House Lawmakers Eye Control Of State Schools

Several bills being considered by the legislature this year have reignited a long-running debate about who has ultimate control over the state’s schools. 

House Bill 2548 would bring the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) under rulemaking review of the legislature. Critics of the bill have likened it to Amendment 4, which voters rejected in a ballot measure during the 2022 general election.

However, Wednesday afternoon, a committee substitute substantially changed the bill, shifting focus to the state superintendent specifically and granting oversight to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Educational Accountability, the interim committee better known as LOCEA.

Jim Brown, executive director for the West Virginia School Board Association, told the House Education Committee that the state superintendent is considered the executive of the state board of education, and the bill could still run afoul of the 1988 state supreme court ruling West Virginia Board of Education v Heckler.

“(The) West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that rule making by the State Board of Education is within the meaning of general supervision of state schools pursuant to Article 12, section two of the West Virginia constitution, any statutory provision that interferes with such rule making is unconstitutional,” Brown said. 

Brown was joined in his concern by Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association. He ultimately declined to comment, not having been able to review the committee substitute prior to the committee’s meeting.

House Bill 2548 was advanced, at which point another bill seeking legislative oversight of state schools, House Bill 2755, was taken up for discussion.

Del. Mike Hornby, a Republican from Berkeley County, and the bill’s lead sponsor, said he believed the Heckler decision was made in error and code does allow for legislative supervision of state schools. 

Del. Mike Pushkin, a Democrat from Kanawha County, questioned whether Hornby was inviting legal action against the bill.  

“The way I understand it, you’re gonna run it anyway and see if somebody will go to court, and you think that you’ll get the Board of Education Heckler overturned? Is that the point of this bill?” Pushkin asked.

“Yeah, if we’re being honest, yeah,” Hornby replied.

Pushkin went on to ask why voters rejecting Amendment 4 in 2022 was not a sufficient decision on the issue.

“The Eastern Panhandle and my county, we absolutely voted for this, which is why I’m running this,” Hornby said. “I think there were other political figures and things that were happening in the state, and a lot of things were said about this. With four amendments on there, people didn’t understand what it was. And the people in my county are asking for this, and they asked for this every single day.”

Both bills will be up for a vote to advance them to the full House at the House Education Committee’s next meeting Friday.