Featured West Virginian- Roy Ramey

Welcome to a new element of Beacon News West Virginia! The "Featured West Virginian" will be a regularly occurring column to highlight a citizen of the Mountain State that embodies conservative values in their chosen arena. We'll cover a wide variety of areas such as state government, health care, education, Christianity, small business and more. Each spotlight will include a biography and interview.

This edition features Roy Ramey, President of the WV Home Educators Association, farmer and constitutional conservative.

BIOGRAPHY:

Roy Ramey is a proud husband and father, small farmer and retired Army officer of 33 years service. He practices regenerative livestock and forest farming as well as agro-education. He is active in the homeschool movement in West Virginia, serves as President of the WV Home Educators Association and advocates for responsible legislation at the State Capitol.

Ramey is a constitutional conservative with plans to run for Commissioner of Agriculture in 2028. As an elected official, he will first uphold the constitution to protect your inherent individual natural rights as he did during his decades of military service. He will do what’s best for the people and farmers of WV first above the financial interests of Washington, foreign nationalists and industrialists.

INTERVIEW:

What elements of your background led you to have such an interest in, and prepared you for, homeschooling? Do you (or did you) homeschool your children?

I became interested in homeschooling when I was just a student myself. Although I did have some very good teachers, the program was just not enough to challenge me at the advanced level of which I was capable, and they had to contend with an entire class of my peers to treat us all at the same level.

Therefore, I was stunted and prevented from achieving much more. Of course, this was in the early to mid-1980s and homeschooling was not even legal in most of the country at that time, nor were my parents knowledgeable of how to do such a thing, nor were they wealthy enough to afford any private schools. And while we have internet today with many online and remote resources, my generation was decades away from such capabilities.

Despite those limitations, when I was a senior in high school, our school developed a new program of Student Teaching where selected seniors went over to our elementary school to teach basic academic subjects in a limited capacity under the supervision of the teacher. That experience gave me a sample into the world of teaching others.

Later throughout my military career, I served as a military instructor and educator and even as the commandant of leadership school. All that experience helped me to be a better homeschool teacher for my own child. I have homeschooled my now teenage daughter since she began her (formal) education.

How long have you served as President of the West Virginia Home Educators Association? How old is this organization? What is it's purpose?

I joined the Board of Directors of WV Home Educators Association in 2019 and have been the President since 2022. The Association was established in 1986 when homeschooling was legalized in WV and is the first association for homeschooling in the state.

Our purpose is to serve the homeschool community by advocating to advance and strengthen homeschooling rights and to educate parents on various homeschooling topics. We promote legislation which reduces onerous regulations such as requiring a college degree to homeschool your own child as well as fighting against proposed legislation which might reverse the course of homeschooling rights such as the poorly written Raylee’s Law.

In what way(s) have you seen homeschooling evolve in WV over the past few years? Why are more people choosing to homeschool their children?

The number one way homeschooling has evolved is with the proliferation of online resources. Previously, parents relied on their own knowledge, on hard books and professionally made curriculum to teach their children. However, with search engines such as Google to find resources through the internet, including both the knowledge and other educational experts who might be able to help teach specific lessons, as well as very recent developments with artificial intelligence, parents have access to more tools than ever before.

Teachers who specialize in providing customized curriculum as well as entire online institutions are growing increasingly popular. And then in most areas of WV with even a modest population, there are homeschool co-ops where several parents get together weekly or so to pool their resources and help each other out. No need to “go it alone.” Parents gain the benefit of what others have learned and students gain social as well as academic lessons in a group setting.

The reasons why parents choose homeschooling are many. Quite often, the parent desires a much higher quality of education than can be had in government schools. One of the complaints I hear most often is about bullying by other students or even the teachers. Parents feel compelled to homeschool to get their children into a safe environment because the local school system refuses to address the safety problems.

Some students have learning developmental or medical issues which prevent them from attending a traditional classroom and school setting. Some parents choose not to vaccinate their children and have no other option than to homeschool. And then there is flexibility in homeschooling which cannot be achieved in traditional school settings. Being able to learn in a natural setting and at a natural pace with the child’s own curiosities.

Having the flexibility to travel, such as when a parent must travel for work and is able to bring their family along. The child can experience different places, going to “field trips” around the country, going to specialized museums or historical sites. Instead of reading about it in books, they can experience it firsthand, in person.

Then there is the fact that the parent can customize the curriculum so their child can learn as fast or slow as necessary regardless of any peers as well as add material which interests the child in a potpourri manner.

In at least the past three WV Legislative Sessions, bills are introduced which seek to place restrictions on homeschooling or reduce funding available for families who choose this type of education for their children. Why do you think homeschooling has become a target in this way? And, conversely, do you think any legislation needs to be proposed in order to protect the rights of families to educate their children as they see fit?

For the past several years, at least someone in the WV Legislature has sought to limit homeschooling in some way. Specifically, there has been the introduction of what is known as Raylee’s Law as well as an attempt to combine traditional homeschooling into the Hope Scholarship which is a state funded and slightly different type of homeschooling which generally has more restrictions.

