Boarding school child abuse scandal spurs two very different bills in WV House and Senate

In the wake of a child sexual and physical abuse scandal at a West Virginia boarding school, the Senate and House of Delegates have been considering two very different pieces of legislation.

A Senate bill, backed by heiress and actress Paris Hilton, sought to prevent child abuse by regulating in-state residential programs and some outdoor programs that often serve children with behavioral issues. 

In the House, a bill would have reduced the timeframe that a civil suit brought by a victim of child sexual assault or abuse could be filed against the state’s insurance program, the Board of Risk and Insurance Management, known as BRIM. 

Miracle Meadows in Salem closed in 2014, and dozens of former students who say they were subjected to horrific abuse began coming forward in 2017, and some civil cases are ongoing. The state could be on the hook for $100 million in settlements paid out by BRIM.

Both bills are unlikely to become law after not going up for a vote in their respective chambers on Wednesday’s Crossover Day deadline.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Mike Stuart, who parked Senate Bill 817 — the Paris Hilton bill — in his committee, said the legislation needed more work that couldn’t be completed by the legislative session deadline. 

While the measure would have exempted religious programs from regulation, Stuart, R-Kanawha, said concerns from leaders of religious-based programs about “unintended consequences” had stalled the bill. 

“There were some drawbacks that would have taken a lot of time in committee, especially up against the demands of deadlines,” he said. “It was just more a victim of time than anything [else].”

The bill would require state licensure for private adolescent residential programs and some outdoor or boot camp experience. It also banned the use of physical discipline in these programs and mandated that children have regular, unsupervised video communication with their parents. 

Hilton, who says she was abused in residential treatment facilities as a teen, urged state senators to pass the bill, saying it would establish “essential protections” for children. 

Bill sponsor Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, R-Ohio, said the bill would close “a hole” in current state law, citing widespread abuse at Miracle Meadows. One lawsuit against the facility on behalf of child victims, which was settled for $50 million, said the children experienced routine beatings and at times were not given toilet paper, requiring them to remain in their own filth.

“Our children have to be protected, and this is one way to protect them,” she said. “This is such a common sense bill.”

West Virginia Watch recently reported that the state has spent $70 million on housing foster children in out-of-state facilities. Chapman said the bill could encourage “good actors” to set up well-regulated, in-state programs to help children with behavioral issues who are now forced out of state. 

“We do need help, and we need to stop shipping our children in crisis out of state,” she said. 

Stuart, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as general counsel for the federal health department, said he’d like to see the bill workshopped during interim meetings ahead of the next year’s legislative session.

“I’m interested in whatever we can do to fix the system,” Stuart said. 

House pauses controversial bill involving child sex abuse victims 

In the House, a bill sponsored by Speaker Roger Hanshaw would have reduced the window for child victims whose abusers were covered by state insurance to seek relief in civil suits. 

The measure, House Bill 3516, originated in the House Judiciary Committee late last week, raising concerns from House Democrats that the controversial bill had skipped the typical process of how legislation is introduced in the House. 

House leadership decided on Wednesday morning to move the bill to its inactive calendar without explanation. Some members said there wasn’t consensus among Republicans, who hold a super majority in the House, on the measure. 

Hanshaw, R-Clay, said the state has been assessing what types of liabilities BRIM should cover. The lengths of some statutes of limitations — the window when claims can be brought — have caused BRIM rates to rise for entities using the insurance program, including county boards of education and cities. 

The multi-million dollar payouts for Miracle Meadows will be one of the largest liabilities BRIM has had to cover in the last couple of years, Hanshaw said. 

“In consultation with BRIM, we decided it makes sense to start the conversation about just how long we should leave open statutes of limitations on various kinds of claims. This bill is one of them. To make it sound like it’s more than it is, frankly, pretty irresponsible,” Hanshaw said on Monday. 

Current law allows a child victim of sexual abuse and assault 18 years after reaching age 18 to bring a civil claim; the bill would give victims two years after reaching age 18 to file a civil claim if it was against an entity covered by BRIM.

“This legislation is a devastating blow to victims of childhood sexual abuse. We know how difficult it is for survivors to come forward, and how long it can take to process that trauma,” said Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio in a news release.

The state Democratic Party called the measure a “dangerous and callous attempt to roll back legal protections for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.”

“The timing of this bill is especially egregious in light of the tragedy that was exposed less than two years ago at the Miracle Meadows Boarding School for troubled youth in Salem, West Virginia,” the group said Tuesday in a news release. Thirty-two victims have come forward with abuse allegations against Miracle Meadows. 

Hanshaw said there had been a mischaracterization of what the bill was intended to do.

The bill was not “intended to make life easier for the perpetrators of sexual violence,” he emphasized. There would be no changes to criminal claims or proceedings under the legislation.

“We will punish the perpetrators of horrific violence under the criminal laws of the state of West Virginia, exactly like we always would have,” Hanshaw said.