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Bill Creating Publicly Funded Education Savings Accounts Heads To W.Va. Senate

The West Virginia House of Delegates has once again passed a bill that would establish education savings accounts, or ESAs, for public school students who are looking to switch to private or homeschool.

After initially passing HB 2013 in the full chamber two weeks ago, the House opted to send the Hope Scholarship Program back to committee to address some financial concerns.

The House Finance Committee amended the bill to cap publicly funded education vouchers for private and homeschooled students at $3,000 per student, per year — but that didn’t last. The full chamber voted to increase that limit back to $4,600 — exactly where it was two weeks ago.

The bill also allows that by 2026, all private and homeschooled students in the state may apply for a voucher regardless of whether they ever attended public school.

The money could be used for things like tuition at a private school, for tutoring, or for an afterschool program among others.

HB 2013 has seen vehement opposition from Democrats and educators, who say the move would be costly, unnecessary and discriminatory.

Minority Vice Chair of House Education Del. Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, said he’s also concerned about the impact the program could have on small public schools.

“When our small community schools close, the community dies,” Thompson said. “We have several small schools in my district. I’m very concerned that this bill, using our public funds and taking them out of our public schools, will result in mass consolidation.”

Supporters say the program will ensure that all students get a quality education and provides flexibility for parents.

House Education Chair Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, compared the program to how the state supports health care.

“We’re responsible for the health care of our citizens. Do you think public money doesn’t go to private institutions or private practitioners in this state?” Ellington said. “What I’m saying is there’s more than one way to educate our students. This is just one small part to take that population of kids out that need a different environment to learn and excel.”

Democrats offered a handful of amendments including one that would have inserted a non-discrimination section, another that would have made the program only eligible to families making under $75,000 a year, and another that would have required an annual audit of the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Board.

All amendments offered by Democrats were rejected.

The bill passed narrowly, however, on a vote of 57-42 with House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, voting against the bill.

The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

W.Va. House Recommits Bill Allowing Private School Savings Accounts To Committee

Updated on Feb. 19, 2021 at 12:00 p.m.

The West Virginia House of Delegates voted to recommit HB 2013, establishing the Hope Scholarship Program, to committee on Friday.

The bill had previously gone through the House Education and House Finance committees before being considered on the House floor. The bill has now been recommitted to House Finance.

Delegates debated the bill on third reading, the passage stage, for more than an hour on Thursday. Democrats voiced concerns of the fiscal impact of the bill after an amendment was adopted the previous day that would have bumped the program from $23 million annually to about $100 million annually beginning on July 1, 2026.

HB 2013 applies to students who are currently enrolled in public school but are looking to switch to homeschool or private school. The bill would allow students who opt to leave public school to continue to receive public dollars to help support their education. The amendment expands the reach of the program and would permit all homeschool and private school students to be eligible to apply for the program in five years — even if that student never attended a public school.

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The West Virginia House of Delegates advanced a bill Thursday to allow publicly funded savings accounts for students to attend private schools over vehement opposition from Democrats and educators that the move would be costly, unnecessary and discriminatory.

The Republican-led House passed HB 2013 on a 60-39 vote. One member was absent. The bill now goes to the state Senate.

The program, named the Hope Scholarship, would put state money into a special account that parents could then spend on private school tuition, homeschooling and other educational needs. It would eventually allow all private and homeschooled students to apply for the program starting July 2026, pushing the cost to the state to more than $100 million annually.

The funding would be capped at about $4,600 per child.

Democrats dominated the debate on the bill that lasted more than an hour.

Delegates earlier this week defeated amendments proposed by Democrats that would have capped the number of students receiving the vouchers and would have excluded higher-income families from receiving the funding. Most private schools in West Virginia are Christian. Democrat-sought protections in the bill for students against discrimination based on religion and LGBT status were rejected.

Putnam County Republican Joshua Higginbotham said he is proud of his public school background and assured skeptics there are plenty of bills within the House education committee that would try to beef up the public education system.

