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Karen T
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 8:39am | IP Logged
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We are planning to move next spring or summer, most likely to Va. I have looked at the requirements for hs-ing there and wonder whether those of you who live there do option 1, where you have to do testing each year, or the religious exemption? If the latter, how difficult was it to get that? I see it requires a letter from your pastor, etc. - we will be new there obviously. And the way it's worded, does it mean your religious denomination objects to public schooling as a whole, or is it sufficient to say "I don't believe in ps b/c I want my kids to have religious instruction in school" in which case one answer is parochial school (which we can't afford, even if we found a great one).
Just wondering what others have done.
Karen T
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shartlesville
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 10:30am | IP Logged
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Hi Karen,
I used to live and hs in VA but it was 10 years ago  . Back then you just had to say "I am claiming a religious exemption" and that was it. At least that was what we did. 
Anyway, my parents and my sister and my nieces still live there. One of them, Chelsea, was homeschooled from 2003 until last fall.
They had to write specific reasons why they had a religious exemption and because Chelsea was 13 (or older) she had to write one herself (i.e. the parents choice isn't sufficient , the child has to agree which with some teenagers is nearly impossible  ).
I believe they also got a letter from the local priest. There are MANY homeschoolers in VA so I am sure that most priests have a form letter they can sign and give you.
If you have a copy of Dr. Mary Kay Clark's "Catholic Home Schooling" in chapter 3 she lists specific Church documents you can quote in your statement. I have listed a few here for you.
I'm skimming so if I quote the wrong document, I apologize! 
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Pope Pius XI on the Christian Education of Youth
(Parents are forbidden to send their children to irreligious schools)
From this it follows that the so-called "neutral" or "lay" school, from which religion is excluded, is contrary to the fundamental principles of education. Such a school moreover, cannot exist in practice; it is bound to become irreligious. ...
... in which the frequenting of non-Catholic schools which are open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike, is forbidden to Catholic children, or at the most tolerated, on the approval of the Ordinary [bishop] alone, under determined circumstances of place and time, and with special precautions [Canon 1374]. Neither can Catholics allow that other type of mixed schools, where the students are provided with separate religious instruction, but receive other lesssons in common with non-Catholic pupils from non-Catholic teachers.
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Pope John Paul II's Familiaris Consortio
...The right and duty of parents to give education is essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others...it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to or usurped by others...
Charter on the Rights of the Family
...Since they [parents] have conferred life on their children, parents have the original, primary, and inalienable right to educate them; hence they must be acknowledged as the first and foremost educators of their children.
Parents have the right to choose freely schools or other means necessary to educate their children in keeping with their convictions.
Parents have the right to ensure that their children are not compelled to attend classes which are not in agreement with their own moral and religious convictions.
The rights of parents are violated when a compulsory system of education is imposed by the state from which all religious formation is excluded.
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There is a LOT more if you need it. 
I have to run to the DR, Emily needs here allergy shots, FUN  . Actually he is really good at giving them, I know because I have to get them too, just not as often.
Let me know if you need a few more quotes. I may even have the original letter I helped them write. If I don't then my parents might.
TTFN,
Krisann
__________________
Krisann
DH Cris;
DC John, Elizabeth, Lilyann ^i^, Emily, Kate, Julia, Sam, & Jack;
DGC Kira, Auston, Travis, & Sarah.
My Blog: Isla del Esperanza
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 10:57am | IP Logged
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Karen,
It will depend what county you move to as far as the difficulty of rel. exemption. I am in Stafford and from what I hear it is very simple here. I have actually never reported. HSLDA advised us when we were in Prince William County just to have our letter written and supporting letters from our priest and other character references stating that we felt that our children's faith would be compromised in public school. Then if we ever were contacted we could pursue the exemption then. Basically, I claim my right to religious exemption, I just haven't told anyone because they haven't asked.
You can even claim it for some children and not others. I will have to do it this year, because my oldest went to ps last year, so now they know we exist! Up until now we have been incognito.
I would call HSLDA and ask about the various counties, especially if you will have a choice where you will live.
Good luck.
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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Hi Karen,
It looks like the posts above have given you enough to get started. I just wanted to add that HSLDA's website offers a very detailed explanation of the religious exemption statute. I found it to be very helpful in making my decision.
Right now we're doing option 1 (end-of-year testing at home with a test purchased from Seton each year). Not that it matters, but the religious ex. statute would have applied to us, but I was worried that claiming it might make it hard for me to go back to work as a teacher in our county, where I have a very good teaching record in the public schools. Dh thought my connections with the school system here might be a nice little insurance policy, should he be injured and I have to go back to work. FWIW, option 1 doesn't really stress me, just annoys me because those standardized tests are set up to trick children. And...also small potatoes, but it did annoy me when I rec'd last year's response to my letter of intent (from the school board) that we had been "approved" to home school. (Unless I've misunderstood, VA law states that a letter of intent is just that and can only be "recognized" by local school boards, not "authorized" or "accepted" or "approved." We're letting them know what we're doing, within the law and well within our rights, and there isn't anything they can do about it without court action, unless we break the law in some way.) Could be worse though...I feel for all the Maryland moms here with their boatload of regulations/guidelines to keep up with.
