Clarke County

A Virginia Certified Tutor received a letter from the office manager indicating she had been given a deadline to comply with the home instruction law. Upon further review, HEAV found the tutor’s acknowledgement letter included language and statutory requirements found only in the home instruction law, although it cited the correct Virginia Certified Tutor statute. Additionally, the acknowledgment letter did not include a reference to the superintendent’s approval – a requirement for Virginia Certified Tutors.

HEAV contacted the district to provide detailed information about the Virginia Certified Tutor and home instruction laws and explain how the office manager’s request and the tutor’s acknowledgment letter were inconsistent with the Virginia Code. The tutor was immediately contacted by both the superintendent and assistant superintendent with a resolution. The district thanked the tutor for working with HEAV to share the correct information about the law. Further, they advised the tutor would receive a revised acknowledgment letter, and they would contact the representative at the VDOE, who had misinformed them regarding the law, to share the correct information provided by HEAV.

HEAV appreciates Clarke County’s commitment to the Virginia Code as well as the example they are to Virginia districts in providing such a positive, prompt, and effective response.

What You Should Know:

• The Virginia Certified Tutor and Home Instruction statutes are two different laws with different legal requirements. It is helpful to clearly reference the proper statute.
• Approval is required by the superintendent to operate as a Virginia Certified Tutor.
• To become a Virginia Certified Tutor, the law requires a tutor/teacher to submit their teaching credentials to the superintendent. Once the superintendent verifies the credentials, they send a letter to the tutor which may be presented to parents who wish to hire them in accordance with §22.1-254(A). The tutor may teach their own children or other parent’s children under this law. When a tutor is recertified, they resubmit their credentials to maintain their tutor status.
• The Virginia Certified Tutor statute does not require annual notifications, assessments or the personal data of the children they are teaching. It is the tutor’s decision to provide their student’s personal data to public schools.
• Reference: Tutor statute – §22.1-254(A), HEAV article – Certified Tutor Option, 2023 Letter to Superintendents