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How do
I
homeschool in Virginia?
There are various options for home-schooling in Virginia. You may hire a
tutor or homeschool under religious exemption.
Or you may operate a homeschool by
either:
1) Possessing
a high school diploma (as of July 1st 2006),
2) Being
a certified teacher,
3) Using an approved
correspondence course, or
4) Submitting evidence that the
parent can teach and use curriculum that includes state objectives for
language arts and math.
For more information on homeschooling laws go to
www.hslda.org
How do I
prepare to homeschool?
Decide why it is important for you to homeschool your children.
Determine the learning style of each of your children. Do your kids like
to take things apart and put them back together? That is a kinesthetic
learner. Are they visual learners? Or are they auditory learners?
Decide what type of teaching approach you would like to use:
Traditional
workbook/textbook style,
Classical approach,
A unit study to teach all
grades at the same time,
A living books approach
using your local library and
visiting real places,
Principle approach,
Or un-schooling.
Information
on Testing
(Information from HEAV.org)
TESTING TIME AGAIN!
The new law clarifying the types of assessments parents
homeschooling under the homeschool statute* can use to show
academic progress will go into effect July 1. The due date
for assessments remains the same--August 1.
Parents may use
- Any nationally normed standardized achievement test
or
- An evaluation or assessment, including, but not
limited to,
- an evaluation letter from a person licensed to
teach in any state, or a letter from a person with a
master's degree or higher in an academic discipline,
or
- a report card or transcript from a community
college or college, college distance learning
program, or home education correspondence school.
Prepare for successful testing now by
clicking here. You'll discover how to prepare your
students, how to find testers, where to order tests, and how
to interpret the results. We will have a detailed analysis
of the new laws in a future Update.
*Homeschoolers must be tested if they have registered
under §22.1-254.1 of the Virginia Code by filing a "Notice
of Intent to Provide Home Instruction," or letter with the
school division. Testing is not required for the following:
- children who are under the age of six as of
September 30 of the school year;
- students who are under the religious-exemption
provision §22.1-254(B)(1);
- students being taught by a certified tutor §22.1-254
(A); or
- students who have graduated, regardless of age.
Survey Results
Thanks to those of you who participated in our assessment
survey. The information will be very helpful in future
planning.
Out of the 526 respondents,
- 433 used standardized achievement tests,
- 14 used an independent evaluation by a certified
tutor,
- 44 used an independent evaluation by a professional
evaluator,
- 18 used an unevaluated portfolio, and
- 17 used a portfolio evaluated by a certified tutor
or professional evaluator.
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