CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Separate pieces of legislation that could reshape several aspects of how schools operate in the Mountain State appear to be on pace to be heading to Governor Morrisey’s desk for signature.
Ahead of the two-week deadline to the close of the legislative session, Monongalia County Delegate and House Education Committee Vice Chair Joe Statler announced that both the House and the State Senate have either passed or are working on pieces of other legislation that would focus on student discipline and legislative oversight over the state department of education. For Statler, the level of confidence in either state- or senate-sponsored legislation will pass based on mutual desire from both entities to address a multi-year problem.
“I think both houses are in agreement; we’ve had it back and forth; we’ve both had our bite at the apple, and I think we are pretty satisfied with where we’re at,” said Statler.
For legislation related to student discipline policies, both the House of Delegates and the State Senate have each passed separate bills that have cleared committees for both legislative bodies that are expected to be either passed or amended into each other before being passed. The basic crux of those bills, for both the House and the Senate, includes the implementation of a policy that would outline specific actions for the removal of a student due to disruptive behavior, with pathways towards alternative learning included in each respective proposal. With parameters regarding behavioral intervention programs being worked out in the Senate based on House amendments to Senate Bill 199 involving deferral programs, Statler feels legislation related to student discipline will be passed before the session closes.
“Some of those services that we need to provide are hard to find because we don’t have a lot of them in the State of West Virginia,” said Statler on the issues related to behavioral specialists that are required as part of those bills. “And two, it can be rather expensive, but it’s something that we’re going to have to find the money for and do,” he said.
The West Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 2515 related to elementary behavior intervention; that bill is in the Senate Education Committee.
The West Virginia House of Delegates and the State Senate also hope two bills involving legislative oversight into policies for the West Virginia Board of Education will also move forward as the legislative session moves towards a close. For House Bill 2755 and Senate Bill 705, respectively, each measure presents procedures for the State BOE to propose rules and policies that would be subject to legislative review, with S.B. 705 proposing that potential rules be sent to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability ahead of a full vote. With both bills in respective judiciary committees, Statler has positive feelings that oversight might move forward despite an amendment related to such oversights not passing a public vote in 2022.
“We’re just saying to them the same things that we say to all other branches of government,” said Statler. “Make your rules, then we want to look at them, and we want a chance to approve them or ask you to look at them again.”
If the bills maintain momentum in the coming days, Statler expects either a State Senate or House of Delegates formatted education bill to make it pass the proverbial deadline date as part of ‘Crossover Day.’ This is based on positive momentum for S.B. 199 related to student discipline, which was moved to a full senate vote after an amended version passed the House last week, as well as Senate Bill 705, which was moved to consideration to the House Education Committee last week. With less than three weeks remaining in the 2025 legislative session, Statler has confidence that some education-based legislation will be passed before the final gavel closes proceedings.
“We’re still working on trying to put these pieces of the puzzle together so we know how much money we have to account for to move forward,” Statler said.