VaHomeschoolers Legislative Report - February 22, 2008

by Celeste Land, The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers, Government Affairs

As the Virginia General Assembly moves into its final weeks, it looks like there will likely be some major changes to the home instruction statute this year.

Latest on Home Instruction Bills HB 767 and HB 1183

HB 767 (Tata, R-Virginia Beach) and HB 1183 (Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge) were considered by the Senate Education & Health Committee on Thursday, February 21. HB 767 (a bill to expand and clarify home instruction filing options, requested by the Virginia Department of Education and supported by The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers) was approved unanimously with minimal discussion and no opposition. This bill now goes forward to the full Senate, where it is expected to be approved and sent to the Governor for his signature.

Read the full text of HB 767.

HB 1183 (a bill to expand and clarify home instruction testing and evaluation options, originally requested by HSLDA) had a far bumpier and more dramatic adventure in Senate Education and Health. You may recall that on Monday, when HB 1183 was heard in subcommittee, there was confusion over what the bill would and would not do, resulting in a failure to report out of committee. The good news is that by Thursday, the lawmakers were no longer confused. The bad news is that both the bill and the home instruction statute received undue scrutiny from lawmakers and other parties, which led to several bizarre and unforeseen turns of events.

By the time the morning was over:

Delegate Lingamfelter proposed an amendment to change the wording of the bill from "letter" to "evaluation letter", which was approved.
Representatives from the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS) unexpectedly announced their opposition to HB 1183, because of option (b) which mentioned portfolios as one means by which families could show proof of progress. The superintendents were concerned about the time and effort that it would take to assess these portfolios. An amendment was proposed to eliminate option (b) from the list of possible means of showing proof of progress. The amendment passed.
Senator J C Miller, after closer reading of the home instruction statute, announced that the current law was flawed and proposed an amendment to HB 1183 to allow superintendents to choose which evaluation options they would accept. This would have defeated the entire point of the original bill, and would have represented a major blow to homeschooling freedoms in Virginia. Fortunately, after statements of opposition by VaHomeschoolers, HEAV, HSLDA, and Jack Knapp, longtime lobbyist for the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, this amendment was defeated.
The Senators voted on HB 1183, and defeated it by one vote, causing most to assume that the bill was dead. However, Senator Newman (a supporter of the bill) surprised everyone by voting against it so that he could ask that the bill be brought up again at a later date.
Delegate Lingamfelter then spoke privately with opponents of the bill to create compromise language which would address their concerns. Homeschool lobbyists were not privy to these negotiations. Delegate Lingamfelter then presented the compromise language to the committee, and they voted to approve unanimously the bill which they had just defeated.

HB 1183 now goes to the full Senate, and from there to the House of Delegates for reconsideration. The bill is expected to pass both chambers without further incident.

The newly amended version of HB 1183 now reads:

C. The parent who elects to provide home instruction shall provide the division superintendent by August 1 following the school year in which the child has received home instruction with either (i) evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test or (ii) an evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress, including but not limited to: (a) an evaluation letter from a person licensed to teach in any state, or a person with a master's degree or higher in an academic discipline, having knowledge of the child's academic progress, stating that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress; or (b) a report card or transcript from a community college or college, college distance learning program, or home-education correspondence school.

If this language becomes law, which appears very likely at this point in the game, we believe HB 1183 will still have an overall positive effect by clarifying testing and evaluation options for homeschooling families:

HB 1183 in its current form clarifies that evaluation letters from certain parties are a valid means of providing proof of progress. Families will be able to use either licensed teachers or persons with advanced degrees in academic subjects as evaluators of their children.
HB 1183 clarifies that parents may use report cards or transcripts from correspondence schools, community colleges, or college distance learning programs as a valid means of providing proof of progress.
Other means of providing proof of progress not specifically cited in code (such as portfolios submitted directly to the local superintendent) may still be employed under HB 1183, because of the phrase "including but not limited to�."
The superintendent still has the power under HB 1183 to reject any type of subjective evaluation or assessment if he considers it inadequate. However, he can no longer reject evaluation letters or report cards on principle; he must at least consider the merits of specific evaluation letters or report cards before rejecting them.

The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers recognizes that HB 1183 in its new form has the potential to adversely affect families who have traditionally submitted unevaluated portfolios directly to the superintendent's office. While this has always been (and still will be) a legal option, VaHomeschoolers has never recommended it. However, we appreciate that some families may now find it harder to get their unevaluated portfolios approved by their school division. If you currently submit your portfolio directly to the school division, we would like to hear your experiences and how you think the potential change in the law will affect you. Please email VaHomeschoolers.

Read the full text of the current version of HB 1183 as passed by the Senate Education and Health Committee.

To Learn More or Take Action

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.