History of WVHEA
A History of Serving West Virginia Homeschool Families
The West Virginia Home Educators Association was formed to support homeschool families, protect parental freedom, and help home education grow across the state. WVHEA’s history is not simply a record of dates and laws. It is the story of families who organized, stayed informed, worked with lawmakers, and helped preserve the freedom parents have today.
For decades, WVHEA has worked to serve homeschool families in West Virginia by providing information, encouragement, connection, and advocacy. The freedoms homeschool families enjoy today did not happen automatically. They were built and protected through the efforts of parents, leaders, volunteers, and advocates who understood that home education must be defended from one generation to the next.
Homeschooling Before WVHEA
Compulsory school attendance became law in West Virginia in 1897. By 1939, Exemption B of the state’s compulsory school law provided a legal path for homeschooling. Under this exemption, each county superintendent and board of education had the authority to approve or deny a family’s request to homeschool and to regulate homeschooling as they saw fit.
As a result, a family’s freedom to homeschool depended heavily on the county in which they lived. Some counties were cooperative, while others were much more restrictive. There was no consistent statewide treatment of homeschool families.
This remained the situation through the early 1980s. At that time, the few homeschooling families in West Virginia were loosely connected through a newsletter called Alternatives in Education. The newsletter helped families communicate, share information, and begin to recognize the need for a stronger statewide network.
Families Begin to Organize
During the 1983 legislative session, West Virginians for Religious Freedom, led by Dr. Phil Suiter, introduced Senate Bill 184. This bill created Exemption K for private, parochial, church, or other nonpublic schools. Although the exemption was not originally intended for homeschooling, many homeschool families began using it because it allowed them to register as private schools and avoid inconsistent county-by-county regulation.
Dr. Suiter played an important role in bringing homeschool families together. In December 1985, he arranged a meeting and seminar called Ethics and Commitment in Home Education at Appalachian Bible College in Beckley. Homeschoolers from across the state attended.
At that meeting, Dr. Suiter encouraged families to organize. He understood that homeschoolers would need unity, communication, and vigilance in order to preserve their freedom. A committee was formed to begin developing the structure, purposes, and constitution of a statewide homeschool organization.
The Formation of WVHEA
From those early efforts, the West Virginia Home Educators Association was officially formed in the spring of 1986. Don Fox of Glenville served as WVHEA’s first president.
WVHEA’s first and foremost goal was the promotion and development of high-quality home education. Protecting the freedom of parents to home educate was also a central priority. Other early goals included establishing local support groups and networks, distributing important information to homeschool families, providing educational opportunities for parents, and keeping homeschoolers informed about governmental and moral issues that could affect home education.
One of WVHEA’s earliest tasks was working toward legislation that would protect the rights of homeschoolers in West Virginia. Those efforts helped bring greater clarity and consistency to the law, allowing families across the state to homeschool with more confidence.
Important Milestones in West Virginia Homeschool Freedom
1994
Portfolio reviews were added as a permitted form of assessment. This gave families another assessment option and was especially helpful for children with unique learning needs.
2003
Parents were no longer required to have a college degree in order to homeschool through high school.
2013
West Virginia homeschool advocates helped prevent mandatory Pre-K for all children and protected the ability of parents to remove children from Pre-K without filing a Notice of Intent.
2015
Senate Bill 447 strengthened the recognition of homeschool diplomas. The law made clear that a diploma or credential issued by a public, private, or homeschool administrator is legally sufficient to demonstrate that a person has a high school diploma or its equivalent.
The law also provided that no state agency or institution of higher learning in West Virginia may reject or otherwise treat a person differently solely because of the source of the diploma or credential.
2016
House Bill 4175 made several important changes to West Virginia homeschool law. Among other things, it removed the requirement for annual assessment reporting, removed the yearly Notice of Intent requirement, allowed parents to administer their child’s tests, removed the requirement for portfolio reviewers to submit teacher certification numbers, and lowered the testing threshold for “acceptable progress.”
The law also required county school superintendents to show probable cause before seeking a court order to deny homeschooling and removed the two-week waiting period for children beginning home education when the proper paperwork had been filed.
2018
Senate Bill 319 allowed students who completed homeschooling to be eligible for the PROMISE Scholarship without needing an equivalent diploma.
WVHEA’s Nonsectarian Service Mission
From its early years, WVHEA defined itself as a service organization for homeschoolers rather than as a religious organization. Over the years, the question of whether WVHEA should remain nonsectarian came up more than once. The organization repeatedly chose to remain true to its original mission: serving homeschool families across West Virginia.
In 1989, a survey of the membership showed strong support for continuing as a service organization. In 1990, WVHEA’s board voted to remain a nonsectarian organization serving homeschool families throughout the state.
That commitment has continued to shape WVHEA’s work. WVHEA exists to support families, provide accurate information, protect homeschool freedom, and serve the broader homeschool community in West Virginia.
Why This History Still Matters
Homeschooling has grown tremendously in West Virginia. When WVHEA was formed, there were only a small number of known homeschool families in the state. Today, home education serves thousands of families across West Virginia.
That growth has brought new opportunities, new responsibilities, and new challenges. WVHEA continues to help families understand the law, answer common questions, provide trusted resources, plan events, and watch for issues that could affect home education in West Virginia.
The freedoms West Virginia homeschool families enjoy today were preserved by families who understood the importance of staying organized and involved. Those freedoms must continue to be protected for future generations.
Help Continue the Work
WVHEA’s history is still being written. When families join WVHEA, they are not only receiving support for their own homeschool journey. They are helping preserve the freedom that makes home education possible for the next family as well.
Your membership helps WVHEA continue serving families, answering questions, providing resources, planning events, and protecting homeschool freedom in West Virginia.
