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Effort to include Raylee’s Law amendment in learning pod bill fails

(Capitol Notes - Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)

CHARLESTON — An amendment to yank children from homeschool environments during active child abuse investigations failed, allowing a bill aimed at reporting requirements for micro schools and learning pods to continue on.

The House Education Committee recommended a committee substitute for House Bill 5180, removing requirements to submit certain evidence on behalf of home schooled children, to the full House of Delegates for its consideration Monday afternoon.

HB 5180, as amended by the committee, adds learning pods and micro schools for academic assessment requirements. The bill requires learning pods and micro schools to maintain copies of a student’s Academic Assessment for three years and allow results to be submitted as composite results for all students versus submitted results for each individual student in grade levels three, five, eight, and 11.

Learning pods are voluntary associations of parents who choose to home school their children together instead of enrolling in public school. Micro schools are schools created by teachers that charge tuition for students to enroll, but don’t fit the definitions of a public school, private school, homeschool, or learning pod. Learning pods and micro schools currently operate under similar requirements for home schools.

The introduced version of the bill eliminated requirements for individuals providing home instruction, including through learning pods and micro schools, to have a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent. The committee substitute reinstated that requirement.

The original bill also required public schools to allow homeschool, micro school, and learning pod students to attend any class without being subject to the same registration, attendance, and vaccine requirements. But the committee substitute removed the section about being immune from vaccine requirements.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, attempted to amend the bill to include language from another bill, House Bill 4491, also known as Raylee’s Law.

HB 4491 would allow county boards of education to reject a request for homeschooling by a parent if there is a pending child abuse or neglect investigation against a parent, guardian, and or a person serving as a child’s instructor. It would also prohibit homeschooling by a parent, guardian, or instructor who has been convicted of domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect.

The bill is named for Raylee Jolynn Browning, a child in Oak Hill who died in 2018 due to child abuse from her father, Marty Browning. Raylee had been pulled from public school by Marty. He, along with his girlfriend and girlfriend’s sister, were sentenced in 2022 after being convicted for child neglect causing death.

Pushkin’s amendment was defeated in a 5-15 vote, though some committee members were vocally supportive of the amendment.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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