Bills To Protect Students And Help Foster Kids Aging Out Head To Governor

The West Virginia Senate on Monday finalized two bills that impact young people in the state – one aimed at improving school security and the other providing significant support for those aging out of foster care.

House Bill 4798 directs the West Virginia Board of Education, working in conjunction with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, to allow a wearable panic alert device the size of a credit card for faculty at every public school in the state.  

School teacher Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, showed her colleagues a similar card hanging from her neck and told them the one under consideration is a little bit thicker. 

“All of our school staff in every county has an ID that they must wear at all times. This would be in addition to or in place of the ID,” Grady said. “There’s a little button on the back where the teacher can press it one time if there is an issue in a classroom, perhaps such as a medical emergency or a behavior problem, and the principal or the administrator could come directly to that classroom.” 

Named for Alyssa Alhadeff, one of the 17 victims of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Alyssa’s Law has another purpose.

“Lot of things that we can use this for. The primary reason for this, though, is for the safety issue of alerting emergency service personnel in the case of some tragic event happening at the school,” Grady said. 

Multiple pushes of the button would alert emergency response agencies and initiate a campus-wide lockdown notification.

House Bill 4730 directs the Department of Human Services to develop a platform of continued support services to help young people aging out of foster care with education, employment, housing and self sufficiency tools.

Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, referred to the widely-used Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) survey which helps identify children most at risk for a host of health and behavioral challenges, to encourage support for the legislation.

“Research has also shown that children in foster care have amplified rates of ACEs and are more likely to encounter a greater number of ACEs when compared to children in the general population,” Helton said.

Research links high levels of ACEs to obesity, heart disease, mental health issues, lower economic education, achievement and risky behaviors, he added. 

“Additionally, this bill is consistent with President Trump’s executive order Fostering the Future, issued on Nov. 13, 2025 which emphasizes partnership and resources to help youth aging out of foster care, succeed,” Helton said.

Both bills passed the Senate unanimously and head now to the desk of Gov. Patrick Morrisey.