CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Governor Jim Justice says there has to be a middle ground when it comes to keeping up with homeschoolers.
Governor Jim Justice
“Twenty-seven thousand homeschooled children in West Virginia and very little supervision,” Justice said during his press conference Tuesday at the state Capitol. “If we’re not careful, a lot of these kids are going to be left stranded and all that. “We have to have some oversight.”
Justice said he is against taking away anyone’s rights, but the Kyneddi Miller case points to improvements that need to be made.
Miller is the 14-year-old Boone County girl who died at home in April. Her body was found in a skeletal state. She was being homeschooled, but her mother did not submit progress reports.
Patricia Rucker
State Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, has already said that Miller’s death, while tragic, is not the fault of homeschooling.
“The recent Kyneddi Miller tragedy in Boone County is a heartbreaking and painful tragedy that should never have happened. “It is imperative to identify the true causes of this failure, rectify them if possible, and demand accountability,” Rucker said in an op-ed published last week.
He added that Miller was out of school for two years before an intent to homeschool was filed in Boone County. Rucker’s informal referrals to CPS involving Miller should have been followed up. Rucker said CPS employees are overworked and underfunded.
When WCHS-TV reporter Leslie Rubin asked Justice on Wednesday about a possible unwillingness of the Republican majority in the legislature to address the issue, he said that’s not helping the situation.
“Extreme, extreme levels, I can never see that in anything that is healthy,” Justice said.
Homeschool parents have to turn in evaluations, but if they don’t, it seems like most counties don’t have the resources to follow up. Justice said she supports more oversight, but that it must be balanced.
“We have to be able to find some level of middle ground in homeschooling, some level of middle ground in foster care, our CPS workers or whatever,” Justice said. “If we do that, we will make things better for everyone in West Virginia.”
Justice called his time as governor short and said it could be difficult to get anything passed by the legislature before he leaves.
“I don’t know if the support is there. Not really,” she said.
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