Parents are now required to put beliefs in writing

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 06:54 AM PDT

School Board set to discuss policy at work session

Parents are now required to put beliefs in writing

FRONT ROYAL -- The Warren County School Board will continue its discussion of the religious exemption policy and procedures at its Thursday work session.

Board member Kimberly Athey asked that the religious exemption policy and regulation be added to the agenda for the meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Warren County Government Center, according to information from Superintendent Pamela McInnis.

On March 11, the board approved a regulation for reviewing and approving requests for a pupil to be exempted from compulsory school attendance based on religious beliefs.

The new policy stated that in order for a pupil to be exempt from compulsory attendance based on such grounds, parents were required to submit a letter to the board with a statement of religious beliefs and an explanation of why the beliefs qualify for the exemption. Previously, the board had no official written policy on the subject.

The policy also stated requests must define why state-approved alternatives to public school instruction, such as homeschooling, would not meet the parents' or child's needs.

Following concerns from parents that the regulation could adversely affect their right to homeschool children, Athey, who was not present for the meeting, asked at a March 25 work session that the regulation be suspended indefinitely and the board seek an attorney general's opinion as to the legality of the policy.

A school board can excuse from compulsory attendance "any pupil who, together with his parents, by reason of 'bona fide religious training or belief,' is conscientiously opposed to attendance at school," according to state law.

A consensus policy for religious exemption requests was presented by members of homeschool associations and support groups at the board's April 8 meeting. The consensus policy states that a pupil will be exempted from compulsory attendance based on "bona fide religious training or belief" and that parents must submit a letter to the board notifying members of their intention to claim the exemption. It also states that the board will respond to the request within 30 days.

The consensus policy also contained a requirement that the board would notify interested parties 30 days before any changes were made to the procedure.

The procedure used by the board in the past called for any parent who wished for a child to be released from compulsory attendance on religious grounds to submit a letter through the superintendent to the board, according to a draft of the unwritten policy included in the board's meeting packet.

The Prince William County policy and regulation for religious exemptions, which states that a request be submitted to school staff and then reviewed by the staff attorney and then forwarded to the superintendent with a recommendation for board approval, also is included in the packet.

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Homeschooling

Wednesday, April 21, 2010