On March 13, 2026, West Virginia senators gathered around Senate President Randy Smith’s podium and discussed whether an amendment incorporating the Raylee Law could be implemented. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
A long list of senators signed on to a last-minute push to get “Raylee’s Law,” a child abuse prevention measure, over the finish line before the legislative deadline.
On Friday, just over a day before the start of the legislative session, senators dramatically overrode a decision by Senate President Randy Smith that allowed them to amend the Raylee bill into a House bill ready for a vote. You passed it with a Vote with 24 votes to 7 and three senators absent.
The Raylee bill would suspend a parent’s request to remove their child from public school for home schooling if the parent is involved in an dynamic investigation of child abuse or neglect initiated by a teacher. Child Protective Services would have to complete the investigation within 10 days.
“There are rare and tragic cases where the homeschool system has been used to hide abuse, which is why this is necessary,” said Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Grady, R-Mason. “If this can help save a child from abuse, if it can help a teacher or a community recognize that a child needs help, then it is worth it. Our responsibility as leaders of this state is simple: Protect the most vulnerable among us.”
The Raylee Act amendment was co-sponsored by Grady and 12 other Republican senators, signaling powerful support for the measure in the Republican-dominated Senate. The Senate’s two Democratic senators, Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Joey Garcia, D-Marion, have also signed on as co-sponsors.
The measure is named after 8-year-old Raylee Browning. who died of horrific abuse and neglect in 2018 after her teachers notified CPS of possible abuse, which prompted her to do so their perpetrators to encourage them to homeschool.
Garcia highlighted the names of Raylee Browning and Kyneddi Miller, a Boone County girl who died of starvation in 2024 while I was homeschooledif he speaks out in favor of the bill. He also named Miana Moran, an 11-year-old girl from Taylor County who attended virtual public school and died last year emaciated, weighing 43 pounds.
“We must honor these names by protecting the children who are still at risk. We cannot wait for the next name – the child we can protect now,” Garcia said.
At the start of this session Garcia tried to bring Raylee’s Law bill was brought up for a vote after stalling in a committee. His motion failed, and he and Grady, who had supported the original legislation, vowed to bring the bill to a vote again.
The Raylee Law faced powerful opposition from homeschooling advocates and parents who argued it was a violation of parental rights and could potentially force their child to remain in an unsafe public school.
Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, who homeschooled his children with his wife, said the measure was a way for the homeschool community to “differentiate itself from some of the things that some members of the public school community are unfairly labeling you with.”
“This thing needs to become law,” he said.
Raylee’s change in the law survives the challenge
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, was the lead sponsor the amendment to the Raylee Law into it House Bill 5537a brief measure to repeal obsolete and old-fashioned sections of the state education law.
“This is a balancing act … This is trying to find a way to make sure that we respect the rights and wishes of parents and protect children,” said Weld, a former prosecutor who handled child abuse and neglect cases. “It’s not about the family who loves their child, but about the child who can’t speak on their own.”
The measure requires any school teacher or other school personnel who reports suspected child abuse or neglect to notify the district superintendent of the child’s school district within 24 hours of the report to the Department of Human Services.
Weld’s amendment survived a question from a Republican senator about whether Raylee’s law was relevant to the code repeal bill. But Smith, R-Preston, later ruled that the bill, which was an amendment to a committee amendment, was not relevant, meaning it could not be put together.
Weld challenged Smith’s decision and won when 18 senators – a majority – voted to overrule the president’s decision, a scarce occurrence. This allowed the bill to be put to a vote, whereupon senators approved it. Smith voted for the measure.
The House bill that now includes the Raylee Act was introduced by Del. Sponsored Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, who voted for measures including the Raylee Act 2024 And 2025 who previously left the House of Representatives.
House Democrats must approve the Senate’s amendment to Raylee’s bill by the end of Saturday, when the legislative session is scheduled to adjourn.
Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, who has advocated for Raylee’s law for years, Tried it twice in one day last week to bring the House version of the Raylee bill to the House floor for a vote against the crossover day deadline. His request was rejected in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
“What we saw there today was exactly how the government should operate… For the House, I think it’s clear what we need to do, and that’s with the Senate’s amendment,” he said Friday evening.
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