Public School Recruiting Homeschoolers: What You Need to Know

Unlike most non-public school families, parents providing home instruction must submit a Notice of Intent and evidence of progress annually to their local public school superintendent, according to state law.

Since the 2020–2021 school year, public school divisions have increasingly used the contact information provided in these legal documents and associated correspondence to reach out to families regarding public school programs.

Recently, HEAV has been contacted by parents in five public school divisions—Franklin County, Franklin City, Amherst County, Northampton County, and Chesapeake—regarding concerns related to these ongoing campaigns.

Primary Concerns

Through the years, parents have consistently raised three primary concerns:

Privacy and Consent

Families who educate privately do not interpret compliance with state law as permission for solicitation. As government agencies, public school divisions collect mandatory information for specific regulatory purposes. Administrative principles, good governance, and public expectations hold that this information should be used only for its intended purpose. Using information required by law for recruitment goes beyond that expectation.

Differential Treatment of Private Educators

Because school divisions possess mandatory contact data for homeschoolers, these families are disproportionately targeted with a level of attention and recruitment effort that other non-public school families do not receive. Access to statutorily mandated information should not result in an imbalance in how non-public school families are viewed or treated.

Funding Priorities vs. Family Priorities

Homeschool parents continue to observe school board discussions indicating that recruitment campaigns for homeschoolers are driven by a need for increased funding. While families understand that their local public school system’s priority is to meet funding targets, they have a different priority: their children’s individual needs and well-being. The most common resulting sentiment is that their children are viewed as a “commodity.”

Public School Budgeting Facts

The timeline of enrollment matters. Recent advertisements are likely strategic because, alongside fall enrollment counts, the March 31 enrollment snapshot is used to determine most of the state funding distributed to school divisions for the upcoming fiscal year.

Some divisions offer a full-time virtual public school option, for which they receive the same per-student funding as for in-person instruction. The average per-pupil funding in Virginia is approximately $16,800.

Some divisions offer part-time enrollment for students attending private schools or receiving home instruction. For these students, divisions receive up to half of their per-pupil funding, calculated on a prorated basis according to the courses in which the student is enrolled.

What Families Can Do

HEAV supports every parent’s right to freely choose the best educational options for their children. Although a portion of homeschool families may find the information helpful, the broader community reports that these efforts strain community relations and trust.

If You Wish to Address the Issue, Contact Your Local School Board and Superintendent

Reach out to your local school board and superintendent to share your concerns about how your family’s data is being used. Even though families did not opt in to receive these communications, they can take steps to ensure their division respects the expectation that statutory data is used only for its intended regulatory purpose.

Provide Only the Information Required by Law

Personal data that the law does not require—such as email addresses and phone numbers—is commonly used for advertising.

To protect your privacy, HEAV encourages parents to submit only the information required for compliance, use our Notice of Intent form, and send all documents and correspondence through certified mail with a return receipt requested.

By taking these steps, families can protect their privacy, clarify expectations, and ensure that communication remains focused on legal compliance.

Best regards,