Latest / Commentary - TJ Meadows / Raylee’s Law Protects Kids

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Raylee’s Law Protects Kids · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Rayley's law is less than a page long, and yet
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  Speaker 1: it managed to ignite one of the bigger debates of
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  Speaker 1: the session. House Bill five sixty six point nine, named
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  Speaker 1: after Rayleigh Browning, is straightforward. It says, if there is
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  Speaker 1: a pending child abuse or neglect investigation involving a parent, guardian,
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  Speaker 1: or proposed instructor, and that investigation was triggered by school
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  Speaker 1: personnel under mandatory reporting laws, then a county school board
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  Speaker 1: can't approve home instruction while that investigation is underway. That's it.
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  Speaker 1: The superintendent has to confirm within forty eight hours that
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  Speaker 1: an investigation has been opened, and if the complaint isn't
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  Speaker 1: substantiated within seven calendar days, the student must be allowed
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  Speaker 1: to begin home instruction seven days, not indefinite, not months,
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  Speaker 1: seven days now. Critics, particularly some homeschool advocates, say this
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  Speaker 1: is government overreach. ROYD. Raimie of the West Virginia Home
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  Speaker 1: Educators Association argues it infringes on parental choice. He worries
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  Speaker 1: about families wanting to leave because of bullying or curriculum disputes,
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  Speaker 1: and raises the possibility that someone could file a preemptive
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  Speaker 1: report to stop a child from being withdrawn. But here's
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  Speaker 1: what the bill does not do. It does not apply
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  Speaker 1: to truancy, it does not apply to reports from random
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  Speaker 1: third parties, And if parents have already formally notified the
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  Speaker 1: school they're withdrawing their child, a later report doesn't trigger
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  Speaker 1: the restriction. It only applies when school personnel, who are
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  Speaker 1: mandatory reporters under state law, initiate the investigation, and filing
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  Speaker 1: a false report for any reason is a misdemeanor in
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  Speaker 1: West Virginia, a crime. Senator Amy Nicole Grady, who supports
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  Speaker 1: the bill, says it wouldn't apply if parents are pulling
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  Speaker 1: a child because of suspected abuse by school staff. So
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  Speaker 1: what's this really about. It's about visibility. It's about making
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  Speaker 1: sure that if a pearance is under a legitimate investigation
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  Speaker 1: for abuse, they can't immediately remove a child from public view.
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  Speaker 1: During that short window, homeschooling remains legal, it remains protected.
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  Speaker 1: This doesn't eliminate school choice, It simply pauses it for
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  Speaker 1: seven days in very narrow circumstances. Reasonable people can debate
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  Speaker 1: whether that's the right balance or not, but confusing the
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  Speaker 1: possibility of misuse with the probability of misuse isn't strong
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  Speaker 1: enough justification to kill the bill outright. Delegate Sean Fluhardy
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  Speaker 1: says the bill will get an up or down vote
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  Speaker 1: in the House good it deserves one, and if it passes,
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  Speaker 1: the Senate should give it the same. Lawmakers should enthusiastically
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  Speaker 1: pass this bill, and the governor should eagerly sign it