Only about a third of families who homeschool their children in West Virginia submitted the assessments required to demonstrate students’ learning progress, according to data from the state Department of Education.
“This is unacceptable, especially considering that these are requirements in the state code,” said state schools superintendent Michele Blatt. said Wednesday in MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
The problem of missing homeschool assessments is a focal point this summer for the governor and key legislators after the Death 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller.
The girl, who lived in Boone County, was taught at home before her death. Her mother, the is with regard to Child neglect charges in connection with Kyneddi’s death, had not submitted the required assessments to their local school district.
Under State Lawschool districts are not required to track students who have not submitted assessments, which prompted some lawmakers check whether this should be a mandate to protect children.
“It is critical that we find a way to ensure that requirements are met when families homeschool their children,” Blatt said.
Parents who teach their children at home must Reviews 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th graders should register with their county school board as this is one way to maintain contact with the local school district.
Blatt explained that they track assessments through a separate data portal for homeschool students. Data found that of approximately 17,000 home-schooled students from the beginning of 2020 to the most recent school year, only 37% of students in the required grades had submitted exams in the required grades.
“This data is entered by county school systems… It may not be an exact number, but I think it’s a really good approximation of the problems we’re having now with the number of students not submitting tests,” Blatt said.
Additional data from the West Virginia Department of Education showed that about 70% of children who left the public school system in favor of home schooling chronically absent.
She also cited the state’s 6,000 children in foster care and the ongoing drug epidemic as reasons to review current homeschooling laws.
“I don’t think we have a family structure in West Virginia right now where we want to risk losing any more children in the system,” Blatt said.
What should be done
Under Republican leadership, state lawmakers have repealed the homeschooling reporting requirement in 2016and earlier this year, legislators tried to completely abolish the current requirements.
As lawmakers consider how to better keep track of the number of home-schooled students, Blatt proposed a change to the law that would require public school attendance officers to follow up with home-schooling families who have not submitted their assessments.
However, she stressed that this would require additional staff at school level.
House Education Committee Vice Chairman Joe Statler previously told West Virginia Watch that lawmakers must find a way to boost accountability toward home-schooled students.
“I think there’s enough blame for everyone, including us,” said Statler, a Republican from Monongalia.
Although no draft legislation has yet been introduced on this issue, any bill on home schooling will face fierce opposition in Parliament, which supports free school choice.
In response to Kyneddi’s death, homeschooling lawmakers pointed to shortcomings in West Virginia’s overwhelmed child welfare system and said that homeschoolers wrongly slandered in the reaction of state leaders to the tragedy.
