Virginia’s General Assembly is considering a handful of Homeschool-friendly legislation.

The Home School Legal Defense Association writes:

Good Bills Moving Forward

Three bills to improve the Virginia home instruction laws are making excellent progress in the General Assembly. HSLDA and HEAV have worked hand in hand to draft, introduce, and promote these bills toward enactment.

Senate Bill 1403

Senate Bill 1403 will give homeschool families the right to submit a passing score (23rd percentile or higher) on an SAT, ACT and PSAT test to satisfy the year-end assessment requirement. It will also give families the right to submit International Baccalaureate assessments for consideration. The bill received unanimous approval in Senate committee, and unanimous approval on the Senate floor last week.

Senator Steve Martin is the bill’s patron, and he has done an excellent job moving the bill forward. Please thank him if you have an opportunity. His district includes Amelia County, most of Chesterfield County, and the city of Colonial Heights.

House Bill 1754

Delegate David LaRock filed a bill in the House of Delegates, House Bill 1754, that would—like SB 1403—add the SAT, ACT and PSAT tests to the list of acceptable year-end assessments. Last week HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott Woodruff testified in subcommittee in favor of the bill and it received the approval of the full House Education Committee by a strong vote of 18 in favor and 4 against. This morning the House of Delegates passed the bill by a margin of 77 in favor, 20 against. Now it will move to the Senate.

House Bill 1753

LaRock also filed a bill that will make life more fair and less stressful for families who start homeschooling after February 1. The bill had its first test early on Tuesday morning last week in the Education Reform Subcommittee of the House Education Committee. LaRock gave an excellent presentation of the bill’s purpose to the subcommittee. Woodruff spoke and gave additional support. No one testified against the bill.