CHEWV

Category: Uncategorized

  • 5 Reasons to Oppose HB2777

    5 Reasons to Oppose HB2777

    HB 2777 is scheduled to be taken up by the Senate Education committee on Monday morning at 9:30 AM. We believe that some important fixes need to be made, or the bill should not be passed.

    If you agree, we ask that you contact members of the Senate Education Committee, along with a few other key Senators (Senate President Randy Smith, Majority Leader Patrick Martin, and Senator Patricia Rucker) with this message:

    Important amendments need to be made to HB 2777.  Please either amend the bill, or table it until the problems can be fixed.

    Problems are outlined below:

    • HB 2777 gives the State Board of Education broad authority to solicit information from homeschoolers that the law does not require. Not only is this a bad idea in itself, it paves the way to eventually require this information from all homeschoolers.
    • HB 2777 proposes to address “pending abuse investigation cases” by putting an unnecessary and ineffective provision in the homeschool law.  The wording is unnecessary because school boards already have authority in the affected section of law to deny home instruction with “good and reasonable justification,” and CPS already has authority to protect children in such circumstances. Minimally, due process needs addressed along with privacy protections. However, with current time constraints, removal is preferable.
    • HB 2777 moves two steps closer to merging requirements for privately funded homeschoolers (Exemption c2) and Hope students who are instructed at home (Exemption m). The preservation of this legal separation was assured to us when Hope was passed only a few years ago.
      • Notice of Intent requirements for Hope students need to remain in subsection m, so that we maintain the promised separation of requirements.
      • The Educational Choice Portal requirements contain no provisions for the State Board to keep requirements and reports separate for Exemption m and Exemption c2.  While we’ve been told that this is the intent at this point in time, we urge that language be included that would direct the State Board to maintain the legal distinctions between the two groups in all reporting requirements and information submittals.
    • While removing the list of subjects required for homeschoolers’ annual assessment tests may resolve some issues of concern to homeschoolers, it unfortunately confuses what “acceptable progress” means. We suggest replacing the word “mean” with “…the official score for the overall battery of tests, e.g., Core Total, Composite, Total Score,…”
    • HB 2777 places extensive language regarding the particulars for a “School Choice Portal” in the wrong place – right in the middle of the legal requirements for one of the three legal options for home instruction that may use the portal. This placement interrupts and obscures the actual requirements for homeschoolers using the c2 option.  We urge moving the language for the Portal requirements from c2 to its own subsection, since the Portal could be utilized by at least three different educational options listed under section 18-8-1.
  • A Deeper Dive into Due Process

    A Deeper Dive into Due Process

    The Constitution of the United States states only one command twice. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no American shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, uses the same Due Process Clause to describe a legal obligation of all states.

    America was built on a foundation of freedom. Our system of justice protects our freedom by guaranteeing “due process of law” to the accused. That basic constitutional principle is a crucial part of the American fabric.

    Why the legal lesson? Because homeschool freedoms are under threat – for what seems like a reasonable cause: protecting children from parental abuse. However, there are those who want to take away parents’ rights if there is but an accusation against them, and that undermines one of our foundational American ideals: that we are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Due process rights must be preserved.

    A bill has been introduced in the WV Legislature the past few years that would take away parents’ rights to home educate if there is but an anonymous report of possible abuse or neglect of any sort. According to the proposed language, if a parent is even being investigated for abuse – due to a report from anyone for any reason, they would be disallowed to homeschool for an unspecified time period.  No due process required, which, again, violates our fundamental rights under the U.S. Constitution. Each year, this dangerous bill seems to gain more traction, and we will not be surprised to see an increased effort in this upcoming session.

    Public School is NOT a “Safety Net”

    The basic assumption of the proposed law is that kids are safer in the public school system than they are at home. But is that a reasonable presupposition?  Many families actually start homeschooling with the purpose of removing their children from harmful situations in the public school.  A web search for “WV school abuse” is troubling.

    Ben Salango, who represented several plaintiffs in a multimillion dollar settlement abuse case against the Kanawha County BOE, states, ”People are starting to see this [abuse by public school personnel] on video and starting to understand what’s really going on… This has been going on for years. It’s not just Kanawha County, it’s not just West Virginia.”

