Certified Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications
Compulsory Attendance Compliance Option
Complying with Compulsory Attendance
Virginia’s compulsory attendance law offers several compliance options to parents. For a visual representation of Virginia’s compliance options, please see HEAV’s Law Flowchart.
Section A states: “Except as otherwise provided in this article, every parent, guardian, or other person in the Commonwealth having control or charge of any child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday shall, during the period of each year the public schools are in session and for the same number of days and hours per day as the public schools, cause such child to attend a public school or a private, denominational, or parochial school or have such child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board and approved by the division superintendent, or provide for home instruction of such child as described in § 22.1-254.1” (emphasis added).
As in the case of a private school, a tutor or teacher of qualifications is fully responsible for the education of the children they teach.
Individuals With a Virginia Teaching License:
If you have a current Virginia teaching license, you can teach your own and the children of others under the tutor or teacher option. Additionally, if you are interested in starting a microschool, learning pod, tutoring center, or co-op, HEAV can provide resources, including a manual, to support you. Please refer to our Homeschool Group Leaders Page.
To Become a Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications:
HEAV provides a two-page “tutor or teacher of qualifications submission packet“ to assist licensed Virginia teachers in receiving the superintendent’s authorization to operate under this option.
General Process to Become a Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications:
- The tutor or teacher submits a copy of their current Virginia teaching license to their local superintendent, stating that they are complying with the tutor or teacher statute as referenced in § 22.1-254(A).
- Once the superintendent verifies the current Virginia teaching license, they issue an appropriate acknowledgment letter. At that point, the tutor or teacher may then teach their own children and/or those of others under § 22.1-254(A).
- When the tutor or teacher’s Virginia teaching license is renewed, they must submit their renewed license and obtain a new acknowledgment letter from the superintendent.
Superintendent’s Responsibility:
- Once the current Virginia teaching license is acknowledged, the superintendent cannot deny the tutor or teacher status.
- The superintendent provides an acknowledgment letter that includes the following:
- A statement verifying the teaching license is current and valid
- A statement recognizing the status of the tutor or teacher of qualifications under § 22.1-254(A)
- The superintendent’s signature, indicating approval in accordance with the statute
Note: Parents who wish to use a tutor or teacher in accordance with § 22.1-254(A) refer to this acknowledgment letter to ensure they are in compliance with the compulsory attendance law. Therefore, it is important that the superintendent provide an accurate letter that contains the essential information above.
Reporting Requirements:
- The law does not require private schools or tutors or teachers of qualifications (or the parents using these compliance options) to report to local public school districts.
- Students taught by such tutors or teachers are educated under § 22.1-254(A). They are not homeschooling under the home instruction statute, § 22.1-254.1. Therefore, the requirements of the home instruction law do not apply.
Parents Seeking to Use a Certified Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications:
As with private schools, if you wish to have your child taught by a certified tutor or teacher of qualifications, seek out local connections. To begin your search, check our list for local homeschool groups. Ensure your compliance with this option by reviewing the tutor or teacher’s letter received from the superintendent that acknowledges the tutor or teacher’s qualification status.
The law does not require parents who use private schools or a tutor or teacher of qualifications to report to local public school divisions. Students taught by a tutor or teacher are educated under § 22.1-254(A). They are not homeschooling under the home instruction statute, § 22.1-254.1. Therefore, the requirements of the home instruction law do not apply.
Resources:
- HEAV Resource: Virginia Education Laws Flowchart
- Virginia Code: § 22.1-254(A), Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications Law
- Case Law: Circuit Court: Prince William County v. Charles Berlin
- VDOE Resource: Tutor or Teacher of Qualifications Superintendent’s Memo
§22.1-254(A) of the Code of Virginia identifies the ways parents can comply with Virginia’s compulsory attendance requirements. It includes a provision that allows a parent to satisfy compulsory attendance requirements by having “…such child taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent…” as an alternative to attendance at a public or private school. Parents who are certified teachers may teach their own children under this provision, known as “the certified tutor” option, instead of the home instruction statute found in §22.1-254.1.
Under the certified tutor provision:
- The tutor or teacher must have current Virginia teacher certification.
- Certification must be approved by the division superintendent
- A parent or non-parent who is Virginia certified may teach using §22.1-254(A).
- The tutor may teach his/her own children or other children.
- Instruction may take place in the home or outside the home.
- End-of-year assessment is not required.
- Yearly notification is not required as long as certification is current; new or updated certification should be submitted.
Notification should take place in the form of a letter to the division superintendent. Certification documents must be included for the superintendent’s approval. In the letter, be sure to clearly state that you are in compliance with §22.1-254(A).
If you choose to use the certified tutor statute, DO NOT FILE a Notice of Intent form. DO NOT check option (ii) on the Notice of Intent form although it shows “certified tutor” as the second option to homeschool. Tutors who use the NOI form indicate they are in compliance with §22.1-245.1, the homeschool statute. The homeschool statute requires end-of-year assessment and yearly filing.
Because a certified tutor option is also included on the Notice of Intent form, understandably, some division personnel are confused. Be prepared to explain the difference if there are questions.
