Who gets to decide what type of church can serve as an umbrella program for homeschoolers? This is a vital question in Maryland, where one of the ways families can choose to homeschool their children is under a church umbrella program.

Candice Villafana contacted us after the Maryland State Department of Education mistakenly said her church could not operate a homeschool umbrella because it met virtually. The state said that, as a result, it didn’t meet the legal definition of a bona fide church, even though they had been approved as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS, had bylaws and articles of incorporation, a statement of faith, and served parishioners across Maryland.

Rain Church has ministered to congregants online since 2020. Candice and her husband, who served as co-pastor until his death, switched exclusively to virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic when much of the country was under quarantine.

Raising Obstacles

Rain Church’s web-savvy approach apparently confounded officials at the state education department. Officials said that to qualify as a homeschool umbrella her ministry would have to operate from a physical location. 

“I would have had to rent office space, which we really don’t need,” said Candice. “Then they wanted me to do a fire and safety inspection. It definitely was a barrier.”

She said the obstacle raised by the state set back her plans by about a year. Her church had hoped to be serving homeschool families with online administrative services and accredited, faith-based instruction by now.

What the Law Says

Our legal team contacted the state education department on her behalf, contending that officials had misconstrued Maryland law.

We pointed out that the ministry was indeed a bona fide church. As our legal team indicated in a detailed legal letter to the Maryland Department of Education, Rain Church “is recognized by the IRS as a public charity and is exempt from federal income tax.” We added that Rain Church “has also been recognized by the State of Maryland’s Department of Assessments and Taxation and is a valid religious corporation.”

Regarding the church’s homeschool umbrella, our legal team confirmed it had demonstrated compliance with separate regulations by arranging for conferences with parents and guardians of students and acquiring instructional material “designed to be used independently by the pupil at a site other than the school.”

Moving Forward

We emphasized that Maryland law does not require a church or its homeschool umbrella to operate in a specified physical location. Our attorneys also noted that this level of scrutiny on the part of the state contradicted “Maryland’s deeply rooted respect for religious toleration” and could very well be unconstitutional.

We are pleased to report that soon after our intervention, Rain Church received approval to launch a homeschool umbrella.

Since then, Candice's work on the Learning Umbrella Online Academy has accelerated. She hopes to launch its online portal soon, which will be accessible at learningumbrella.org

“We just keep moving forward,” she affirmed. “You know that the Lord has a divine plan.”

To find out more about the various options Maryland families can use to homeschool their children, please visit hslda.org/MD.