West Va. Department of Human Services v. Boley

MILLER, Justice.

In this case, we are asked to determine if the circuit court was correct in holding that a public school teacher was not subject to the provisions of W.Va.Code, 49-6-1, et seq., our child neglect and abuse statute, for alleged abuse of children in her classroom. We affirm the circuit court’s holding.

Initially, we observe that there is no express language in this statute that places teachers within the purview of the statute. The petitioners argue that because the statute utilizes the term “custodian” in several places 1 and the term “custodian” is generally defined in…