House eases home-school rules

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From combined dispatches

RICHMOND -- The House yesterday passed legislation relaxing the academic qualifications required of parents who teach their children at home.

Delegate Rob B. Bell III's bill would require parents to have only a high school diploma to home-school their children.

Virginia law currently requires home-schooling teachers to have at least a bachelor's degree. However, parents can get around that requirement by enrolling their children in a state-approved correspondence course or getting the local school superintendent to certify that their curriculum meets or exceeds the public school Standards of Learning.

Mr. Bell, Albemarle County Republican, said 38 other states already allow parents with high school diplomas to teach their children at home.

"They may not be as educated as some members of this body and they may not be as educated as the lawyer-lobbyists who visit our offices, but they want to dedicate themselves to educating their children," Mr. Bell said.

Delegate James H. Dillard II, Fairfax County Republican and chairman of the House Education Committee, urged his colleagues to reject the bill.

"We're lowering the standards for 22,000 students in the commonwealth," Mr. Dillard said. "We're removing the safety net for these children."

He said studies have shown that children taught by parents with only a high school education score 20 percent lower on standardized tests than other home-schooled students.