Giles County Religious Exempt Homeschool Families 6/27/2024

What You Should Know:

• We caution parents against relying on the accuracy of information and forms provided by the public school system. Frequently, doing so causes unnecessary challenges for parents. Please remember, it is the parents—not the public school system—who are responsible for ensuring compliance with the law.
• To assist parents in ensuring their compliance with the compulsory attendance and home instruction laws, we encourage use of HEAV’s Notice of Intent form. It is consistent with the law, case law, and VDOE guidance. Additionally, the guidance found on our website, heav.org, can help protect you from unnecessary compliance challenges.
• Home instruction (§22.1-254.1) is a way to comply with compulsory attendance law. Religious exemption (§22.1-254(B) is an exemption from compulsory attendance law. These are two different laws with different statutory requirements and processes. The religious exemption option should never be included on a NOI form to homeschool.
• Requirements for information beyond a child’s name, address, and age as of September 30 of the school year are inconsistent with the law as determined by the Supreme Court of Virginia.
  Public school districts cannot add requirements to the law; only the state legislature may do so.
• If a public school district wishes to obtain personal data outside the limits of the law from parents of private schooled, tutored, or homeschool children, it is appropriate to indicate the information request as “Optional.”
• Regarding NOI option (iii), the law states: “Any parent…may elect to provide home instruction…if he (iii) provides the child with a program of study or curriculum, which may be delivered through a correspondence course or distance learning program or in any other manner.”
• The Virginia Department of Education provides the following guidance for option (iii):
  • “If the child is enrolled in a correspondence course or distance learning program, the parent must submit evidence of such enrollment and a list of the subjects to be studied for the coming year to the school division; however, no judgment of the materials is required of the school division superintendent.
  • If the teaching parent provides a program of study or curriculum that is delivered through any other manner, a list of the courses to be studied for the coming year must be submitted to the school division. Submission of these materials is for information purposes only.”

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