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1998 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 22.1-254.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 22.1-254.1. Declaration of policy; requirements for home instruction of children.
A. When the requirements of this section have been satisfied, instruction of
children by their parents in their home is an acceptable alternative
form of education under the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Any parent
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 may elect to
provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance if he (i) holds a
baccalaureate degree in any subject from an accredited institution of higher
education; or (ii) is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of
Education; or (iii) has enrolled the child or children in a correspondence
course approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; or (iv) provides a
program of study or curriculum which, in the judgment of the division
superintendent, includes the standards of learning objectives adopted by the
Board of Education for language arts and mathematics and provides evidence that
the parent is able to provide an adequate education for the child.
B. Any parent who elects to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance shall annually notify the division superintendent in August of his intention to so instruct the child and provide a description of the curriculum to be followed for the coming year and evidence of having met one of the criteria for providing home instruction as required by subsection A of this section. Any parent who moves into a school division or begins home instruction after the school year has begun shall notify the division superintendent of his intention to provide home instruction as soon as practicable and shall comply with the requirements of this section within thirty days of such notice. The division superintendent shall notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the number of students in the school division receiving home instruction.
C. The parent who elects to provide home instruction shall provide the division superintendent by August 1 following the school year in which the child has received home instruction with either (i) evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on a battery of achievement tests which have been approved by the Board of Education for use in the public schools or (ii) an evaluation or assessment which, in the judgment of the division superintendent, indicates that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress.
In the event that evidence of progress as required in this subsection is not
provided by the parent, the home instruction program for that child may be
placed on probation for one year. Parents shall file with the division
superintendent evidence of their ability to provide an adequate education for
their child in compliance with subsection A of this section and a remediation
plan for the probationary year which indicates their program is designed to
address any educational deficiency. Upon acceptance of such evidence and plan
by the division superintendent, the home instruction may continue for one
probationary year. If the remediation plan and evidence are not accepted or the
required evidence of progress is not provided by August 1 following the
probationary year, home instruction shall cease and the parent shall make other
arrangements for the education of the child which comply with § 22.1-254.
The requirements of subsection C (i) shall not apply to children who
are under the age of six as of September 30 of the school year.
D. For purposes of this section, "parent" means the biological parent or adoptive parent, guardian or other person having control or charge of a child.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a pupil and his parents from obtaining an excuse from school attendance by reason of bona fide religious training or belief pursuant to § 22.1-257.
E. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the division superintendent may appeal his decision within thirty days to an independent hearing officer. The independent hearing officer shall be chosen from the list maintained by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court for hearing appeals of the placements of children with disabilities. The costs of the hearing shall be apportioned among the parties by the hearing officer in a manner consistent with his findings.