Records show deceased Boone girl found emaciated was being homeschooled

A Boone County mother charged with child neglect linked to the death of her daughter had pulled the girl from public school for homeschooling, according to documents obtained from the local school district. 

The 14-year-old girl was found April 17 “emaciated to a skeletal state,” local deputies said. Her grandmother told WCHS that the child had “only been outside the house possibly two times in the last four years.”

Documents obtained from Boone County Schools showed that the mother, Julie Anne Stone Miller, submitted documentation in February 2021 to homeschool her daughter.

West Virginia Watch received the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Miller, in an email to former Boone County Schools Superintendent Jeff Huffman, said that her two daughters had elderly grandparents who they were with daily. 

“We think homeschooling is the best now with the COVID-19 in order to keep our family safe,” Miller wrote. 

Deputies previously told reporters that they were unsure if the girl was being taught at home or had failed to go to school. 

Boone Superintendent Matthew Riggs did not respond to questions for this story, including if Miller had submitted homeschool student assessments that are required under state code.

A call to revisit homeschool legislation 

The high-profile case has reignited conversations about legislation known as “Raylee’s Law,” which sought to close a loophole where parents could withdraw their children from public school if a teacher reported suspected child abuse. 

West Virginia Watch asked Boone County Schools for any records showing if teachers had contacted CPS about the girl prior to her mother’s homeschool request. Riggs did not return any records and did not respond to a question verifying no records of that kind existed. 

Gov. Jim Justice said on Tuesday that CPS wasn’t aware of the child prior to her death. 

The West Virginia Department of Human Services has not returned FOIA requests for CPS records that would verify that information. 

Since 2019, Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, has attempted to pass the legislation in various forms. It is named for Raylee Browning, an eight-year-old girl who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 after her parents withdrew her from school. 

“I think this situation in Boone has brought new light to the situation,” he said. “Since Raylee’s law was introduced, how many children have been abused because of inaction?”

Earlier this year, legislation containing Raylee’s Law passed through the House of Delegates with bipartisan support after tweaks from lawmakers who homeschool their children. 

The Senate Education Committee failed to take it up for consideration by deadline. Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, did not respond to a question about why it wasn’t considered.

“This isn’t an attack on people who homeschool. It’s an attack on people who abuse children,” Fluharty said. “That’s called good policy.”

He hopes to see the bill included in the governor’s call for the upcoming May special session.

Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, said that in light of the child’s death, he would like to see legislative action to prevent future tragedies. He voted in support of the bill. 

“I think we’ve got to figure out a way to not curtail the rights of homeschool parents and not be intrusive but still have the well-being of children in mind,” he said. “This is a step in the right direction and something we can do.”

He noted that his community is filled with grief about the teen’s death.

“This is a conversation we should have had yesterday,” he added.