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 Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers' lobbyists have been exceptionally busy in the Virginia General Assembly this week, educating lawmakers and policymakers about homeschooling, crafting new legislative language, and making sure that the interests of all homeschoolers across the state are properly represented. We have a lot of legislative news to pass on this week, so without further ado...
We are sorry to report that sports access bill HB 375 (Carrico, R-Independence) failed to report out of the House Education Committee on Wednesday, January 30, and is now officially dead. HB 375 would have required the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to allow homeschooled and some private school students to participate in interscholastic activities. VaHomeschoolers supported HB 375.
As you may recall, HB 375 failed to report out of committee on a tie vote last week, after bouncing in and out of subcommittee twice. On Monday, January 28, the House Education Committee voted to revisit the bill, but used an obscure parliamentary procedure to delay the vote until Wednesday's meeting. Delegate Carrico thought he had the 12 votes needed to get the bill out of committee. However, the final vote was 10-12, thus defeating the bill for this legislative year.
Delegate Janis (R-Glen Allen), who had voted in favor of HB 375 last week, surprised many by casting the deciding vote against the bill this morning. Delegate Janis' decision to switch his vote was likely influenced by a campaign against the bill initiated by the Louisa High School athletic director.
While supported by many lawmakers and homeschooling families, HB 375 was also heavily opposed by numerous powerful interest groups, including the VHSL, the VEA, the PTA, and various athletic director and high school principal organizations. Given such strong opponents and the lack of strong infrastructure behind the bill, it is miraculous that HB 375 survived as long as it did. VaHomeschoolers supports sports access for homeschoolers, and will continue to work on this issue in the coming months.
HB 767
Home instruction bill HB 767 (Tata, R-Virginia Beach) was approved by the House of Delegates by a vote of 82-17 on Thursday, January 24, and now moves on to the Senate Education and Health Committee for its consideration. Originally requested by the Virginia Department of Education, HB 767 would expand filing options for homeschooling families. VaHomeschoolers supports HB 767.
HB 767 encountered unexpected opposition on the House floor when several delegates read the bill summary and incorrectly concluded that the bill took powers away from the local superintendent. Thanks to lobbying on VaHomeschoolers' part, some of these delegates later withdrew their opposition and voted for the bill. We will be watching this bill very closely in the Senate, where scrutiny may be more intense.
Read the full text of HB 767.
HB 1183
A much amended and weakened version of HB 1183 passed the House Education Committee on Wednesday, January 30, by a 21-1 vote. Originally requested by HSLDA, HB 1183 (Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge) amends the home instruction statute by expanding testing and evaluation options for homeschooling families. VaHomeschoolers supports HB 1183.
You may recall that the original version of HB 1183 contained confusing and problematic language about testing and evaluation options which reduced the bill's chances of passing. At the request of VaHomeschoolers, in coordination with the Virginia Department of Education, HSLDA, and HEAV, the patron introduced a much improved substitute version of the bill to the Students & Day Care Subcommittee of the House Education Committee on Monday. This substitute language passed the subcommittee almost unanimously, with minimal discussion. However, the bill was amended still further in committee on Wednesday.
The current language of HB 1183 represents a compromise, agreed to by VaHomeschoolers, HEAV, HSLDA, and Delegate Lingamfelter. The original language created objective standards for evaluation. Under the new amended language, evaluations or other assessments will still be subjectively reviewed by the superintendent. However, the bill now defines at least three means of assessment which the superintendent must at least consider (a letter from an educator, a portfolio, and a report card or transcript), and the door is left open for additional evaluation alternatives in the future. While this language is not ideal, the bill now has a much better chance of becoming a law and expanding options for homeschooling families.
Read the full text of HB 1183.
Educational tax credit bills are taking a beating in this year's General Assembly, due to the recent economic downturn and dismal budget projections. House Finance Subcommittee 3 failed to report (killed) tax credit bills HB 420 (Marshall, R-Manassas) and HB 985 (Nutter, R-Christiansburg) on Friday, January 25. These bills would have provided tax credits to individual taxpayers who were educating their children at home (HB 420) or who were "educators" (HB 985).
Meanwhile, HB 1164 (Saxman, R-Staunton) was approved by both the House Finance Subcommittee (3-2) and Committee (13-7), but now has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee - a place where costly bills are frequently sent to die. HB 1164 would create 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 receive a tax credit for their educational expenses, but qualifying homeschooling families could receive scholarships for educational expenses from a scholarship foundation.
Read the full text of HB 1164.
Anti-truancy bill HB 1263 (Hall, D-Richmond) is dead for this year, but has been continued to General Assembly 2009, giving the patron time to review the language and make changes as needed. A VaHomeschoolers lobbyist met with Delegate Hall's staff and explained how the bill as currently written would have inadvertently made it easier for homeschooling parents to be charged with truancy. Delegate Hall is a longtime supporter of homeschooling and did not intend his bill to adversely affect homeschoolers. VaHomeschoolers hopes to meet with Delegate Hall in the coming months to help create better language for this bill.
Read the full text of HB 1263.
VaHomeschoolers has met with Delegate Hugo (R-Centreville) to discuss the implications of driver education bill HB 1540, which would move the administration of driver education programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The bill inadvertently repeals the section of code allowing homeschooled students to take parent-taught driver education classes. Delegate Hugo, also a supporter of homeschoolers, has personally assured VaHomeschoolers that the bill will be withdrawn from consideration in the very near future. Aside from homeschooling concerns, the bill is costly and is opposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, which does not have the manpower resources to administer driver education programs.
Read the full text of HB 1540.
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.