Dear Chair Simmonds and Members of the Subcommittee:
Although federal law (since 2019) requires public schools nationwide to make their Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs available to home school students, many Virginia school divisions are unaware of it. As a result, we have seen well-qualified applicants for the program erroneously turned away.
I recently represented a well-qualified home instruction student in Chesapeake who had been turned away. Even after I quoted the federal law to officials, they still would not budge. Only when one of my colleagues suggested to them that we would file a lawsuit against the division on behalf of our client did those involved agree to process the student's application.
18 months after the federal law was enacted, Loudoun County was still rejecting homeschoolers' requests to participate in JROTC. I had to go through multiple levels of officials to eventually get it straightened out.
Here is the federal law verbatim:
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SEC. 520B. INCLUSION OF HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS IN JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICER'S TRAINING CORPS UNITS.
Section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(g) (1) Each public secondary educational institution that maintains a unit under this section shall permit membership in the unit to homeschooled students residing in the area served by the institution who are qualified for membership in the unit (but for lack of enrollment in the institution).
“(2) A student who is a member of a unit pursuant to this subsection shall count toward the satisfaction by the institution concerned of the requirement in subsection (b)(1) relating to the minimum number of student members in the unit necessary for the continuing maintenance of the unit.”.
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Bringing the federal law into the Virginia Code will make it more accessible to school divisions and decrease the likelihood of errors and lawsuits. It will also provide the General Assembly with a ready way to respond to any potential Virginia-specific follow-up issues that are not addressed in the federal law.
In addition to access for home instruction students, HB 1231 would open JROTC programs to private school students. This is desirable since it will result in a greater number of young people having the opportunity to participate in JROTC and benefit from its citizenship training and career exploration features.
No public school is required to host a JROTC program. But if it does, it must conform to federal law which requires access for home school students. Bringing the requirement into state law will be tremendously helpful in preventing the kinds of errors by officials that could negatively impact young people at a formative time of their lives.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott A. Woodruff, Director of Legal and Legislative Advocacy, Home School Legal Defense Association
Dear Chair Simmonds and Members of the Subcommittee: Although federal law (since 2019) requires public schools nationwide to make their Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs available to home school students, many Virginia school divisions are unaware of it. As a result, we have seen well-qualified applicants for the program erroneously turned away. I recently represented a well-qualified home instruction student in Chesapeake who had been turned away. Even after I quoted the federal law to officials, they still would not budge. Only when one of my colleagues suggested to them that we would file a lawsuit against the division on behalf of our client did those involved agree to process the student's application. 18 months after the federal law was enacted, Loudoun County was still rejecting homeschoolers' requests to participate in JROTC. I had to go through multiple levels of officials to eventually get it straightened out. Here is the federal law verbatim: -- SEC. 520B. INCLUSION OF HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS IN JUNIOR RESERVE OFFICER'S TRAINING CORPS UNITS. Section 2031 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(g) (1) Each public secondary educational institution that maintains a unit under this section shall permit membership in the unit to homeschooled students residing in the area served by the institution who are qualified for membership in the unit (but for lack of enrollment in the institution). “(2) A student who is a member of a unit pursuant to this subsection shall count toward the satisfaction by the institution concerned of the requirement in subsection (b)(1) relating to the minimum number of student members in the unit necessary for the continuing maintenance of the unit.”. -- Bringing the federal law into the Virginia Code will make it more accessible to school divisions and decrease the likelihood of errors and lawsuits. It will also provide the General Assembly with a ready way to respond to any potential Virginia-specific follow-up issues that are not addressed in the federal law. In addition to access for home instruction students, HB 1231 would open JROTC programs to private school students. This is desirable since it will result in a greater number of young people having the opportunity to participate in JROTC and benefit from its citizenship training and career exploration features. No public school is required to host a JROTC program. But if it does, it must conform to federal law which requires access for home school students. Bringing the requirement into state law will be tremendously helpful in preventing the kinds of errors by officials that could negatively impact young people at a formative time of their lives. Respectfully submitted, Scott A. Woodruff, Director of Legal and Legislative Advocacy, Home School Legal Defense Association