CHEWV

Category: Legislative

  • About the Homeschool “Exemption”

    About the Homeschool “Exemption”

    If you’ve attended CHEWV’s Homeschooling 101 classes, you’ve heard us emphasize something: WV homeschool law 18-8-1(c)(2) is an exemption to WV’s compulsory attendance law.

    WV children who turn 6 before July 1st of any calendar year are required to attend public school the following school year UNLESS they satisfy one of a few exemptions found in the law. 18-8-1 (c)(2) is one of those exemptions.

    Gratefully, educational options added to 18-8-1 in recent years have not been added to nor confused with Exemption c. They rightly were added as separate exemptions. It is vital that Exemption c, which defines and protects private homeschooling, remains separate and distinct.

    We have now color coded 18-8-1 to help define the separate exemptions. CHEWV defends 18-8-1 (c)2 (colored blue) while we closely monitor other parts of the law that affect homeschooling. Changes to Exemption c can totally change the future of homeschooling as we know it.

    By God’s grace, WV parents have the legal right to homeschool. Thousands have taken advantage of that freedom – with great success! May thousands more find the beauty of the individualized approach that homeschooling makes possible!

  • Elections, Legislative Sessions, & Other Civics Topics

    Elections, Legislative Sessions, & Other Civics Topics

    In this brief piece we introduce important, inspiring, and easy-to-implement ideas. Most homeschoolers know that new legislation can affect educational freedom tremendously. After all, we gained the right to homeschool through valiant legislative effort back in 1986.  We have both lost and gained freedom in subsequent legislative sessions. 

    It should make perfect sense, then, that elections are important – and for much more than just homeschooling. The fact that we live in a “government by the people” should feel like a privilege and a great responsibility. The people who are elected can and do change our lives significantly!

    That translates into voting. Surely every Christian should vote unless providentially hindered. And shouldn’t every homeschooled student who turns 18 be chomping at the bits to participate in the process? We should specifically vote to God’s glory – in light of “So then whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The question is, “What candidate will further the freedom to do God’s will in this city/state/nation?”

    To that end, we encourage parents to teach their student civics!  There are myriad ways to accomplish that, but here we’ll mention three.

    1. CHEWV’s free Your Guide to U.S. Civics

    Ten units cover historic figures, founding documents, the three branches of government, how laws are made, and much more. Find this extensive guide in the member resources. 

    1. Home School Day at the Capitol

    Our annual gathering at Charleston to tour the Capitol, participate in the legislative process, and put homeschooling on display.

    1. Whatever Happened to Justice?

    One of the Uncle Eric books by Richard Maybury, this respected 1992 book explores the concepts upon which America’s laws were built, including higher law, common law, privilege, and other concepts from the vantage point of natural law. Add the Bluestocking guide to turn this into a work-already-done-for-you unit study.

  • Legislative Update February 8, 2022

    Legislative Update February 8, 2022

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    A new Senate bill, SB541, would require submission of first year assessments without any further submissions if acceptable progress is achieved.  Appearing on the Senate Education Committee’s agenda for today, February 8th, watch for updates on CHEWV’s Facebook page.

    This is the first movement of a homeschool-related bill during the first three weeks of the 2022 Legislative Session.

    Open a synopsis of all the bills CHEWV is following:

    2.7.2022 Legislative Summary

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  • Legislative Update January 2022

    Legislative Update January 2022

    [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]A couple weeks into the 2022 WV Regular Legislative Session, several bills have been introduced that may be of interest to homeschooling families. Click on the link below to find a current summary.

    1:26:2022 Legislative Summary[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

  • Public School Re-Entry

    Public School Re-Entry

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    A new law, HB2785, passed in the 2021 session and effective last month, affects homeschooled students who are returning to public school.

    The latter part of section (e) states, “A transcript or other credential provided by a public school program, private school program, homeschool program or HOPE scholarship program shall be accepted by a public school in this state as a record of a student’s previous academic performance for the purposes of placement and credit assignment.” [bold emphases added]

    Derek Lambert, Ed.D., of the WV Department of Education, explains, “We have told counties they are required to accept all work (k-8) and/or credits (9-12) from home school if the parent is able to produce a transcript or other educational record. The only caveat being if public schools do not offer a specific course, that course would not be transcribed but would remain part of their permanent record.”

    Since this law is new, Lambert has offered to help homeschoolers who experience difficulties. He can be reached at drlambert@k12.wv.us.

    CHEWV would like to hear from families who are affected by this law and have (or don’t have) success with re-entry to public school. Send a brief recap to chewv@chewv.org.

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  • A Short Primer on the Homeschool “Exemption”

    A Short Primer on the Homeschool “Exemption”

    If you’ve attended CHEWV’s Homeschooling 101 classes, you’ve heard us emphasize something: WV homeschool law 18-8-1(c)(2) is an exemption to WV’s compulsory attendance law.

    WV children who turn 6 before July 1st of any calendar year are required to attend public school the following school year UNLESS they satisfy one of a few exemptions found in the law. 18-8-1 (c)(2) is one of those exemptions.

