Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin says a bill that could eliminate a religious exemption to the state’s public education requirement is an infringement on parental rights that may effectively end religious homeschooling.
RICHMOND, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) -- Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he will veto a bill that could eliminate a religious exemption to the state’s public education requirement, deeming it an infringement on parental rights.
SB1031 calls on the Virginia Board of Education to convene a working group to review how the “current law relating to religious exemptions from compulsory attendance and the provision of home instruction could be amended to better ensure that all children in the Commonwealth receive an adequate education.”
Supporters say reform is needed because Virginia is the only state without basic educational standards for children under the religious exemption. But critics say the working group would theoretically be able to recommend that the religious exemptions be rescinded entirely, effectively eliminating the ability of religious families to homeschool their children instead of sending them to public school.
“I am a strong supporter of homeschooling and will always support the rights of parents to homeschool their children,” Youngkin said, the Daily Progress reported. “We are in a short session and out of courtesy to my friends in the Senate, let me be clear that I will veto this bill.”
“This exemption has been – I could say a godsend – for 49 years, because it has allowed (people) to operate independently of a compulsory government structure,” says Scott Woodruff, director of legal and legislative advocacy for the Home School Legal Defense Association. “It has allowed them to operate independently of the government-imposed red tape.”
“Every year, we get conflicts and controversies because local officials implement the law wrong, or they make up new rules, and every one of those interactions is going to feel like a threat to the faith of someone who has kept their kids out of public school,” he added.
The Washington Stand noteed that Democrat state Sen. Stella Pekarsky claims the current version of SB1031 was amended without her approval and that she never intended to imperil homeschooling.
“It’s hard for me to express how heartbreaking this moment is for Virginians,” said Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council. “Our nation’s proud history of honoring religious liberty is rooted in our Commonwealth and was articulated by Founding Fathers from Virginia. That such a regressive filing has been offered in the Virginia General Assembly is grievous. Christians who are not involved in campaigns and elections for state and local offices leave the door open for hateful legislation like SB 1031.”
Youngkin was elected in 2021 in large part due to a parental revolt over education and Democrats’ hostility to parental rights.
On his first day in office, he issued a series of executive actions, including a ban on promoting Critical Race Theory in public schools and a request for an investigation of the Loudoun County School District over allegations it covered up the rape of a female student by a gender-confused male. His administration went on to push model policies to ensure parents’ ability to access, review, and have alternatives to sex-related educational materials as well as to require students to be addressed by their legal names and actual sex and to use biological sex to determine which bathrooms, lockers, or athletic teams they are allowed to access.
