The bill would require parents seeking a religious exemption from school to show proof of their ability to educate, evidence of their child’s educational progress.
RICHMOND, Va. — The Governor is taking a stand against a bill introduced in Virginia’s legislative session that would require government oversight for students exempted from school for religious reasons.
Currently in Virginia, parents can homeschool their children for any reason, as long as they provide some documentation to their local school division each year about the curriculum they’re using and their child’s educational progress.
However, if a parent gets a religious exemption to keep their child from going to school, none of that is required.
Sen. Stella Pekarsky, a Democrat representing District 36 in northern Virginia, introduced SB 1031 earlier this month. It would require parents seeking a religious exemption from school for their child provide:
- “Evidence of the parent’s ability to provide an adequate education for his child.”
- “Notice to the division superintendent by August 15 of each year, or as soon as practicable in the event that such child will receive an alternative form of instruction, including a description of the curriculum to be studied in the coming year.”
- “Evidence of the child’s progress in accordance with the provisions of the bill.”
In a social media post on Wednesday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined the conversation around the bill.
“Since day one, I’ve believed that at the heart of our Commonwealth is the right that parents have to make decisions for their children’s education,” he wrote. “I stand with parents across Virginia in opposition to SB 1031. We cannot allow this attack on homeschooling to become law.”
On Thursday, the Senate Education & Health Committee voted to postpone their discussion and vote on the bill until next week.
While introducing the bill on Monday to the committee’s Public Education sub-committee, Sen. Pekarsky spoke out about the bad rap she feels the proposed legislation is getting.
“This bill most definitely wins the fake news award. The things that have been said about it and the things that have been written up are just simply false,” she said. “Currently, the religious exemption allows parents to exempt their children from education with no further requirements or continued instruction.”
Perkarsky continued, “It is 100% legal in the Commonwealth of Virginia not to educate your child; Virginia is the only state with such an exemption … The requirements [this bill proposes] are very basic, very easy, and one can fulfill them. This bill would just align the over 6,000 children currently exempted for religious reasons with the same compliance requirements as [homeschooling.]”
“The way I met this requirement [when homeschooling] is I sent an email. It was about three sentences long,” she said.
According to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), there are about 56,000 students across the state who are homeschooled under regular “home instruction” guideline. There are almost 7,000 students who have a religious exemption that does not require proof of education.
Many Virginians attended the committee hearing on Monday to voice both support and opposition of the bill. Several shared emotional testimonies about their with a lack of educational oversight that negatively impacted their lives.
“I was religiously exempted from kindergarten through 12th grade. By the age of 10, I was painfully aware of how far behind I was,” explained Brooke Shanks on Monday. “My instruction was sporadic with intermittent materials, grading my own occasional tests with no explanatory guidance.”
Shanks said that as an adult, she “was unable to gain employment, attend college, or complete basic tasks that others take for granted. This left me vulnerable to cycles of abusive relationships, homelessness, and depression. At my lowest point, after a failed suicide attempt, I remember thinking, ‘I don’t want to die. I just want to live.'”
Eve Ettinger, representing the Collation for Responsible Home Education, also told their story.
“I was homeschooled in Virginia from 6th through 12th grade under the religious exemption statute. There were years when I was handed textbooks and told to complete them without help or guidance… I knew many parents who use the religious exemption statute to limit their children’s access to education, especially for daughters,” they said.
The bill has also drawn sharp criticism, and many others came forward to voice opposition to the bill, claiming the bill would violate religious freedom.
Melody Clark, speaking on behalf of Virginia Institute Action, expressed that her “heart goes out to those who feel they were somehow shortchanged in their education.”
“Many in public school are likewise left behind by failing public schools,” she said. “However, this legislation threatens all homeschooled families and undermines Virginia’s longstanding right to educate their children following their faith-based convictions.”
The full Senate Education and Health Committee is slotted to vote on whether to move the bill forward in the General Assembly next week.
