Governor Signs Elementary School Discipline Bill

Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 199 into law Tuesday morning at Ripley Elementary School.

The bill lets kindergarten to sixth-grade teachers remove students from their classroom for extreme disciplinary issues, and requires those students be assessed and placed on a behavioral plan.

Morrisey said students cannot learn if they are distracted, and pledged to do whatever it takes to ensure that West Virginia kids excel.

“We’ve talked to teachers from across the state, and one of the things that we constantly hear is that it helps when the teachers can have control over the classrooms,” he said. “We know that when students are distracted, misbehaving or otherwise inhibiting their learning environment.Teachers need to have the tools at their disposal in order to regain control. We want our teachers teaching, not babysitting, not discipline.”

Morrisey was joined at Ripley by students, educators and lawmakers, including the bill’s sponsor and architect Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason. Grady, who is also a classroom teacher, has worked to pass similar discipline bills since 2023. She told the Senate Education Committee – which she chairs – that she delayed introducing the bill this year to ensure that it was the best possible version.

Tuesday, Grady addressed the students assembled for the signing that their safety was the most important objective of the bill.

“I want to tell you the most important part is that we want to make sure that you guys always have a safe classroom and a safe learning environment to learn in, and that your teachers have a safe environment to teach in,” Grady said.

Critics of the bill told lawmakers during session they are concerned by the bill’s requirement that students who repeatedly disrupt class and do not show improvements under their behavioral plan be placed in alternative educational settings. Only 13 such programs exist across the state, leading some to raise concern that students will be placed in remote programs not suited for the education of elementary-aged children.

A bill that would have facilitated the creation of public charter schools for “high-risk populations” and was seen by supporters as an answer to the lack of alternative education settings in the state, failed to pass the legislature in the final days.
As of April 15 the governor has signed 31 bills into law. He has until April 25 to sign or veto bills passed during the 2025 regular session before they automatically become law.