    Why bring this up? Several bills currently in the legislature provide for new exemptions. In their present form, they do not affect 18-8-1(c), but rather are intended to add other exemption options.

    CHEWV’s primary legislative purpose is to defend the freedoms we have worked so hard to gain back. (Homeschooling was totally legal before 1897.) If you are inclined to read bills carefully, the section of the law that is affected matters.

    If you refer to the annotated law that CHEWV provides, you will see that we homeschool under Article 8 Compulsory Attendance, Chapter 18 Education, Section 1 Compulsory school attendance; exemptions. The exemptions follow and homeschooling options currently fall under (c). CHEWV defends 18-8-1 (c), while we closely monitor other parts of the law that affect homeschooling.

    Of course, additional exemptions have the potential to change homeschooling as we know it, but those waters can be muddy. That’s one of the reasons we call you to prayer during the legislative session.

    By God’s grace, WV parents already have the legal option to homeschool. Thousands have taken advantage of that freedom – with great success! May thousands more find the beauty of the individualized approach that homeschooling makes possible!

  • Legislative Update March 10, 2021

    Legislative Update March 10, 2021

    When families flourish, communities flourish. For families to flourish, parents must have the freedom to do what they believe before God to be best for their children.

    Homeschool-related bills progressing this year include vocational school enrollment as well as alternate college testing.

    CHEWV and HSLDA have worked diligently over the years to ensure that the homeschool exemption has not been modified or combined with other legislative efforts meant to improve the public school system. These efforts have enabled freedoms to be maintained for those of us who simply want to homeschool and do what we know to be best for our children.

    Legislative Overview of Homeschool-Related Bills

    HB 2529 – Prohibiting West Virginia institutions of higher education from discriminating against graduates of private, nonpublic or home schools by requiring them to submit to alternative testing.

    LEAD SPONSOR: Fast
    SPONSORS: Pack, L.

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    “State institutions of higher education may not require a person who has obtained a diploma or other appropriate credentialing from private, nonpublic, or home schooling, and who has acceptable test results on ACT, SAT or other tests recognized by the institution of higher education which would qualify the person for admission, to submit to alternate testing as a condition of admission.”

    HB2791 – Relating to enrollment and costs of homeschooled or private school students at vocational schools

    LEAD SPONSOR: Kessinger
    SPONSORS: Higginbotham, Kelly, J., Wamsley, Longanacre, Horst, Clark, Griffith, Kimble, Tully

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    County boards of education shall permit students who are homeschooled or attend private schools to enroll and take classes at the county’s vocational schools, if any are provided and as capacity allows, at no expense or cost greater than expenses or costs normally charged to public school students: Provided, That if a homeschool or private school student is not permitted to enroll in a county vocational school, the county shall notify the parent or guardian of the student in writing and a copy of the written notification shall also be sent to the West Virginia Department of Education.

    Other Educational Bills

    HB 2012 – Related to public charter schools

    LEAD SPONSOR: Smith
    SPONSORS: Clark, Kimble, Higginbotham, Wamsley, Espinosa

    Passed both Houses and has been sent to the Governor.
    House Bill 2012 would allow 10 charter schools to be approved in a three-year period in West Virginia. The legislation also lays the groundwork for two virtual charters that would each be allowed to enroll up to 5 percent of the state’s student population. Added together, that could potentially amount to 10 percent of public-school enrollment, roughly 26,000 students.

    HB 2013 – The Hope Scholarship

    LEAD SPONSOR: Ellington
    SPONSORS: Higginbotham, Summers, Hanna, Pinson, Wamsley, Kimble, Jeffries, D., Espinosa, Clark, Horst

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    House Bill 2013 provides funds to eligible recipients for personal education accounts (ESA’s) to be used for qualifying education expenses which all must be approved by a board of 9 individuals, including three parents. Up to $4,600 would be placed in an ESA account controlled by the State Treasurer to be used for approved educational expenses, such as for private schools, or other approved programs, such as tuition, textbooks, and other services. Funds are not given directly to parents but only to approved providers.

    The success of homeschooling in West Virginia and throughout the country, has demonstrated the educational and societal benefits of parents who invest in their children. God’s model for society is the one that works best! We should be thankful that there are those in public office that understand this.

    Since we are only halfway through the session, let us remain vigilant and pray for state legislators as they seek to protect our freedoms. Click here for legislative resources to assist you in both understanding legislation and contacting your state representatives.

  • Tax Credits for Homeschoolers

    Tax Credits for Homeschoolers

    WV homeschooling is currently home-based, privately funded, and parent-directed. Because homeschoolers do not receive public funds, tax credit legislation is the best way to provide financial help to homeschoolers.

    Claiming school expenses as tax credits would provide relief to parents who are seeking alternative education but burdened by the personal expense. Yet it would not invite regulation – which inevitably follows public funding.

    Tax credit legislation has been introduced the past several sessions, but has yet to gain momentum in either house. With more support, that could change.

    As the 2022 WV Legislative Session approaches, please remain involved in the process by staying abreast of the discussion and praying specifically about homeschool-related bills.

