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Does Virginia Religious Exemption Affect College ?


Blueridge
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I have wondered a similar thing fairly recently:

Today, we do tend to consider it a sin to send our children to public school, since the bible commands us to "train up a child in the way he should go". However, we continue to do annual testing instead of religious exemption. One concern I have about using the exemption is related to college: What if Virginia decides in the future that children homeschooled under religious exemption are not allowed (or in some other way are limited in their ability) to attend public colleges in the state?

 

DS19 is at VA Tech now, which is a public school in the state of Virginia. As do most public schools, VA Tech CLEARLY considers the students to be under THEIR authority the day they walk in the door. This is, plainly and simply, exercising improper authority. We have decided that our son is no longer a child and is able to "go" properly now, even though we are still providing for all his needs.

 

This issue is not as simple for girls. For DS16, there will be no public college, since nowhere in the bible are women commanded to "leave" the headship of the father. Instead, she will attend a Christian school that clearly acknowledges the proper authority of the parents of children attending the school.

At the time I wrote this, I did not realize that DD17 (then DD16) would be receiving the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) when she attends Liberty University this fall.

 

But I seriously doubt that the state of Virginia can limit scholarships on this basis since it would equate to religious discrimination.

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That is a relief! We have so far been extremely impressed with Ferrum College, a local private Christian institution. They have told us (based on scores, GPA) that dd qualifies for their $16,000.00 scholarship plus the $3,100 Virginia grant (scholarship?), and she hasn't even applied for admission yet! They recently changed their websight, adding all sorts of helps for homeschoolers to easily navigate through the application process. We are thrilled! Praise the Lord!

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In Freshman orientation, there are separate group meetings for the students and the parents. You could forgive that as being more practical for a variety of reasons.

 

The point was brought home to me when our son was discussing his curriculum with his honors advisor. We were prevented from joining him in these meetings. The option to have us participate was not even given to my son. To me, this was clearly improper authority being exercised by the university.

 

We have interacted heavily with two Christian schools with DD17 since that time and we have never observed any such exercise of improper authority in those two schools. In fact, one of the schools has a written statement acknowledging the proper authority of the parents over the child, even while they are attending college.

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In Freshman orientation, there are separate group meetings for the students and the parents. You could forgive that as being more practical for a variety of reasons.

 

The point was brought home to me when our son was discussing his curriculum with his honors advisor. We were prevented from joining him in these meetings. The option to have us participate was not even given to my son. To me, this was clearly improper authority being exercised by the university.

 

 

 

Our son's college does this too. It really didn't bother me. He is the student, not us. They explained that they are making sure they are meeting the student's needs, not the parents. The speaker said some students will follow what their parents want rather than what the academic adviser recommends, even if the student would lean toward what the experts recommend had the parents not been in the room.

The advisers ask a lot of questions to help the students have a successful first semester. At least they do at ds's school. Remember that the students are adults, in most cases.

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It actually never even occurred to us to want to be in the room when our son met with his adviser. It is our feeling that when they go to college (males and females) that they are out on their own and need to start with their new stage in life - adult. I trust the adviser to guide him in the right direction. He has far more experience at that than we do. We still add our own two cents both before and afterward, but in the end at this point, it's our son's decision. Granted we only have one college experience so far, but it's been a positive one.

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