Bill Expanding Legislative Oversight Of Public Education Advances

Several bills this year are trying to bring the state’s public schools under more direct, legislative control. 

House Bill 2548 would require the state superintendent to report annually to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Educational Accountability (LOCEA) regarding the implementation of state board rules in each county school district.

When discussing the bill a few weeks ago, lawmakers in the House Education Committee were warned the state superintendent is considered the executive of the state board of education, and the bill could run afoul of the 1988 State Supreme court ruling West Virginia Board of Education v Heckler. The ruling determined that laws interfering with the board’s rulemaking authority are unconstitutional. 

The bill also requires the superintendent to create a corrective plan if a county is found in violation of any rule, and furthermore allows school aid funding to be withheld from a county if it continues to be in violation.

In the Senate Education Committee Monday, Sen. Robbie Morris, R-Randolph, expressed concern at the lack of specificity in the bill for when state funding could be withheld. 

“I feel that the language we’re allowing for school funding, school aid funding to be withheld, seems to be a little aggressive, especially when there’s no clarification as to what rules we’re talking about,” he said. “The number of violations, it just says ‘if a county continues to be in violation.’ I don’t know if we’re talking first strike, second strike, third strike, or something else. I just think that’s very harsh with the vague information that’s in there.”

Sonya White, deputy state superintendent, laid out the systems already in place for struggling local school boards.

“Our accountability team, they go in and look at things, and we regularly provide reports to our board and to LOCIA about when we take over a county, or if there’s counties on watch, that sort of thing. It’s in our accountability report every year,” she said. 

To the best of her knowledge, White said funding had never been removed from a county board. She said instead, the state Department of Education closely monitors budgets.

“And in takeover counties, our state superintendent approves their financial payments and that sort of thing, so there’s checks already in place,” White said. “But we’ve never had an instance where we’ve recommended anything like taking away their school aid funding formula money.”

Six counties have been placed under various levels of state control in less than three years.

Morris offered an amendment that would maintain the new requirements for the state superintendent, but remove the ability to withhold funding.

“We just heard what the tools that they have right now are, and have been sufficient in which to correct these issues,” he said. “I don’t see how withholding school aid formula funding from a county that most likely is in the trouble that they are in because of not handling funds appropriately is going to help that situation at all. So I don’t see how that’s a useful tool.”

Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, stood in opposition of the amendment and stressed the need for greater accountability in the state’s public schools. He said there needs to be more capacity for the state to directly address local problems.

“I’ve been on LOCEA for seven years, and it’s meaningless. It’s an accountability commission, but it is meaningless. All we can do is suggest things. We have no say,” Roberts said. “So also with the state, when counties have problems, I think the state needs to have the authority to correct those problems. And I think allowing them this leniency, which I can’t even imagine that they would take it in a bad direction, I think they need to have some authority here to tell these counties there is a problem, and this needs to be straightened out in order to get their attention. So I would respectfully oppose the amendment.”

The amendment was voted down. House Bill 2548, which requires the state superintendent to report on all county boards to the legislature annually and grants the power to withhold state funding, now heads to the full Senate for consideration.