project exposing school board members and school leaders focused on indoctrinating children rather than educating them.CURRENT GRADE: D
School choice options are very limited with less than 6,000 children out of over 250,000 school-aged students able to participate in 2024.
Homeschooling is restrictive with requirements for periodic testing to be submitted to the government.
Compulsory attendance is required for ages 6 through under 18.
Education Options
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- An Education Savings Account.
- Provides financial assistance that can be used for tuition, homeschool curriculum and other qualifying expenses.
- 5,443 students were provided assistance in 2023-24 school year.
- $4,488 per students was distributed for full year of enrollment.
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- WV law originally permitted 10 charter school buildings plus 2 virtual charter schools.
- Beginning 2023 and every 3 years after, an additional 10 public charter schools may be authorized.
Homeschooling Laws
Here are state laws on the topic of homeschooling:
- Parents shall provide a one-time notice of intent to homeschool to the county superintendent.
- Parents shall provide an assurance the child will receive instruction in reading, language arts, math, science, and social studied.
- Required credentials for instruction: high school diploma or equivalent or post-secondary degree or certificate.
- Assessments must be done either through standardized testing, portfolio samples reviewed by a certified teacher, or other approved academic assessment and provided to the county superintendent in grades three, five, eight, and eleven.
Religious Exemptions:
- There are no religious exemption laws for compulsory education.
The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Many argue that a religious conviction to provide a home-based education is constitutionally protected and a state religious exemption law is not a requirement to be able to homeschool on religious grounds.
It should be noted that the U.S. Supreme Court in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) established that “Under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, a state law requiring that children attend school past eighth grade violates the parents’ constitutional right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.” (The case involved a challenge of a 16-year-old student to be exempt, so the scope was limited)