    While we’re not aiming to condemn the vast majority of public school employees because some have broken the law, we are challenging the assumption that kids are somehow automatically safer in school than at home. Public schools do not qualify as a haven from abuse.

    “Presumed Innocent” or “Guilty by Association”

    Child abuse is an especially horrendous and shocking crime. No matter who does it or where it occurs, it deeply troubles us all. Yet we shouldn’t presume anyone or any group to be guilty without an investigation and hearing of the facts of the case.

    Both ethically and constitutionally, we should presume the innocence of parents – since the vast, vast majority are indeed innocent – unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” to the contrary. (And we might add, clear and convincing evidence of abuse should lead law enforcement well past a prohibition of homeschooling.)

    As a society, we certainly presume the innocence of teachers and coaches despite numerous reports of abuse from our public system emerging each year. Teachers are not “guilty by association” because a sinful few have taken advantage of children under their care.

    Neither should prejudicial profiling of groups like homeschool families or conservative Christian families be used to unjustifiably link these families to abuse. There is nothing credible, and something terribly wrong, with the idea that parents who homeschool their children or bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord are more likely to abuse their kids. In fact, there’s much evidence to the contrary!

    We need to recognize that abuse happens across all demographics, sometimes at the hands of school personnel and sometimes at the hands of a parent. Sometimes coaches, sometimes doctors, and even sometimes pastors. Child abuse allegations of all sorts need to be investigated, then prosecuted and punished as appropriate; but no one should lose their liberty – to homeschool or otherwise – because of an allegation. No entire group of people should lose their right to due process because there was one tragic case of abuse that has been linked to a member of that group – whether the group is public school employees or homeschool parents.

  • Painless, Peaceful Advent

    Painless, Peaceful Advent

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    If you’re like us, you’ve often had good intentions during advent season. You want to bring a more peaceful meaning to the celebration of Christ’s coming, but despite your best intentions, everything just flies by in busyness!

    Instead of adding to the fray, CHEWV would like to offer four Advent Activities that fit painlessly into what you’re already doing!  Yes, don’t “add” anything; merely take advantage of your current plans: your Christmas tree lights and ornaments, snow, and singing. No advance planning, no muss, no guilt.

    May the “Peace on Earth” start in your own heart and home this season!

     
    [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”Download Your FREE Advent Activity Sheet from CHEWV” button_one_text=”Click Here” button_one_url=”https://new.chewv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Advent-Activities.pdf” _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#075f8e” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section]

  • 2023 Legislative Session: Takeaways

    2023 Legislative Session: Takeaways

    During Home School Day at the Capitol, several CHEWV families gathered in the House Education Committee room to review how a bill becomes a law. We highlighted how difficult it is to write an effective law while avoiding unintended negative consequences. We also discussed the challenge faced by legislators as they seek to understand and evaluate hundreds of proposed laws in each annual 60-day legislative session. In fact, they rely on staff attorneys to both draft the wording as well as summarize the purpose and effect of many of the bills that they consider.  

    Little did we know how prophetic that meeting would be.

    While all seemed quiet on the homeschool legislative front, a mere ten days later HB 3408 was introduced in the House, quickly passing through the Education Committee without discussion. According to the stated purpose of the bill – to “clean up statutory language related to the Hope scholarship program” – it was intended to fix a glitch in the wording of the law regarding scholarship funding. Sounds fine, right?

    As we quickly discovered, though, HB 3408 had a number of problems, not the least of which was the serious unintended consequence of placing private homeschoolers’ hard-earned freedoms at risk. This led to a labor-intensive two weeks as we all worked together to get the bill fixed. After the bill was amended on the House floor, it then survived a rather divisive debate over another proposed amendment and passed out of the House on a rare unanimous vote, just in time to be considered by the Senate. Ultimately, however, the bill died in the Senate without being taken up in committee.

