Virginia

Notice and registration

The filing goes to the local school division, not to VDOE. It is renewed every year.

A parent who chooses home instruction must annually notify the division superintendent in August and provide a description of the curriculum limited to a list of subjects to be studied during the coming year, plus evidence of meeting one qualification option. The statute sets the annual deadline at August 15.

The notice may be a letter or other written documentation and must identify the child or children. VDOE publishes a model Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction.

After the notice, a family that moved in or started mid-year has 30 days to submit the rest of the required information.

“Parents electing to provide home instruction shall provide such annual notice no later than August 15.”

Va. Code § 22.1-254.1(B)

Required subjects

Virginia does not prescribe a state subject list for home instruction. It requires you to describe the curriculum as a list of subjects for the coming year.

The statute limits the curriculum description to a list of subjects. VDOE notes that families may use the Standards of Learning objectives as a basis for their program if they choose to.

“a description of the curriculum, limited to a list of subjects to be studied during the coming year”

Va. Code § 22.1-254.1(B)

Hours and days

The home instruction statute does not set a separate day or hour count. The attendance duty it sits inside does.

Virginia’s compulsory attendance section requires a child to attend “for the same number of days and hours per day as the public schools,” and lists home instruction as one of the ways to satisfy that duty. VDOE’s handbook opens with that framing.

In practice, plan your year against your division’s public school calendar rather than a separately published home-school day count.

“for the same number of days and hours per day as the public schools”

Va. Code § 22.1-254

Assessment and evidence of progress

One of these forms of evidence is due by August 1. There is no state test to sit and no portfolio review by the state.

The options are:

• A composite score at or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test, or an equivalent ACT, SAT or PSAT score. VDOE notes that a percentile score of 23 or above is equivalent to the fourth stanine.
• An evaluation letter from a person licensed to teach in any state, or from a person with a master’s degree or higher in an academic discipline, who knows the child’s progress and states that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress.
• A report card or transcript from an institution of higher education, a college distance-learning program, or a home-education correspondence school.

The four parent qualification routes

The notice must show that the parent meets one of the options in the statute. Evidence is submitted to the division, not evaluated by VDOE.

• Option I — the parent holds a high school diploma or a higher credential. VDOE notes that a high school equivalency certificate such as a GED does not meet this option.
• Option II — the parent is a teacher with qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education, evidenced by a Virginia teaching license or a letter of eligibility.
• Option III — the parent provides a program of study or curriculum, which may be delivered by correspondence, distance learning or any other manner. A list of subjects is submitted for information only.
• Option IV — the parent provides evidence of being able to provide an adequate education. What counts as evidence is determined locally, so ask the division before filing.

Immunizations

Home-instructed students must meet the same immunization requirements as students attending school.

The superintendent is not required to collect immunization information with the notice of intent, but may ask for it. Families provide it on request unless a religious-belief affidavit or a physician’s statement supports an exemption.