The 2025 legislative session is well underway. CHEWV has been watching introduced legislation and committee agendas to see what bills start to move in committees. So far, four homeschool-related bills have been introduced, none of which has moved beyond introduction.
HB 2405: Delegate Kathie Hess Crouse (R-Putnam) introduced a bill that would establish a tax credit for homeschoolers. CHEWV has long advocated for a tax credit approach that would allow homeschool families to keep some of their own money. This is a different approach than an Educational Spending Account such as the Hope scholarship. We believe a tax credit would provide a straightforward, solid incentive for homeschool families to remain privately-funded – which is a very good thing!
With a tight budget over the next few years, however, this bill isn’t likely to go far – unless the tax credit could be sold as a way to save the state money. To do that, though, the amount of the tax credit would probably have to be reduced from its current level equal to the Hope scholarship to something significantly less.
HB 2777: Delegate Crouse has again introduced a bill that would remove the requirement to report annual academic assessment results. The bill would also remove the high school diploma requirement for those providing instruction.
HB 3266: Delegate Tom Clark (R-Webster) recently introduced the so-called “Superintendents’ Bill” that contains proposals from the WV Association of School Administrators. Last fall, the association’s president (Ohio County School Superintendent Kimberly Miller) and vice president (Jackson County School Superintendent Will Hosaflook) were scheduling appearances in news outlets to lay the groundwork for their proposal. Superintendent Miller, searching for a sponsor for their proposal, found one in Delegate Clark. Not coincidentally, “teacher” is the occupation listed for four of the five co-sponsors of the bill in their House of Delegates biographies. Those co-sponsors are Jeff Stephens (R-Marshall), David Pritt (R-Fayette), Jeff Campbell (R-Greenbrier), Dave Foggin (R-Wood), and Scot Heckert (R-Wood).
Hundreds of bills introduced every year are, admittedly, never taken up by committee. However, if HB3266 would start to move, we know that homeschoolers will strenuously oppose it. Already in contact with legislators about this particular bill, CHEWV Board members will continue to discuss its potential ramifications with them. We believe no further contact is needed from our members at present, but we will definitely keep an eye on this bill and provide an alert if it starts to get any traction.
SB 554: On the Senate side, both of the Senate’s democrats joined to sponsor a Raylee’s Law bill very similar to what passed the House following days of tumultuous floor debate last year. In essence, this bill would establish a 14-day waiting period to homeschool if there is a pending abuse investigation. While there is little chance that this bill will be taken up in its current form, it is almost certain that the language will be proposed as an amendment to any of the other homeschool-related bills should they come up in committee in either the House or Senate.
Once again, we hope to see you at Home School Day at the Capitol! The more friendly, pleasant encounters our legislators have with homeschooling families during the Session, the less likely they will be to burden us with with further regulations or restrictions. HSDC is an ideal opportunity to make that good impression! CHEWV will continue to monitor this legislation and keep you posted on any activity.
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