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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Senate Bill 972 temporarily restricts home instruction during child abuse investigations
Last action · March 2, 2026: Motion to table previous motion adopted (Roll No. 270)Sponsors: Amy Grady and 10 others
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia Senate Bill 972 prohibits custodial parents or guardians facing pending child abuse or neglect investigations from withdrawing a child from school to provide home instruction. The temporary restriction lasts until the Department of Human Services closes the investigation as unfounded or a court orders an alternative placement. The Department must provide written notice of this restriction to the child's school and custodial parent upon initiating an investigation.
Custodial parents or guardians under active abuse or neglect investigation lose the legal option to switch a child to home schooling until the state clears the case or a court intervenes.
- Raylee's Law legislative proposals are aimed at enhancing child visibility and welfare during active state child abuse or neglect investigations. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Children subject to abuse or neglect investigations
Must remain enrolled in their school or an approved alternative placement without being transitioned to home instruction by an investigated guardian.
Custodial parents and guardians under investigation
Prohibited from withdrawing the child for home instruction or serving as the child's primary home instructor while an investigation is pending.
Department of Human Services
Required to issue written notices to schools and guardians regarding the temporary educational restriction upon initiating an investigation.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this bill permanently ban home schooling for families investigated for abuse?
Who receives notice when the temporary restriction is triggered?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate.
Procedural history
6 actions- Mar 2, 2026SenateFloorMotion to table previous motion adopted (Roll No. 270)
- Mar 2, 2026SenateMotion to withdraw bill from committee
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources
- Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources
- Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Educational Restrictions Tied to Child Welfare Investigations
The bill connects child protection investigations directly to school enrollment controls by restricting home-schooling options for investigated guardians.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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