This is a developing list and may be updated.
Updated on April 9, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
Education has been a top issue for lawmakers in this year s West Virginia legislative session as learning was upended significantly amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those priority bills in the 60-day session included measures advancing school choice in K-12 education and establishing the West Virginia Jumpstart Savings Program in higher education.
One-third of K-12 students in West Virginia failed at least one core subject in fall 2020, according to the West Virginia Department of Education. The WVDE attributes this dip in learning to children being jostled back-and-forth from in-person, remote, virtual and hybrid schooling.
WV Legislative Photography
House Education Chair Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, and Vice Chair Del. Joshua Higginbotham (left), R-Putnam, lead the House Education Committee on Feb. 11, 2021. The committee meets in the House chamber due to coronavirus safety measures.
Members of the West Virginia Legislature kicked off the first week of the 2021 session introducing a flurry of education bills 83 total.
As of Saturday, 64 bills have been introduced dedicated to K-12 education, 16 bills related to higher education, and three bills aimed at education generally.
W.Va. Jumpstart Savings Program
The Jumpstart Savings Program, HB 2001, is an initiative coined by newly elected West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore. This program was one of his top three campaign promises. The bill, whose lead sponsor is House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, would create a tax-free savings plan for individuals working in trades such as welding or electrical work. Investments in these savings accounts
Friday, December 11, 2020
Rep. Amore PHOTO: GoLocal
In this, the season of the “pause”, I urge the RI Board of Education to take a step back and pause before taking up consideration and approving the recent requests to significantly expand charter schools in Providence and throughout the state. Traditional public schools serve the overwhelming majority of students in their communities and Providence students deserve the opportunity to see the turnaround promised to them fully underway before resources are diverted. Significantly expanding charter schools or seats was not highlighted or even mentioned as a strategy for improvement in the Turnaround Action Plan for Providence Public Schools (TAP).