RICHMOND, Va. — A group of home school families gathered at the State Capitol on Tuesday to voice their opposition to legislation they claim infringes on their religious freedoms. The bill's sponsor said it is about closing a legal loophole to protect children.
In Virginia, parents have the option to home school their children but are required to provide updates on their educational progress.
According to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), 56,008 students are home schooled under regular guidelines, while 6,755 students home school through a religious exemption that does not mandate proof of education.
"This allowed children to kind of be lost and that is a really big issue for us," said Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Fairfax), the bill's sponsor.
"This is a freedom of religion lawsuit waiting to happen," said Justine Smith, a home school parent.
Pekarsky said it seeks to impose the same educational proof requirements on families utilizing the religious exemption as are applied to other home school students.
"Our requirements for homeschooling families are actually very low and very reasonable," she said. "The reason I know this is because I home schooled one of my children for a year."
Watch: Why more Virginia parents are homeschooling kids
The bill recently cleared its first hurdle, passing a Senate subcommittee on Monday.
During the meeting, several individuals educated under the religious exemption expressed concerns, stating the proposed changes left them feeling unsatisfied.
"As a young adult, these deficiencies became more pronounced," Brooke Shanks, who was home schooled and supports the bill, said. "I was unable to gain employment, attend college, or complete basic tasks that others take for granted."
Opponents of the bill voiced their concerns at the same committee hearing, while Melissa Velasquez, Assistant Superintendent of Government Relations at VDOE, said the annual contact required under the regular guidelines could violate the tenants of religious sects like the Amish and Mennonites.
Velasquez added that VDOE is "strongly opposed" to the bill.
Testimony at Tuesday's news conference also included personal success stories from families who have utilized the exemption, which has been in place since the 1970s. Many argued that the legislation represents an infringement on parental rights and religious freedom.
"This bill would essentially nullify the religious exemption to compulsory school attendance, putting the decision to hear and decide the fate of a family's sincerely held religious convictions in the hands of the school superintendent. Tacking on additional and arbitrary requirements to this exemption is an attack on these families first amendment religious rights," added Smith at Tuesday's news conference. She said she has home schooled her six children and is now in her 20th year. "Why make religious exempted families answer to the state to prove the legitimacy of their religion when they already answer to a higher power,"
"These parents have a fundamental belief that they can't, they don't answer to the government for their child," Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb said. "It's a fundamental belief that their faith says it's between myself and their own faith."
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Pekarsky, however, maintained that her bill is focused on regulation rather than religion.
"This bill is about ensuring that it is not legal in Virginia to not educate your children, that is it," Pekarsky said.
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