North Carolina
Child fatality review team recommends study
A tragic incident occurred in July 2001 involving a 14-year-old boy who shot his brother and half-sister to death in their Johnston County home before committing suicide with the same weapon. The family had been involved with the department of social services for some time before the tragedy, as the parents were suspected of abusing and neglecting their children.
A State Child Fatality Review Team was formed to investigate the circumstances of the murder-suicide to determine if it could have been prevented. The team released a report on April 10, 2002, with a list of eight findings and recommendations, including a finding that, "[c]urrently home school law and monitoring mechanisms allow persons who maltreat children to maintain social isolation in order for the abuse and neglect to remain undetected." The team recommended that the State Child Fatality Task Force "look at the correlation of home schooling and protection issues for children" and make a recommendation to the legislature for enacting new laws regulating home schooling.
Home School Legal Defense Association believes that this finding and recommendation are unwarranted, as there has never been any evidence that home schooling parents are more likely to abuse their children. We encourage home schooling families in North Carolina to contact their legislators in an effort to preempt any legislation being introduced in response to the report of the State Child Fatality Review Team.
— Dewitt T. Black
