Only 37% of WV homeschool families turned in required assessments, state education dept. says

West Virginia State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt speaks during a media briefing on June 6, 2024, at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. (Office of the Gov. Jim Justice | Courtesy photo)

Only about a third of families homeschooling their children in West Virginia turned in the required assessments to show student progress, according to data from the state department of education. 

“It’s unacceptable, especially when you consider that these are requirements in state code,” said State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt said Wednesday on MetroNews’ “Talkline.” 

The issue of missing homeschool assessments has become a focal point this summer for the governor and top lawmakers following the death of 14-year-old Kyneddi Miller.

The girl, who lived in Boone County, was homeschooled prior to her death. Her mother, who is facing child neglect charges related to Kyneddi’s death, hadn’t turned in the required assessments to her local school district.

Under state law, school districts aren’t required to follow up on students who have not turned in the assessments, prompting some lawmakers to examine if it should now be a mandate in an effort to protect children. 

“It’s critical that we find a way to make sure that if families are homeschooling, that the requirements are being met,” Blatt said. 

Homeschool parents are required to submit assessments in grades 3, 5, 8 and 11 to their county school board as one of their options for maintaining contact with the local school district. 

Blatt explained that they track the assessments through a separate data portal for homeschool students. The data showed that of roughly 17,000 homeschool students, only 37% of the students in the required grades had submitted assessments in the required grades beginning in 2020 through the more recent school year. 

“This data is inputted from the county school systems … It may not be an exact number, but I feel like it is a really good approximation of the problems that we see now with the number of students that are not submitting as assessments,” Blatt said. 

Additional data from the West Virginia Department of Education showed that around 70% of children who had left the public school system for homeschooling were chronically absent.

She also noted the state’s 6,000 children in foster care and ongoing drug epidemic as  reasons to reevaluate the current homeschool law.

“I don’t think that we have a structure out there in our families right now in West Virginia that we want to take a chance that we would lose additional children in the system,” Blatt said. 

What should be done 

State lawmakers under Republican leadership rolled back homeschool reporting requirements in 2016, and earlier this year, lawmakers attempted to completely do away with the current requirements. 

As lawmakers consider how to better track homeschool students, Blatt suggested changing the law to mandate that public schools’ attendance directors follow up with homeschool families who haven’t turned in the assessments. 

But, she stressed, that will take extra staff on the school level.

House of Delegates Education Committee Vice-Chair Del. Joe Statler previously told West Virginia Watch that lawmakers must find a way to bolster accountability for homeschool students. 

“I believe there’s enough blame to go around for everyone to share, including us,” said Statler, R-Monongalia. 

While no legislation drafts on the issue has yet been shared, any homeschool-related bill will face tough opposition in overwhelming the pro-school choice Legislature. 

In response to Kyneddi’s death, lawmakers who homeschool pointed to shortfalls in West Virginia’s overwhelmed child welfare system and said homeschoolers have been unfairly maligned in state leaders’ response to the tragedy. 

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