The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
Lawmakers who still think it is more important to protect “personal freedoms” for homeschooling parents than it is to protect the children being kept at home got another wake-up call this week. Fortunately — this time — the children involved in this case are still alive to speak for themselves.
Lawmakers who still think it is more important to protect “personal freedoms” for homeschooling parents than it is to protect the children being kept at home got another wake-up call this week. Fortunately — this time — the children involved in this case are still alive to speak for themselves.
An 8-year-old girl escaped a home in the South Hills area of Charleston and was found at a neighbor’s home. She was wearing handcuffs and made allegations of abuse and neglect, according to a report by WCHS. Charleston Police investigators have confirmed the girl, two teenaged boys and a 3-year-old girl were all on homeschool status with Kanawha County Schools.
Laura Southworth, mother of the two boys and grandmother of the two girls, is being charged with child abuse and unlawful restraint after officers who responded to the home found “extremely messy” conditions and learned that one of Southworth’s reasons for handcuffing the 8-year-old was that she was “stealing food.”
According to WCHS, Kanawha County Schools is now trying to figure out what history the older children have with the public school system. Southworth filed notice of intent for the three older children to be homeschooled back in November 2022.
