Most of the key public education bills died on the final night of West Virginia’s session

Students serving as pages listen to debate in the House of Delegates on the final night of West Virginia's legislative session, March 9, 2024, in Charleston, W.Va. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

Republican lawmakers’ key education legislation aimed at fixing problems in the public education system failed to pass in the final hours of West Virginia’s legislative session.

One of the most important education bills, according to the Senate, would have given elementary teachers more authority to remove aggressive or threatening students from their classrooms.

It was a top ask from teachers across the state as they say student behavior is worsening and data shows suspensions are increasing.

While the legislation passed both the House and the Senate, the House failed to complete action on it, thus killing the bill when lawmakers adjourned Saturday night.

Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason

Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Grady, a public school teacher, told MetroNews “Talkline ” on Monday, “It’s really frustrating because this shows teachers, you know, we were trying to show them we’re listening. This shows the opposite.”

A bill meant to bolster school safety would have allowed county boards of education to hire military veterans and retired law enforcement to provide armed security on school grounds. It died on the final night, as well, despite passing the House and Senate. West Virginia has a shortage of school safety officers, in part because of the state’s law enforcement staffing issues.

Meanwhile, one of the most high-profile education measures that did make it to the finish line was a bill sponsored by Grady that would protect teachers who discuss scientific theories , including intelligent design — which a federal judge ruled is not legitimate science — with students.

Fred Albert, president of American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, said he was glad certain bills didn’t make it to the finish line — like Senate Bill 727 , which would have diminished seniority in the hiring process for instructional aides. The union also disapproved of SB 189 , which would have “given deference to the state school superintendent’s interpretations of school laws and undermined the grievance procedure for education employees,” he explained.

“Both bills would have weakened the employment rights of school employees,” Albert said.

But he was disappointed to see the Senate’s elementary school student discipline bill failed to go to the governor’s desk for consideration.

“This is a huge concern for our members across the state, so we will definitely be pushing a bill to address this issue next year,” he said.

Grady, R-Mason, explained her frustration about the bill’s failure on “Talkline,” saying, “You have to make hard decisions if you want to make a change [in public education]. And making hard decisions sometimes involves making people mad, making hard decisions sometimes becomes controversial. That’s what we’re here to do. And we failed to do it.”

She put the blame on the House Education Committee leadership, saying that they failed to hold their end of the bargain of passing Senate education priorities.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, serves on the House Education Committee. He said that the tension between the House and Senate education leadership ultimately hurt students.

“The respective committee chairs seem engaged in a petulant battle over which of their bad ideas should take precedence… while we lose yet another generation of West Virginians,” he said.

Public education is facing a mountain of issues in West Virginia, one of which overshadowed the second half of the legislative session: the state faces a possible $465 million clawback of pandemic aid by the U.S. Department of Education. In the years after the money was awarded, West Virginia failed to keep its educational spending at levels mandated by the feds as a condition for receiving the funds.

The revelation, which became public later in the legislative budgeting process, has also raised concerns about how the state is funding public education.

Student enrollment is declining as the state’s population drops, and more than 6,000 students have opted to use the state’s educational savings account program — the Hope Scholarship — this year for private or homeschooling. In West Virginia, student enrollment is tied to the amount of state funding.

There are also issues with low math and reading scores amid increasing discipline referrals. Students who are Black, have a disability or involved with the state’s foster care system are more likely to face suspension.

Many West Virginia students have experienced trauma stemming from the state’s high rate of childhood poverty , kids in foster care and children living with grandparents — yet there’s a shortage of mental health resources to help them. A House bill that could have expanded mental health services never made it to the education committee for consideration.

“West Virginia has so many pressing needs, not the least of which is addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences due to extreme poverty and other factors,” Pushkin said. “Unfortunately, the Legislature and more specifically the respective education committees fail to do the deep thinking or heavy lifting to get to the root cause of so many of the issues affecting our schools.”

Lawmakers did approve 5% pay raises for school employees and other state workers. West Virginia has a shortage of more than 1,700 certified teachers.

A Senate bill that would have required schools to display a poster of “In God We Trust” in main school buildings also failed the final night of session.

The post Most of the key public education bills died on the final night of West Virginia’s session appeared first on West Virginia Watch .