As we discussed yesterday, I attended a senate sub-committee hearing at the Virginia State Capitol building last week.
A state senator from Fairfax County pushed through a bill (S.B. 1031) seeking to effectively eliminate Virginia’s religious exemption for homeschooling… and I felt compelled to show up in person to oppose it – along with many other homeschool freedom advocates.
The reality is that this bill is nothing more than an overt attack on a minority group of people – those who are homeschooling under the religious exemption in Virginia. To my way of thinking, that makes it an attack on the fundamental principle of religious liberty as well.
There are approximately 1.3 million school-aged children in Virginia. Of those, less than 8,000 homeschool under the religious exemption. That’s 0.6% of the population – a tiny fraction.
S.B. 1031 would effectively remove the homeschooling exemption for that small group of families… and that’s it. It would have absolutely no impact on the other 99.4% of the school-aged population.
The bill conveys no benefits. It doesn’t even claim to solve any problems. It’s simply an attack on homeschooling and religious liberty.
And that’s why I ventured into the Belly of the Beast last week…
Here’s the stairway leading up to Virginia’s Capitol Building in Richmond.
However, the front door up there is not the entrance. I found that out the hard way. The visitor entrance is directly below where I took this picture from.
There’s a massive 27,000 square-foot underground level complex underneath this hill. It adjoins the capitol building we see above.
To enter the underground complex, you must immediately go through security. From there it was like navigating a labyrinth to find Senate Room C of the General Assembly wing – where we gathered for the hearing last week.
I was about an hour early when I found my way to Senate Room C. It was a large conference room guarded by massive 10-foot doors.
There were a few small tables and lobby chairs just outside the room. A few folks were sitting quietly immersed in their laptops.
As I approached the monumental doors, I could see that the room was empty. I tried to open one door, but it was locked. I tried the other… also locked.
I started to turn away, but then a young lady appeared. She opened the door with something of a puzzled look on her face. I asked her if I could sit inside and handle a few emails on my phone.
She smiled and opened the door wider for me. Then she told me that she was almost done. I could see that she had been cleaning… so I smiled and told her the room looked great. I got the sense that she wasn’t accustomed to such acknowledgment.
I worked through the emails on my phone for thirty minutes or so when an elderly gentleman attempted to enter the room. He found the doors locked as I had… so I let him in.
The man wore a suit and tie, and he came across as very serious. I welcomed him and returned to my seat. He followed me and initiated a conversation: “You’re here early…”
His expression remained serious. I tried to get a read for his motives… but couldn’t. He continued: “Which bill are you here for?”
“1031 – the homeschooling bill,” I replied.
He didn’t hesitate with his response: “Oh, so you’re one of those whackos…” The old man proceeded to approach me. His serious demeanor had not changed.
I replied: “Yep. Crazy as can be…”
More to come tomorrow…
-Joe Withrow
P.S. If you would like to learn more about the Virginia Senate’s attack on religious liberty, the HSLDA is tracking all the updates right here.
You can also find the senate sub-committee chair’s office number at that site. If you’re so inclined, feel free to call his office and encourage them to vote no on S.B. 1031.