District lost track of home-schooled Ohio girl

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio school district that lost track of a special-needs home-schooled girl who later died from neglect blames the slip on human error.

The Springfield News-Sun reports Sunday that the state does not keep accurate numbers on home-schooled children, and districts that fail to keep tabs face no penalty.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine tells the newspaper the Dayton school district should be held accountable in last year’s death of 14-year-old Makayla Norman, a cerebral palsy patient who weighed 28 pounds.

The girl’s family registered her with the district in 2004, but never filed state-required annual home-school assessments. A spokeswoman says a paper record was not re-entered into the system.

Records are now kept electronically.

The girl’s mother and three nurses have been indicted on criminal charges in her death.