Senators on Friday moved a bill to the inactive calendar that would have significantly rolled back homeschooling regulations in West Virginia. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Senators have parked a measure that would have significantly rolled back West Virginia’s homeschooling regulations, including removing the requirement that parents or guardians prove their children are learning math and reading.
They were expected to consider amendments to the bill – Senate Bill 966 — on Friday, but the Senate Rules Committee moved the bill to the inactive calendar that morning, meaning it could not be moved forward for further consideration.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, chairwoman of the Senate School Select Committee, said the move was “frankly a leadership decision because it’s not a bill worthy of three hours of debate.” Her committee approved the measure earlier this week.
“And the chance of it being taken up by the House is so slim,” she continued. “So I told leadership… ‘I’m not trying to kill other bills, just do what you have to do.’
The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, would allow a homeschool teacher to choose what the child learns, instead of the current requirement that a homeschooled child learn language, math, science and social studies. The child would complete an assessment selected by the parent. This would have been a change from current law, which says the county supervisor must approve the test.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel said used a infrequent move to defeat the bill in first reading so that the legislature does not vote on it. He expressed concern that the measure no longer requires a homeschool teacher to have a high school diploma or a GED. Eight Republicans in the 34-member Senate voted with Woelfel to reject the bill.
“I’m optimistic it won’t happen again… I think there was also a lot of quiet support for our position,” said Woelfel, D-Cabell.
“Eighty percent of our homeschoolers are righteous and do great work. But as a former juvenile court judge, I can tell you that when it comes to truancy and child neglect, there is another element in families that takes a child out of school because the parents don’t want to be charged with truancy or other reasons. … We have to pay attention to this minority of students,” he said.
Data from the West Virginia Department of Education showed that 71% of students left public schools to be homeschooled were chronically absent.
Rucker, R-Jefferson, noted that many states do not have the same requirements for homeschooling, such as requiring students to take standardized tests or college entrance exams.
“We have to regulate public schools in Chapter 18, which the public schools themselves complain about all the time. We also regulate private schools even though they don’t get government funding. We also regulate homeschoolers even though they don’t get money,” Rucker said.
“For me, the lesson we need to learn is that we need to deregulate regulations completely. None of our regulations ensure good teachers, good education and good outcomes. … Let’s empower and empower educators, be they professional educators or parents who choose to take responsibility, and let’s give them every opportunity to succeed,” she continued.
Rucker doesn’t plan to reintroduce the bill this legislative session but would like it to be considered next year.
“I don’t give up easily,” she said.
The Senate Rules Committee also moved Senate Bill 1081 placed in inactive status. The measure sponsored by Rucker would have created a school finance transparency commission convened by the governor to audit counties’ spending on schools. The board could explore options to address the financial challenges associated with dwindling student enrollment.
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