Electronic Notice of Intent Forms
Q. My school district sent a link to their Notice of Intent form and said I must provide an electronic Notice of Intent. Am I required to do that?
A. No. The law requires parents to notify the division superintendent of their intent to homeschool by August 15 each year. It does not require parents to use any particular Notice of Intent (NOI) form or delivery method. If you wish, for example, you may write a notification letter and deliver it by certified mail, email, or in person.
District requirements to use particular forms, delivery methods, or provide personal data 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 Virginia Supreme Court. Public school districts may not add requirements to the law; only the state legislature may do so.
Notice of Intent Safeguards
HEAV encourages parents to use HEAV’s Notice of Intent form since it is consistent with Virginia law, case law, and VDOE guidance.
Division-generated forms are often not consistent, especially when it comes to personal data fields. On a division-generated paper form, parents do not have to provide personal data in addition to the law’s requirements. However, since electronic notice of intent forms often include data fields programmed as “required,” the parent cannot submit her notice unless the fields have been completed. HEAV cautions parents to provide only what the homeschool law requires.
If a district seeks personal data outside the law’s requirements from parents of private schooled, tutored, or homeschooled children, it is appropriate to indicate the request as “optional.”
Kind regards,
Patricia Beahr
HEAV Director of Government Relations
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