West Virginia House Approves Homeschool Changes To Address Various Issues, Including Abuse

The West Virginia House approved proposed changes to homeschooling across the state that seek to address various issues, including abuse.

The changes include transferring oversight of thousands of homeschooled students from local county boards of education to the state. Del. Kathie Hess Crouse sponsored House Bill 2777, which does away with the state's requirement that a homeschooling parent should have a high school diploma.

West Virginia's Homeschool System

Additionally, the bill works to address what some officials call a dangerous loophole in current homeschool laws. This is done by pausing a parent's request to homeschool if there is a pending child abuse investigation against the parent in question.

The proposed bill comes as there are more than 30,0000 children in West Virginia who are being homeschooled. Gov. Jim Justice and a few Republican lawmakers last year called for strengthening the state's homeschool reporting requirements.

This was after 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller, who was homeschooled, lost her life from apparent starvation in Boone County. The teenager's mother was found to have not turned in any required assessments to the local county school board, according to the West Virginia Watch.

Data released by the West Virginia Department of Education last year revealed that only about a third of families who are homeschooling their kids turned in the required assessments to show the progress of the student.

This comes as West Virginia law does not require public school employees to follow up on homeschooled families who did not report a child's progress. The state has one of the highest rates of child abuse in the country. West Virginia's foster care system has long been burdened with abuse and neglect cases.

Ensuring Students' Safety

The latest measure is similar to a bill known as "Raylee's Law," which the House passed last year after being named after an eight-year-old girl who died of abuse and neglect in 2018. The student, Raylee Browning, was pulled from school by her family when teachers started to suspect she suffered from mistreatment, WCHSTV reported.

Del. Josh Holstein said that the proposal could have been used in a case last year where Miller starved to death. The teen died a few years after she was pulled from school by her family. In the wake of her death, many residents called for homeschooling oversight.

While West Virginia state law mandates county school superintendents to track homeschool students, they argue their ability to do so is hindered by current legislation. A letter noted that the level of reporting is an insufficient check and balance in ensuring that homeschooled students progress and are kept safe, as per News and Sentinel.