“Raylee’s Law” would prevent parents or instructors from pulling a public school student into homeschooling while facing an active abuse or neglect investigation, or after certain domestic violence or child abuse convictions.
ALBANY, NY — New York lawmakers are considering a new restriction on homeschooling aimed at preventing children from being removed from public schools while allegations of abuse or neglect are under investigation.
Senate Bill S10715, introduced Oct. 2 by Sen. Patricia Fahy, would prohibit a school district from authorizing home instruction for a currently enrolled public school student when either a custodial parent or the person who would teach the child is under investigation for child abuse or neglect.
The restriction would also apply if either person had previously been convicted of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect.
The legislation, known as “Raylee’s Law,” is now before the Senate Rules Committee. An identical Assembly bill, A3429, is pending before the Assembly Education Committee.
Bill Named for 8-Year-Old Raylee Browning
The legislation is named for Raylee Browning, a West Virginia girl who died in 2018 after years of reported abuse and neglect.
According to the sponsor’s memorandum accompanying the New York Senate bill, Raylee’s teachers had reported that she frequently arrived at school hungry and bruised.
Her father and stepmother later removed her from public school and began homeschooling her.
Two years later, paramedics were called to the family home. Raylee was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The bill memorandum says she died from sepsis after drinking from a toilet, with severe dehydration and malnutrition worsening her condition. Her medical history also showed previous injuries consistent with abuse.
Schools Would Have to Flag Pending Investigations
Under S10715, every New York school board would have to establish a policy requiring the district superintendent to be notified when a teacher or other school employee reports suspected child abuse or neglect.
Once the superintendent confirms that an investigation has begun, the superintendent would ask the Office of Children and Family Services to verify the case status.
OCFS would have 48 hours to respond.
A student already enrolled in public school could not then be approved for homeschooling while the qualifying investigation remained pending.
The bill would take effect immediately if enacted.
Law Targets Removal From School During Abuse Cases
The proposal does not impose a general ban on homeschooling.
It targets situations in which a child is already enrolled in public school and a parent or prospective homeschool instructor becomes the subject of an abuse or neglect investigation.
Supporters argue that removing a child from school during an active investigation can eliminate daily contact with teachers, counselors and other mandated reporters.
Fahy’s bill memorandum says children involved in child protective cases can become more isolated when they are removed from school and taught at home.
The proposal follows years of debate over how states should balance parental control over education with child protection responsibilities.
New York Version Goes Beyond a Pending Investigation
The New York proposal also includes a broader restriction not limited to an active case.
A district could not approve home instruction if a custodial parent or the person teaching the child “has ever been convicted of domestic violence or child abuse or neglect.”
That provision would remain relevant even if there were no current investigation.
The bill does not create a separate criminal penalty. It changes when a school district may authorize a currently enrolled student to leave public school for home instruction.
Similar Fight Has Played Out in West Virginia
West Virginia lawmakers have repeatedly considered versions of Raylee’s Law since her death.
The proposal has focused on preventing an alleged abuser from withdrawing a child from school during a pending child abuse or neglect investigation.
A 2026 West Virginia version would have temporarily barred the alleged perpetrator from removing the child for homeschooling while the investigation remained open, ending the restriction if the case was determined to be unfounded or closed without substantiation.
The measure has faced years of debate and had not become law as of the most recent legislative session.
New York lawmakers are now attempting to put a version of the safeguard into the state’s education law.
More Than 50,000 New York Students Are Homeschooled
Fahy’s sponsor memorandum says more than 50,000 students are reported as homeschooled across New York, with particularly strong enrollment growth in New York City.
The bill’s supporters are not arguing that homeschooling itself constitutes abuse.
Their focus is on the much narrower circumstance in which a child is removed from the daily view of school personnel while authorities are already investigating someone responsible for that child’s care.
S10715 has not yet passed either chamber.
If approved by the Legislature and signed into law, New York would add a new layer of oversight to homeschooling decisions involving children already connected to an abuse or neglect investigation.