In the late 1980’s homeschooling was still rare, so resources and fellowship were scarce and coveted. From a small group of early homeschooling families, Christian Home Educators of West Virginia was birthed in 1990. One of the founding purposes was to minister to and with those who shared a strong Christian conviction…   We have become an alliance of families defending our freedoms and serving one another together.  We gratefully recognize that CHEWV is far more than a board of directors, and it embodies a mutual strength beyond even the hundreds of volunteers who make our services possible.  These principles and services have been the fabric of twenty-five years of homeschooling community. Read More

    CHEWV Timeline

    1897

    1st WV Compulsory Attendance Law

    Exemptions to Compulsory Attendance Added

    Several exemptions were added to the compulsory attendance law, one of which allowed home education if families could obtain county approval. Significant county oversight was required.

    1919

    1939

    “Exemption B”

    All of the ten existing exemptions were labeled “A” through “J.” The homeschooling exemption was Exemption B.

    Exemption K

    County approval to homeschool under Exemption B was difficult to obtain and requirements were not only cumbersome, but varied from county to county. In 1983 Exemption K was added for Christian, parochial, and private schools and included a reference to “other nonpublic schools.” Homeschool families began registering as private schools under Exemption K.

    1983

    1985

    Ruling Against Exemption K

    County and State Boards of Education were questioning the use of Exemption K by homeschoolers. A ruling was made by the Attorney General that families must use Exemption B to homeschool.

    *New Exemption B Allows Home Education*

    In the 1986 legislative session, new wording was put in Exemption B that allowed families the right to home educate without county approval and without county oversight!

    1986

    1990

    CHEWV Birthed

    Christian Home Educators of WV was begun by a group of home educators who wanted to honor God as the foundation of home education. Adopted verse: Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. (Psalm 127:1)

    CHEWV Services Expand

    CHEWV grows from a small group to a statewide presence as it adds its inaugural state conference featuring well-known homeschool pioneer Gregg Harris, a statewide testing service to help families meet the testing requirement, and a bi-monthly mailed newsletter, The Homeschool Banner.

    1991

    1991

    1993

    CHEWV’s 1st Homeschool Graduate

    The first student to graduate at a state homeschool commencement comes down the aisle on the campus of WV Wesleyan College.

    Portfolio Review Assessment Option Added

    Prior, homeschoolers had to score in the top 60% of national scores to continue to homeschool. When the portfolio review option was added, special needs children and other students could be homeschooled if they progressed according to their abilities.

    1991

    1994

    1996

    CHEWV.org

    WV’s first home education website was introduced. With one page, operated via DOS, by one homeschool student, CHEWV was ushered into a new way of communicating (with the few who had internet access at the time).

    Four-Year Rule Removed Temporarily

    Prior, a homeschooling parent had to have at least four more years of education than their most advanced homeschool student. This requirement was temporarily removed in the 2000 session.

    1991

    2000

    2003

    Four-Year Rule Removed

    The Four Year Rule was removed permanently in exchange for raising the “acceptable progress” bar to the 50th percentile for standardized testing.

    CHEWV’s Legislative Liaison

    CHEWV began to provide some financial support to our part-time lobbyist – who had volunteered on CHEWV’s behalf since 1999.

    1991

    2005

    2007

    New Updated Website

    In order to expand our information and service, we transitioned to our first paid website. It quickly became our virtual office!

    Facebook

    CHEWV joined the social media fray with Facebook! Since, we have added Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

    1991

    2011

    2013

    Preschool Victory

    Through our lobbyist, CHEWV intervened with the governor’s educational bill to ensure that parents can withdraw their child from preschool for “good cause,” thus preventing parents from having to register to homeschool their three and four-year-olds.

    Update

    CHEWV transitioned from a mailed to an emailed newsletter and added a free subscriber option in order to communicate with anyone who wants to stay abreast of homeschooling news!

    1991

    2013

    2015

    Diploma Equity

    Homeschool families and friendly legislators worked together to pass three key homeschool bills, albeit two of them were vetoed after the session. Still, the Diploma Fairness Bill was signed, ensuring that a homeschool diploma is not treated differently from a private or public school diploma. This was the start of full recognition for home education and the end of discrimination based on educational method alone.

    A New Look!

    In honor of our 25th Anniversary, CHEWV worked with Crowes Nest Creative (homeschoolers themselves) to create and introduce a new website, updated logo, and a contemporary brand. We are poised for another 25 years!

    1991

    2015

    2016

    Modernization of Homeschool Law

    Through the efforts of WV homeschoolers and supportive legislators, the Homeschool Modernization Bill was signed by the Governor on March 3rd. This bill brought the WV law in alignment with most other states. We now enjoy the freedom of less reporting and meeting standards which are comparable to national averages instead of the previous above-average standard.