  • Homeschool Funding

    Homeschool Funding

    Where the Definition of “Fair” Gets Blurry

    Last legislative season, legislators wisely made a distinction between state-funded ESA students and homeschoolers. If such legislation is introduced this session, we trust the same will happen. While that may seem like a small detail, it isn’t at all. It’s what is necessary to protect WV homeschooling freedom as we know it now.

    You see, funding for homeschoolers via vouchers or ESAs have been a controversial possibility in state legislatures across the country, including WV, for more than a decade. Lively discussion, both yea and nay, has permeated news shows, articles, blogs, and even CHEWV board meetings.

    Since we all pay taxes, what’s not to like about state funding? Isn’t it only fair to get back some of the money we paid in?

    What has been learned in most states where homeschool funding of any sort has been implemented is that eventually Christian homeschooling is squeezed out. In fact, one study showed that state funding ultimately decreased the number of private homeschoolers overall, leaving those that were left with less clout.

    State homeschool money is also tied (at least eventually) to the separation of church and state – meaning the absence of Christian curriculum. Based on the experience of several other states to date, many homeschool leaders have called state funding a “slippery slope” to regulation and loss of freedom. The Alliance (of state homeschool groups like CHEWV) has dubbed it a Trojan Horse.

    California homeschool leaders warn:

    We have watched for the last 15 or so years as [state funding] opened up for homeschoolers. In the beginning, they offered money and total freedom to use it as you wished. Little by little, year by year, the rules became more stringent and parents lost more and more control. This is the inevitable result of taking government money. “He who pays the piper, calls the tune.”

    CHEWV has defined homeschooling as home-based, privately funded, and parent-directed. When privately funded, parents have full choice. If we are educating in a private setting with private funds, perhaps it’s not “fair” to call for more regulation. Whether it’s fair to regulate students receiving state funds is another issue altogether.

    While CHEWV does not stand against ESAs, we are gratified that WV legislators have been willing to separate private homeschoolers from ESA students. This protects the great strides we have made to keep private homeschooling legal and free, while still providing choice to parents.

    It’s important that legislators (and indeed the public) not consider private homeschoolers in the same mix as publicly-funded students – who might also school at home. When and if they ever do studies on publicly-funded students, they need to realize that these are not private homeschoolers.

    As the 2021 WV Legislative Session begins, consider and pray about homeschool-related bills, stay abreast of the discussion, and remain involved in the WV legislative process.

    Defending freedom, serving families…together

  • Jefferson’s Plan for Education

    by John Carey, CHEWV’s Legislative Liaison

    Consider this startling quote from Thomas Jefferson, author of West Virginia’s Religious Freedom Clause:

    It is better to tolerate the rare instance of a parent refusing to let his child be educated, than to shock the common feelings and ideas by the forcible transportation and education of the infant against the will of the father.

    Let that sink in.

    In Notes on the State of Virginia (1781), Jefferson summarized his educational plan as follows:

    This bill proposes to lay off every county into small districts of five or six miles square, called hundreds, and in each of them to establish a school for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic . . .

    While Jefferson’s bill to create common schools (now called public schools) was not popular in the Virginia Assembly, many historians claim it as evidence of his support for the common school movement that took off during the late 1830s under the leadership of Horace Mann. However, Jefferson’s vision for public school was quite different than Mann’s.

    Jefferson’s plan called for a highly decentralized system in which these “districts of five or six miles square” would establish and control their own schools. He did not want a state government to “take this business [of elementary education] into its own hands.”

    To suppose that schools would be better managed by “any authority of the government, than by the parents within each ward,” he added, “is a belief against all experience.” Clearly, Jefferson believed that parents, not governments, should control the education of their own children.

    Jefferson also warned of the consequences of usurping parental control of education:

    What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body . . .

    Jefferson also questioned society’s responsibility toward children. He wrote,

    A question of some doubt might be raised…as to the rights and duties of society towards its members, infant and adult. Is it a right or a duty in society to take care of their infant Members in opposition to the will of the parent? How far does this right and duty extend? — to guard the life of the infant, his property, his instruction, his morals?

    In Jefferson’s view, “It is better to tolerate the rare instance of a parent refusing to let his child be educated, than to shock the common feelings and ideas by the forcible transportation and education of the infant against the will of the father.”

    Clearly Jefferson would be a strong supporter of homeschooling. He understood the preeminence of parents in the life of a child. This is reflected both in his support for Religious Liberty and Parental Rights.

    We live in a time when the individual is seen as “the problem” that requires regulation. Consequently, legislators are encouraged to pass laws that takes away individual liberty. Instead, let us retain the founders’ vision for this country – one that respects the parents’ right to choose what is best for the children they treasure and love.

    On Wednesday, February 10th, the West Virginia Regular Session will convene and then continue its 60 days — until Saturday, April 10th at midnight. CHEWV will be working with HSLDA to ensure that homeschooling freedoms are protected. From all indications, this session will move very quickly from the first strike of the gavel.

    Click here to view the West Virginia Senate and House Districts. Then click on the map to connect with your legislator via email or phone.