“But we have to give opportunity for people who can’t afford to attend a private school or to be homeschooled,” Higginbotham said. “That is exactly what this bill does. That’s why it’s the Hope Scholarship.”

Cabell County Democrat Sean Hornbuckle said the bill will use taxpayer funds to support a religion-based education and won’t help rural students who have transportation issues to private schools. He and other Democrats said it won’t do enough to help disabled students.

“As this bill is currently reading, it is the Hoax Scholarship,” Hornbuckle said.

Kanawha County Democrat Larry Rowe said how the program will be paid for remains a mystery because the fiscal aspects were not spelled out.

“We don’t have good financial information with this bill,” Rowe said. “We’re left with pure speculation about the cost of this bill.”

Earlier this week the House passed a bill to increase the number of charter schools allowed in West Virginia every three years from three to 10 and allow for online-only charter schools. Charters schools were allowed under a 2019 bill signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice.

Educators and Democrats argue that the move to install charters and education vouchers was driven by outside interests that will steer money away from public schools.

Kanawha County Democrat Jim Barach said the bill would create “a two-tiered system of education where the have-somes and the have-mores get to go to private schools. And everyone else goes to underfunded public schools. And we’re going to end up with a lot of people ending up on the short end of the stick.”

Bill Creating Education Savings Accounts For Homeschool, Private School Students Expands

The West Virginia House of Delegates considered amendments Wednesday to a bill that would establish the Hope Scholarship Program, which creates education savings accounts in the state for certain students.

Students using these accounts would receive about $4,600 per year that could be used for tuition and fees at a participating school; for tutoring services; to pay for nationally standardized assessments; to pay for Advanced Placement examinations or any examinations related to college or university admission; for alternative education programs; and for fees for after-school or summer education programs and more.

The program would also apply to students who are of school age and about to start kindergarten.

An amendment to the bill, however, introduced by Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, would allow for all homeschool and private school students to be eligible to apply for the Hope Scholarship Program in five years on July 1, 2026 — even if that student never attended a public school.

HB 2013 would create the Hope Scholarship Program.

The amendment sparked nearly an hour of debate and discussion on the House floor. Democrats who opposed the amendment voiced concerns that the fiscal impact would be enormous and would hurt county school systems’ overall budget.

“This is going to blow massive holes in county school system budgets,” said Del. Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, who is a public school teacher. “Considering the additional homeschool and private students, I just have a major concern about what that could do to our funding for our public schools, and I would urge rejection of this amendment.”

Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, agreed. “We’re going from $23 million to $100 million on this program. It’s a huge part of the public budget,” Rowe said. “This bill has gone from very clearly stating that … it was a choice for the people in public schools to make to go try to find something different, and it was not for the folks who had already made that decision,” Rowe said. “By including those folks, it may feel somewhat equitable, but the price tag just went right through the roof.”

Republicans argued the amendment ensures that all students in the state will receive adequate financial support in education.

“This amendment provides the much needed equity in this program by allowing all homeschool and private school children that benefit from the taxes that their parents pay,” said House Finance Chair Eric Householder, R-Berkeley.

The lead sponsor of the amendment, Burkhammer, said it will allow all students a chance to succeed.

“I just want to remind us that we should not be putting dollar figures on kids,” Burkhammer said. “These are West Virginia kids. West Virginia families. West Virginia parents, and we’re just looking out for them.”

Republicans also argued that since the amendment wouldn’t take effect until July 1, 2026, there would be time to sort out any issues if they arise.

Burkhammer’s amendment was adopted on a voice vote in the chamber.

Democrats proposed a handful of other amendments that were all rejected, including one that would have created a cap of no more than 2,500 students enrolled in the program. One would have created a non-discrimination section based on sexual orientation, gender identity and others. And another would have made it so that families making more than $50,000 a year would not be eligible for the program.

HB 2013 will be up for a full vote by the House chamber on Thursday.