Testing and Religious Exemption
Q. Should I send in test results if I’m homeschooling under the religious exemption statute?
A. No. If you are homeschooling because you have sincere religious convictions against sending your child to school and you are under the religious exemption statute § 22.1-254 (B)(1), you are NOT required to submit test results or an evaluation to your division superintendent.
§ 22.1-254 (B)(1) states: A school board shall excuse from attendance at school: any pupil who, together with his parents, by reason of bona fide religious training or belief is conscientiously opposed to attendance at school. For purposes of this subdivision, “bona fide religious training or belief” does not include essentially political, sociological or philosophical views or a merely personal moral code.
If you would like, you can test your child to see how he is progressing, but you are not required to report this information to anyone. Test results can be beneficial in understanding your child’s progress, but they are only for your personal knowledge.
Parents who have complied with the homeschool statute, §22.1-254.1, by filing a Notice of Intent, are the only people who are required to send test results or an evaluation to their superintendent by August 1 each year.
