cons of phone call campaigns in The Dark Side of Legislative Alerts.
VaHomeschoolers continues to track the progress of home instruction bills HB 767 (Tata, R-Virginia Beach) and HB 1183 (Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge) as they make their way through the House of Delegates. Both bills would expand options for homeschooling families; HB 767 (requested by VDOE) addresses filing options, while HB 1183 (requested by HSLDA) addresses testing and evaluation. VaHomeschoolers supports both HB 767 and 1183.
Bills which open up the home instruction statute are always risky. They put the existing law under further scrutiny from lawmakers, and increase the potential for negative amendments. It's also all too easy to turn a good bill into a bad one during the legislative process. So "good bills" HB 767 and HB 1183 require special vigilance throughout the session to make sure that they stay that way.
HB 767 passed the House Education Committee on Monday, January 21, by a vote of 19-2 after minimal discussion, and is expected to be approved by the full House on Thursday, January 24. Even though HB 767 was originally requested by the Virginia Department of Education and is being promoted as a "housekeeping" measure, we expect the bill to receive some opposition on the House side, and much more scrutiny on the Senate side.
Read the full text of HB 767.
HB 1183 is currently on the docket of the Students & Day Care Subcommittee of the House Education Committee, which next meets Monday, January 28. The original version of HB 1183 contained some confusing language about testing and evaluation options, as well as problematic language about private school teachers which would have damaged the bill's credibility in committee and reduced its chances of passing.
The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers has spent countless hours in the past two weeks dialoguing with Delegate Lingamfelter, the Virginia Department of Education, HEAV, and HSLDA, discussing ways in which this language could be improved to strengthen the bill and increase its chances in the legislature. At last report, Delegate Lingamfelter will be introducing a substitute version of the bill which will incorporate VaHomeschoolers' recommended suggestions. Even with much improved language, HB 1183 is likely to receive much scrutiny in the days and weeks to come, making its outlook uncertain.
Read the full text of HB 1183.
Homeschool sports access bill HB 375, introduced by Delegate Carrico (R-Independence), would require the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to allow nonpublic school students to participate in interscholastic activities. While opposed by many, this bill has already lived far longer than expected. VaHomeschoolers supports HB 375.
HB 375 passed the Students & Day Care Subcommittee by a vote of 6-3 on Monday, January 14. Lone testimony from VaHomeschoolers lobbyist Scott Price was very persuasive, and may have swayed the delegates into supporting the bill. Before reporting out of subcommittee, HB 375l was amended to only address homeschoolers - not private school students (who are also excluded from interscholastic sports under current VHSL rules).
On Wednesday, January 16, the constituent who had requested HB 375 from Delegate Carrico spoke in support of the bill at the House Education Committee. The constituent, to everyone's surprise (including Delegate Carrico) turned out to be a private school mom whose son was referred from public school to a private school due to special needs. Her son (now graduated) was not allowed to play lacrosse on the public school team. So the bill, which had just been amended in subcommittee, now no longer met the needs of the constituent who had requested it! As a result, HB 375 was then returned to subcommittee (a very unusual event).
On Monday, January 21, the subcommittee amended HB 375 to reflect the needs of Delegate Carrico's constituent, approving the new version by a vote of 8-1. The current amended language specifically addresses home instructed students under 22.1-254.1 of the Code of Virginia, and private school students who were referred from a public school. It no longer addresses regular private school students, or families who homeschool under religious exemption or the approved tutor provision. The language has also been amended to only impact eligibility for "interscholastic sports" - no longer "interscholastic activities" such as debate or the state creative writing competition.
Latest Development: The House Education Committee failed to report HB 375 out of committee on Wednesday January 23, by a 7-7 vote. After the vote was taken, other committee members voted on the measure with a final official vote of 9-12. However, the bill still remains alive because of the original tie vote, and may be reheard on Monday, January 28. While HB 375 has so far received more support than sports access bills usually receive, it is still heavily opposed by powerful interest groups, including the VHSL, the VEA, the PTA, and various public school principals and athletic directors. If a bill receives this much opposition so early in the process, its chances of becoming a law are extremely poor.
Read the full text of HB 375.
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.