CHEWV

Tag: HSDC

  • 2019 Legislative Session Preview

    2019 Legislative Session Preview

    Getting Prepared

    by John Carey, CHEWV’s Legislative Liaison

    The 60 Day Regular Legislative Session begins on January 9th. Here are some links to keep you in the loop as the session progresses, as well as a secret weapon that only a loving parent can employ.  

    Contact Info for Legislators

    It is imperative that homeschool families know who their legislators are and how to contact them. It may come as a surprise, but experience has shown that if a Delegate is contacted by as few as ten constituents, they will reconsider their position on any issue. Since Senators cover a larger district, typically twenty-five contacts are viewed as significant.

    Use this link to access capitol phone numbers and email addresses for all thirty-four state Senators and all one hundred Delegates.  

    Legislative Updates

    Typically, two thousand pieces of legislation are introduced each regular session; CHEWV and HSLDA will be evaluating all two thousand pieces to keep you abreast of any threats to homeschooling. Legislative threats may come in the form of a direct attack on homeschooling or as an attack on religious liberty and parental rights, the two pillars that support the right to homeschool.   

    Use this link to read legislation and observe its progress.

    Seeing Through the Fog

    Legislation may sometimes be written in a way that obscures its true purpose. A key goal of CHEWV and HSLDA is to monitor and to analyze legislation to discern its purpose and effects, whether intentional or unintentional. Knowing the true purpose and potential consequences of a bill will enable you to educate your state legislator and convince them to support your position.

    Here is an example from last session:  https://www.heritagecwv.org/active-legislation/hs-parental-rights/

    The Secret Weapon

    Little breaks down barriers of communication more powerfully than a parent whose primary reason for speaking is that they love their children as their Lord commands. This is the homeschool community’s secret weapon: parents unwilling to compromise in doing what is best, right, and true when it comes to those who have been entrusted to their care.

    In my two decades of lobbying at the State Capitol as CHEWV’s representative, I have seen this secret weapon employed repeatedly by hundreds of individuals. It takes a legislator from the stages of merely hearing what we have to say to the place where they stop, take the time to listen, and finally choose to support our position.

    This secret weapon can only be exercised by those who are dependent on their God through prayer and the reading of His word. This message can only truly be heard by legislators when parents speak firmly yet respectfully to those who will listen. It is one way that those who trust God find themselves working together with Him to accomplish His purposes.

    It is one the teachers’ unions do not possess. In fact, few groups at the State Capitol besides homeschool parents wield this powerful tool to preserve freedom. So as this session progresses, use the resources provided to help you understand the issues and then to communicate with your legislators as the need arises. But most of all, keep first things first and work together with God to bring success – a success energized through prayer and rooted in our love for God and our children.

    Deuteronomy 6:4-9

    “4 Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

  • Homeschoolers to Gather at Capitol

    Homeschoolers to Gather at Capitol

    Join homeschoolers from all around the state on Thursday, January 31st, for Home School Day at the Capitol (HSDC).  Meet us first in the upper rotunda under the CHEWV banner, where we’ll gladly check you in and give you helpful information.  We’ll also show you where you can set up your display, should you wish to showcase your own homeschool endeavors. 

    Before coming, you may want to contact your legislators and set up morning meetings to introduce yourselves and leave a card and/or token gift.  (Homemade cookies are always appreciated.) 

    Round out the day by attending the late morning session, the midday rally, and a tour of either the Capitol or the governor’s mansion.  If you’ve taken these tours in previous years, historical exhibits at the WV Cultural Museum next door are open to the public, and the nearby Clay Center offers inexpensive tickets to the Avampato Discovery Museum, Caperton Planetarium and Theater, and Juliet Art Museum.

    Check out the details here and be sure to register (free)!  We look forward to seeing everyone!

  • Our First Home School Day at the Capitol

    Our First Home School Day at the Capitol

    And What We Have Learned From the 2018 Legislative Session

    by Kelli Allen

    Our family participated in Home School Day at the Capitol (HSDC) for the first time this year. As rookies, we weren’t quite sure what to expect so we were grateful that CHEWV organized it so that our trip would run smoother. Legislation pertaining to homeschooling was what motivated us to make our four-hour trek to Charleston.

    It was a privilege to meet with two out of our three legislators to discuss homeschooling issues that concerned us.  They were friendly and welcoming, though one in particular was evasive when it came to discussing these issues. We also visited with another representative who has been a supporter of homeschooling, and we were able to express our gratitude.  

    What we learned from our trip is that the winds of change in Charleston are constant and quite unpredictable. Last year’s Tim Tebow bill, for example, which passed the House and Senate but was vetoed by our governor, didn’t even make it out of the House Education Committee this year. The Senate’s version remains stalled in the Senate Finance Committee as I write this, and the session is coming to a close. Disappointed? Absolutely, and probably just as much as our kids. Word was that this bill was expected to become law this year. I hear that the Senate’s version won’t likely get out of the Finance Committee since the House killed their proposal. Phone calls to the Finance Committee seem to go unnoticed. 

