HEAV stays current with public policy issues affecting homeschool families, and disseminates information to the homeschool community via e-mail and printed materials.

HEAV sponsors Day at the Capitol each year, and was responsible for asking Governor George Allen to declare the fourth week of each January “Virginia Home Education Week.”

With our volunteers and paid lobbying staff, HEAV works with legislators during the year, and has a constant presence at the General Assembly when the legislature is in session.

By means of online monitoring we look for any surprise legislation that may affect our rights to home educate, and we track new bills introduced during the session.

HEAV works closely with the Virginia Department of Education, local school boards, and local school superintendents. We network with numerous state and national homeschool and pro-family organizations throughout the year.

When necessary, HEAV sends out e-mail alerts that provide parents with the information they need to help wisely shape public policy that will affect home-educating families.

• It was because of HEAV that the homeschool law was passed in 1984.
• Because of HEAV, the cut-off score for standardized achievement tests was changed from the 40th to the 23rd percentile so parents could teach children with learning difficulties.
• HEAV successfully opposed mandatory five-year-old kindergarten and protected religious exemption from threats of change.
• HEAV successfully opposed daytime curfews for homeschoolers and mandatory SOL testing, and endorsed a law that required school districts to notify and make available PSAT and AP  tests to homeschoolers.
• HEAV also promoted parent-taught, behind-the-wheel driver instruction for homeschoolers.
• Laws favorable to homeschooling in Virginia pass because of HEAV.

CONVENTION/SEMINARS

HEAV sponsors an Annual Virginia Homeschool Convention. We bring outstanding speakers and exhibitors together to support, encourage, and equip homeschool moms and dads. This event is planned for the veteran as well as the new home educator.

Convention normally includes more than 100 workshops, a 62,000 square foot exhibit hall, a gigantic used-curriculum sale, a graduation ceremony, and lots more. We are expecting more than 9,000 attendees at our upcoming event. Many say it is the highlight of their home-educating year.

HEAV also sponsors various Homeschool Success Seminars throughout the year.

HEAV is a resource contact for a variety of media. We provide information, articles, spokesmen, and other materials.

We offer a number of informative publications including these:

• The Virginia Home Educator, a FREE quarterly magazine that offers an in-depth look at such subjects as homeschooling and the military, support for home-educating parents, preparing for college, and extracurricular activities—all with a slant toward Virginia-specific information. To receive your free subscription, sign up now!

• The HEAV Virginia Homeschool Update, a FREE e-mail newsletter that includes the latest news about contests, museum events, special homeschool offers, book fairs, and more. Each week our dedicated team of volunteers brings you helpful information and  resources from around the state and across the nation. Sign up today!

• The Legislative Update, a FREE e-mail newsletter that provides timely information on legislative matters during the General Assembly session. Sign up today!

• And, The Virginia Homeschool Manual: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Education in Virginia. This manual covers how to begin, how to choose curriculum, different learning styles, socialization, gifted education at home, kindergarten, high school,  apprenticeships, college, and more. You’ll also find information and resources on homeschooling special-needs children, along with in-depth sections on “Virginia Law” and “Testing and Evaluations.” Find out more here.

SUPPORT GROUPS

We actively promote regional and local support groups through referrals and our online support-group directory.

We offer regional and local support groups the opportunity to publicize their events and news in the Virginia Home Educator and weekly HEAV Virginia Homeschool Update.

HEAV provides regional and local support groups with training, resources, information, intercommunication, and encouragement.

To help keep regional and support-group leaders informed, we send copies of the Virginia Homeschool Update, the Legislative Update, and the Virginia Home Educator magazine during the year. We also send e-mail alerts whenever necessary, and a periodic HEAV Leaders’ Letter.

HEAV also sponsors leadership training seminars to serve leaders so they can better serve home educators.

HEAV sends representatives who can speak on a wide variety of topics to visit local support groups. (Give us a call if you’d like someone to speak to your group!)

We distribute tens of thousands of pieces of free information to parents around the state every year.

HEAV also continues to research and develop new resources for the equipping of home educators. These resources are available for sale through our office.

We offer an extensive selection of recordings on a wide variety of home-education subjects.

We offer extensive information on our website for parents who are interested in home education or who are just getting started.

We also publish the Virginia Homeschool Manual, which is on the shelves of libraries throughout the state.

HEAV works to educate the general public, the media, pastors, state and private educators, school boards, judges, attorneys, and state legislators about the benefits of home education and the constitutional right to home educate.

We take steps to present home education in the best possible light through personal contacts, media interviews, lectures, seminars, conventions, radio and television interviews, our printed materials, and by sponsoring the annual Day at the Capitol.

In 1983, our “operational headquarters” was a card table set up in the General Assembly building by a couple of homeschooling moms. Virginia homeschoolers responded enthusiastically to the idea of working together to lobby for a homeschool law in Virginia, and thus HEAV was born.

Over the years, the homeschooling movement has grown, and because of God’s grace and your continued support, generous contributions, and volunteer efforts, HEAV has grown right along with it.

A major milestone was reached in March 1996 when HEAV was able—through the generous help of local support groups and donors—to move our “operations” into a real office. Previously, our “office” was located in living rooms, dens, and basements of dedicated home-educating parents. Today we have paid and volunteer staff who orchestrate the day-to-day administrative details and answer the many thousands of phone calls, mail and e-mail messages we receive each year.

Another milestone was reached in 2000 when we hired—again, through the incredibly generous support of homeschooling families and support groups—a full-time executive director. Our director oversees the numerous operations and events that are sponsored or conducted by HEAV, and has greatly contributed to the growth and development of the organization.

In 2004, after years of cramped quarters and shared desk spaces, we have moved into a much larger and more convenient facility. No more moving boxes up and down stairs! Our new space includes room for a bookstore and a meeting room for workshops and seminars. We’re looking forward to being able to serve you in new and creative ways.

From our humble beginnings on a card table in the General Assembly building, to our beautifully decorated and spacious office suite, HEAV has stayed committed to serving Virginia’s homeschooling families by providing timely information, excellent resources, and an unfailing presence in the legislative process. And while we have staff in several key positions, much of the work of HEAV is still being done by dedicated and enthusiastic families—like yours—who are willing to volunteer their time, talents, and resources to help other homeschool families succeed. Volunteers are the backbone of HEAV: we couldn’t do what we do without you.

Our Board of Directors provides leadership, accountability, and direction for the Home Educators Association of Virginia. We are made up of home-educating parents, grandparents, and other dedicated individuals who volunteer their time, energy, talents, and resources to help promote and protect home education in Virginia.