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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - This week’s death of a 14-year-old girl in Boone County led first to her mother’s arrest, and now questions about if state law should require more of home-school families.

Mother arrested in connection with teen’s death

Authorities say the teenager had not eaten for months and was unable to function over four to five days before dying of cardiac arrest.

Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, represents the district where the neglect occurred.

Authorities told Holstein and WSAZ they believe the teenager was home-schooled, leading NewsChannel 3 reporter Curtis Johnson to ask this.

“Should something more be done to keep some sort of adult presence in these children’s lives,” he asked.

“Just do a wellness check or something of that sort,” Holstein replied. “I’m no attorney, but I think that that we have to figure out a way to keep children safe, while respecting their individual rights to obtain education in any way that their parents see fit.”

Holstein and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, both support home schooling. Both, however, now believe something more needs to be done.

Woelfel claims the tiniest minority of home-school families use it as a shied to cover abuse and neglect.

“More often than you might think,” he said of using home school as a shield. “The Board of Education or social services needs to have some role. I mean at least once a year, if not more often, to monitor on the safety of kids.”

The state already requires home-school families to turn over an academic assessment of their child’s progress.

Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, introduced legislation to do away with that reporting requirement.

While she says the allegations in Boone County are horrific, she questions if the child was truly home-schooled and opposes the idea of having government check on a home-school student’s well-being.

“I don’t see that we need to invoke more government control over families that have opted out of government school,” Crouse said.

Crouse arguing a check-in could be intimidating for home-school families.

Woelfel disagrees.

“We can’t err on the side of freedom when in the balance is the life of a child,” Woelfel said.

“We need to work with folks like (Crouse) to be able to craft legislation that doesn’t curtail any rights of home-school parents and students, while still protecting children, and I think that’s something we need to start having the discussion about yesterday.”

Holstein and Woefel both mentioned separate proposals, neither of which passed earlier this year, that should be reintroduced. One placed limited restriction on becoming a home-school student.

The other created a critical review team to look at severe cases of neglect and abuse.