    Through my disappointment though, I’m reminded of a truth: “We make our own plans, but the Lord decides where we will go.” (Contemporary English Version, Proverbs 16:9).  I believe that we must do what we can to debunk myths about homeschooling, contact our legislators, vote, even run for office if that is where the Lord is leading, while at the same time realizing our plans may not be what the Lord would have for us, at least not for now.  His timing is perfect and although I don’t understand the whys and why nots, I know I can trust Him to work out His plan – which is better than mine. Does this mean that we should always quit when things don’t go as we expect? No, even though we may feel like it. I believe that we can be His instruments for change as we diligently seek to secure opportunities for homeschooling families, rid discrimination, and loosen the restrictions so we may “train up our children in the way they should go” with less red tape.

    I would be amiss, however, if I didn’t mention the other opportunities that this day afforded: our kids paged during the House session, participated in the showcase at the Rotunda, toured the Governor’s Mansion, and met the wonderful folks from CHEWV who organized the day for us. Getting involved in the political process has been an eye-opening experience, but overall I can say it has been a good one. We are learning, first-hand, by engagement. I’m reminded of all the proactive homeschoolers who have been in that Capitol fighting for our freedoms for many years before I came along, and I’m sure their path wasn’t an easy one. We are the beneficiaries of their diligent efforts. It is easy for me to take that for granted. It’s given me a different perspective about how we have the liberties that we do today—through their endless efforts, battle after battle, until the sweet victory was won. 

    As a homeschooling parent, it’s easy to just be caught up in the daily demands of our schedules.  But I would highly encourage everyone to attend next year’s Home School Day at the Capitol.  I had never been to our capitol before this visit; it was a unique opportunity that I was happy to share with our kids. We all came away with a better understanding, albeit to a small degree, of how things operate in Charleston. Your presence at HSDC would speak volumes. 

    But if you can’t make the trip, there is always the phone or e-mail. It only takes minutes to contact our legislators to let them know our concerns.  Helen Keller is quoted as saying, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” With the Lord’s help, I believe this to be true.

    Kelli grew up in Romney, WV and graduated from the local high school where she was quite involved in sports and various clubs. She had never even heard of homeschooling until marrying her husband Walt – who had always wanted to homeschool his kids. So now they are in their 10th year of homeschooling four kiddos, and what a learning adventure it has been for all! Kelli says that the Lord is using homeschooling to teach her humility, patience, discipline, flexibility, and great literature – among many other things! She thanks the Lord for this opportunity to spend time with her kids and prays they will grow to love, honor, and serve Him with their lives.

  • Is HSDC Still Important?

    Is HSDC Still Important?

    You’ve already braved the weather, taken the tours, attended the session, and spoken with your delegates and senator in previous years. Why spend another day doing it again?

    If you are interested in protecting the freedom of parents to home-educate their children, then participating in Home School Day at the Capitol is extremely important.  The 2018 session of the legislature starts January 10th. Home School Day at the Capitol follows on January 16th, intentionally early in the session so that the presence of your family may thwart any homeschool-negative legislation.   

    Many well-meaning legislators think that more and stronger laws for homeschoolers would fix what they view as problems.  Too often, however, the problems they perceive are based on false, anecdotal “evidence.” Visiting with home-educating families gives legislators real-life, positive examples of homeschooling while offering them the opportunity to discuss their concerns. Answering their questions with kindness and prudence in an informed manner can be what dissuades them from supporting harmful legislation.

    Your presence can also positively affect any beneficial legislation that CHEWV hopes to introduce this session. Many legislators have never met a homeschooling family. They may not understand how current West Virginia law negatively impacts homeschooling students.  Issues like the TASC requirement for Promise Scholarship eligibility and unnecessary driver’s license hurdles need to be addressed in the legislature. A visit from your family may be the deciding factor in their support of an important bill.  Further, the development of a good relationship with your delegate and senator prior to the introduction of legislation may help keep the doors of communication open in the event of other issues arising.

    Finally, many delegates and senators may simply not understand why the ability to homeschool is so vital to West Virginia families. Whether you homeschool due to religious reasons, bullying, problems in the school system, feeling your children were falling through the cracks of the public school, special needs, or a myriad of other concerns that caused you to make the necessary sacrifices to educate your children at home, our representatives need to hear from you. They need to get to know us. They need to have their concerns addressed, and they need to see that we care about educating our children.  Then they may better understand how the laws they pass, and the rules made by other state agencies, affect homeschooling. You can make a huge difference.  Mark January 16th on your calendar now, and add your voice and presence to those of other CHEWV families!