Senate panel creates work group to study homeschooling, religious-exemption rules and re-refers bill to finance

Senators on the Virginia Senate Education and Health Committee voted 9–6 to report a substitute to Senate Bill 1031 that establishes a stakeholder work group to study compulsory school attendance and the Code's religious exemption and re‑referred the measure to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.

The substitute, offered by Sen. Piekarski, directs the work group to review compulsory attendance requirements across the United States, consider how Virginia's rules compare, and provide recommendations about whether changes to compulsory attendance or the religious exemption are warranted. The substitute also specifies the group's membership and reporting requirements.

Sen. Piekarski, the bill's patron, said the draft grew from her experience as a school-board member and from accounts she described as victims whose…