I have to admit, I would like the freedom of religious exemption. Ladies, did I read somewhere that VA is one of the few moderately-regulated-hs states where rel. exemption is still written into the law?
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Kristine
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Karen T
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 10:02pm | IP Logged
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Thanks to all 3 of your for your responses. It helps, knowing what they expect.
Funny you mention Maryland - my MIL lives in Md and one of the reasons we're moving is to be closer to her as she gets older (my parents are both gone now and so is FIL), but I told dh Md would not be the best choice for homeschooling! She is not far from Va, so we'll still be much closer than we are here in Ga.
Requirements here in Ga consist of notification once a year and monthly attendance records faxed in. We're supposed to test every 3 yrs but dno't have to turn in the results, so I just used Seton's test for myself. so I'm pretty spoiled I guess, although it sounds like the Va requirements don't have monthly attendance sent in?
Hmm, Molly, I'd love to not notify at all, but I'm pretty paranoid.
Karen
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teachingmom
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| Posted: July 17 2006 at 10:53pm | IP Logged
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Karen,
I recently wrote a supporting letter for a friend who was claiming religious exemption for the first time. It entailed a few letters, but didn't sound too difficult. I know a handful of Catholics who have gone that route.
We operate under the option (I don't know which number it is) in which you needed a college degree in the past, but now only need a high school diploma. By August 15 of each year, I send them a form provided by Loudoun County which is entitled "A Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction." That is just a list of my kids with their ages and grade levels. I also need to attach "a description of the curriculum to be followed for the coming school year." I've been told that you only need to describe your basic plans (listing textbooks or a general description) for math and language arts. I include other subjects too, however.
I also test the girls each year using the CAT test from Seton. We have to send results of either standarized tests or portfolio evaluation by a certified teacher by August 1 of each year.
I am way behind this year. We spent today doing our testing and my older two still need to do their math sections tomorrow. Please join me in saying a prayer that Seton's grading and turnaround time is really fast, or I might miss the deadline of Aug. 1. I'm not sure I want to know what happens then.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 18 2006 at 7:52am | IP Logged
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I used option 4 last year, and thanks to the new laws, we'll use option 1 this year. We did not test, but rather used an evaluator who was excellent... and today we're mailing it all in!
Keeping my fingers crossed Irene!
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~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
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teachingmom
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 3:18pm | IP Logged
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teachingmom wrote:
| I am way behind this year. We spent today doing our testing and my older two still need to do their math sections tomorrow. Please join me in saying a prayer that Seton's grading and turnaround time is really fast, or I might miss the deadline of Aug. 1. I'm not sure I want to know what happens then. |
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Just in case anyone who read what I wrote above said a prayer with me and was wondering how fast Seton's grading could be, I thought I'd update you on how prompt Seton testing is. I sent the tests back to Seton using one-day mail on Wednesday. I received the results for one test on Friday and the results for the others on Saturday. I sent them in to my county today (Monday). Now that is quick - thanks!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: July 24 2006 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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Karen T wrote:
Hmm, Molly, I'd love to not notify at all, but I'm pretty paranoid.
Karen |
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Karen,
We were actually advised by an HSLDA lawyer to do this. His point was that we were already within our right to homeschool under religious exemption. We don't need permission. He advised us to have our ducks in a row, so to speak, meaning have our letter written as well as supporting letters that we could just pull out of a drawer if ever contacted.
Here in Stafford, folks who have sent in their letter barely even get a nod in reply. They just don't bother with us, or so I have heard. I hope that it is true because I am in the process of putting together my letter to send in. After ten years of anonymity, I will have to notify this year because I am pulling a child out of public school.
The other options aren't difficult, but I do prefer to be left alone.
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Karen T
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 8:19pm | IP Logged
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That is interesting, Molly! If you use the religious exemption (and actually notify) do you then have to re-notify each year, with supporting documents each time, or just notify intent with religious exemption each year, or does once suffice?
Karen
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Jen L.
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| Posted: July 25 2006 at 9:31pm | IP Logged
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You only have to file the religious exemption once. The main restriction is that you can't flip flop with it, I believe. In otherwords, you can't say that you are homeschooling for religious reasons and then send the child to public school and then pull him out and say it's for religious reasons again.
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Jen
dh Klete,ds (8/95),dd (12/97), dd (11/00), and ^2^ in heaven
"...the best state in which to glorify God is our actual state; the best grace is that of the moment..." St. Peter Eymard
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: July 26 2006 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
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teachingmyown wrote:
We were actually advised by an HSLDA lawyer to do this. His point was that we were already within our right to homeschool under religious exemption. We don't need permission. He advised us to have our ducks in a row, so to speak, meaning have our letter written as well as supporting letters that we could just pull out of a drawer if ever contacted.
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This is funny... you are the second Molly in Va that I know of who is doing this
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~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: VA hs-ers requirements