On the surface, some opponents of homeschooling claim these measures are meant to protect children and ensure they receive a “proper” education. The reality is that the government schooling system fails to ensure their own students are safe and receive a “proper” education.

But when you dive deeper under the surface, it is apparent that since homeschooling is the fastest growing segment within the education sector, the government schooling system is losing funding when students leave that system. Staff must be cut to compensate. No one wants to lose their job, so they are in panic mode right now. However, the education system is not a jobs program. It is an education program for our youth. It should rightly fluctuate depending on the number of students which are served by that system. If this were managed properly by the administration, then it would not be unduly painful for anyone.

In principle, I don’t think we need any further laws to protect our rights to homeschool. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the US Constitution state that people retain certain unenumerated rights, which would include parental rights to oversee their children’s education.

Further, WV has codified into law a Parents Bill of Rights as well as the existing homeschool law which merely requires a parent to notify the local school board of their intention to homeschool their child along with meeting certain educational criteria. However, even those requirements are too much and should be eliminated, but that is another matter.

We have plenty of laws to guarantee the right to homeschool. What we need is for legislators to understand it is not their place to try to infringe on those rights in any way. Additionally, we need to continue to educate parents that they need to stand up to defend their rights as well.

With regard to Raylee's Law, that failed to pass the Legislature again this year, what is your response to the bill's supporters who claim that vulnerable children need to remain in public schools where they can be under the supervision of teachers who are mandatory reporters for child abuse and neglect?

Raylee’s death was indeed tragic and could have been avoided if all of the government officials within the schools, Child Protective Services and law enforcement would have done their job in accordance with existing laws.

Regarding the versions of Raylee’s Law that we have seen introduced, not one of those bills, if they had been passed, would have done anything to have prevented her death. Those bills do not help the mandatory reporters make a report any better. They do not help CPS investigate any more thoroughly, nor faster. They do not hold anyone accountable for child abuse nor for failing to do their job in investigating that child abuse.

It ONLY serves as a stumbling block for the parent who believes they need to remove their child from a system which is failing the student and might even be dangerous. If they are serious about stopping child abuse, they would target mandatory reporters to make their reports timely. They would target several fixes to CPS to ensure they have the training and resources to conduct a proper investigation regardless of where the student is educated or how long it takes to conduct a proper investigation. Most important, to ensure that all parties protect individual rights while still conducting an investigation. That is what our entire justice system predicts.

Many people know you through your advocacy for school choice, but you are also a farmer, correct? Please share your background in agrarian activities. What has been your main focus? And, does this tie in with your homeschooling endeavors?

I grew up doing some small-scale farming with my family. Growing part of our own food was just a part of our culture. My wife and I bought our own small farm almost 20 years ago where we raised our family.

We grow food for ourselves and for our community. I have worked hard to reduce some of the onerous regulatory requirements which have been imposed on farmers and prevent consumers from buying healthy products they desire, such as unpasteurized dairy products. Cutting out regulatory burdens for agriculture is very similar to homeschooling. It just secures our individual rights to make decisions for ourselves and live life according to our own terms.

What agriculture clubs or organizations are you involved with in Cabell County?

There are several organizations around the state of WV which help to advance the causes of agriculture for which I am engaged. One of those is the WV Maple Syrup Producers Association. When I was first learning how to produce maple syrup, my mentors informed me about this great organization which helps others to learn more about producing quality syrup. That resonated with me and I knew I had to join. There are some very knowledgeable members who freely share their vast knowledge with others.

Another great organization is the Cabell-Wayne Beekeepers Association. I have learned a tremendous amount from other beekeepers there. The WV Herb Association is another one that I am happy to belong to. I have been able to share knowledge about medicinal herbal plants such as rare ginseng and goldenseal as well as many others by speaking at their annual conferences.

We need to get the message out to others that they can farm the forest and help these plants which are in decline while making a decent living using the vast forested lands which we have available in WV. We just must look around at all the opportunities we have and expand on that.

Are you planning to make a run for Commissioner of Agriculture in 2028? And if so, why do you seek this position? What attributes would you bring to the WV Department of Agriculture?

Although I have not made a formal announcement yet, I am planning to run for Commissioner of Agriculture of WV in 2028. I am a service-oriented person, having served 33 years in the Army and volunteering my time to many of the organizations I believe in.

Additionally, I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge in regenerative agriculture following the practices of farmers such as Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. I have gained a lot of knowledge in the legislative process and regulatory environment and believe it needs to change drastically.

We can do much better than we are doing now. We can cut onerous regulations which suppress small farming like we see in WV. We can educate our small farmers in regenerative practices to help thrive in our mountainous state. We can also educate our consumers to make smart choices on local foods which helps the entire state keep more money in our local communities. That is food security and economic security which will improve all our lives. I have a lot to give in the service of others and willing to keep serving as God has called on me to do.

1 Comments

Mar 27, 2026, 3:10:31 PM

Drema Paugh - Great interview, Thank you Roy for your work and support. You have my vote :)

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