    Looking back, here are some important takeaways from the 2023 West Virginia Legislature:

    • The voice of homeschool families matters hugely. When we asked homeschool families to contact members of the House of Delegates to express their opinions, we heard from legislators that it was by far the most communication they received on any bill this year. They worked quickly to address our concerns, and the House then passed it on a unanimous vote.
    • Don’t underestimate relationships and face-to-face contact with legislators! No legislator can ignore a family who’s stopped by to speak with them about homeschooling – your face will come up before them when they go to cast their vote. It gives your legislator a connection with you – “my family stopped by your office and met with you briefly a couple of weeks ago” is a much stronger opening to an email than “I live in your district.”  Finally, you will be more comfortable contacting members of the legislature on specific issues if you’ve been able to meet and talk with them previously.
    • Thank God for homeschool advocates in the WV Legislature! We used to have to almost beg to get a couple of legislators to show up at our rally at Home School Day at the Capitol. Now they are lining up to speak to the homeschool families gathered there! This is a blessing.
    • Vigilance is still needed to guard our parental rights and educational freedoms! Even with a well-intended, homeschool-friendly legislature, HB 3408 illustrates that there is no such thing as an “off year” for homeschoolers at the WV Legislature. Monitoring is always necessary.
    • Once a law is “opened up” for change by an introduced bill, just about anything can happen to the law. Because the wording of a bill is often very “fluid” as it goes through the whole legislative process, changes can happen quickly and at multiple points along the bill’s journey. Amendments can pop up out of the blue and be adopted quickly; or they may be debated passionately, creating unnecessary division or ill will. Multiple factors such as a busy agenda, deadlines, and last-minute conceptual agreements requiring rapid-fire translation into written amendments, can all contribute to a hurried legislative pace that leaves little time for adequate consideration of unanticipated consequences.                
    • God hears our prayers. Though pro-homeschool legislators are great to have and families contacting their legislators can be persuasive, our ultimate confidence rests in the “one Lawgiver and Judge – who is able to save and destroy.” He has been faithful to West Virginia homeschoolers, day after day, year after year. May we all be found faithful to Him, and the work He has given us to do!

    Though HB 3408 faded away and died quietly at the end of this year’s session, some version of the bill will likely return next year. The problem with the Hope funding still remains. In order to monitor how any future proposals might affect WV homeschool families, we must remain actively vigilant.

  • 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]

  • 2022 Testing Registration Q&A

    2022 Testing Registration Q&A

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    Short answer: CHEWV
    Long answer: BJUP Testing and Evaluation has been CHEWV’s test distributor for over two decades. But because of changes to their process, this year they are hosting a CHEWV Parent Portal where CHEWV families complete the last phase of registration.

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    Yes.  To register for CHEWV Testing, you must register through CHEWV’s Parent Portal. (Note “Christian Home Educators of WV” under the “Parent Portal” at the top.)

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    No. We understand that it’s easy to pop over to other BJUP pages from the Parent Portal, but it’s important to actually register through our unique link – found on the CHEWV Step 1 confirmation screen or in the confirmation email.

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    • There’s no financial difference.  The cost of the tests is identical. 
    • But when you test with CHEWV, 
      • you are helping the homeschool legislative effort by participating in CHEWV’s group scores.
      • you receive CHEWV’s WV-specific score reports  for your records and for submission to the county in the required years.
      • you have the option of testing with others at CHEWV Test Centers.
      • we ensure that the test you use meets the requirements of the WV code.  (BJU Press offers options that don’t.)

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    Don’t panic :-).  Becky Price, CHEWV’s Testing Director, is a wealth of information and help.  Simply contact her at testing@chewv.org and she’ll be happy to assist.

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    Note: Because previous IT options were eliminated, this year CHEWV families must complete the final leg of testing registration on the distributor’s site. We apologize for the inconvenience and covet your patience until we can work out these issues for next year.

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  • Learn How To Homeschool – Anytime!

    Learn How To Homeschool – Anytime!

    [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=”{}”]CHEWV is pleased to offer Start Strong West Virginia, a 14-day online course that covers just about everything you need to know to homeschool successfully!  Best of all, it’s totally self-paced – and you have lifetime access. Want the details?  Click here.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]