Promise Scholarship Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Justice Declares State Of Emergency Over FAFSA Forms

During his regular press briefing Tuesday, Justice said the declaration allows the state to bypass FAFSA requirements for state programs such as the PROMISE scholarship.

Gov. Jim Justice has declared a state of emergency for the state’s higher educational system.

During his regular press briefing Tuesday, Justice said the declaration allows the state to bypass FAFSA requirements for state programs such as the PROMISE scholarship.

“We have to find a way to bypass this FAFSA requirement that will provide eligibility to our high school kids in regards to their scholarships, especially PROMISE and on and on and on,” he said. “We have at this time a 40 percent decline in applications and the reason for that is, our kids don’t know what to do.”

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unlocks both federal and state financial aid for students. The federal government released a shortened FAFSA at the end of last year that was intended to simplify the financial aid process for students, but the rollout of the new form has been plagued with delays and technical issues.

Justice was joined by Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Sarah Tucker, who assured West Virginia students they will get the support they deserve.

“To the students and families, I want you to know that we have your back,” she said. “We want you to know that if you qualify for PROMISE and or the higher education grant, you will get that money for this fall regardless of your FAFSA status.”

Tucker warned members of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability at an interim meeting earlier this month that the confusion over the new form was causing delays for the state’s educational programs and would require a creative solution.

“With Governor Justice’s proclamation, students who qualify and apply for the Promise scholarship by September 1 will receive an award of up to $5,500 for the 2024-2025 academic year,” Tucker said. “If a student completed last year’s FAFSA and qualifies for our need based higher education grant, they will receive the award of up to $3,400 for the fall semester.”

Tucker and Justice both implored students and parents to call the commission’s hotline at 1-877-987-7664 and to keep working on completing their FAFSAs.

According to Tucker, students who do not have a FAFSA on file can also qualify for Higher Education grants by presenting their eligibility letter for Department of Human Services programs such as SNAP, Medicaid or WIC to their higher education institution’s financial aid office.

Justice indicated West Virginia is leading the country by declaring a state of emergency to try and resolve FAFSA-related issues.

“We’ve got to still get you through this FAFSA requirement for you to get fed dollars,” he said. “But to get you state dollars, this state of emergency absolutely, we ought to be able to move forward.”

FAFSA Issues, College Going Rate And More Presented To LOCEA

A change to a federal financial aid form for college students is having major ripple effects through West Virginia’s higher education system.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unlocks both federal and state financial aid for students but a recent attempt to simplify the form has caused delays for college applicants across the country.

“At this point this year, we have six million students who have filled out a FAFSA,” said Sarah Tucker, chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission. “At this point last year, we had 17 million, this is across the country. So we have a significant deficit right now that we’re trying to make up and trying to figure out exactly what’s going on and how best to help our students.”

Tucker told an interim meeting of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability Sunday the Student Aid Index (SAI), which determines student need, is now being determined by a new interface between the IRS and the federal Department of Education that is not working correctly. Further delays occur because users of the new system are not notified of errors until after the form has been submitted.

Tucker told the commission the faulty SAI formula is causing delays for the state’s educational programs as well.

“I need to know how much money the federal government is going to be giving to all of our students in order to know what our award is going to be for West Virginia Invests,” she said.
“We’re really sort of stuck in limbo until this functionality gets fixed.”

The Higher Education Grant Program, West Virginia Invests and PROMISE Scholarships are all currently delayed.

Nationally, West Virginia is faring slightly better than average with the new FAFSA. As of last month, more than 6,000 seniors across the state have filled out the form, a number Tucker credits to hundreds of FAFSA workshops the HEPC and other organizations have hosted.

“We’re actually ranking 20th in the number of high school seniors who have completed the FAFSA,” she said. “The West Virginia Department of Education has done a lot of work as have all of our institutions in trying to do FAFSA workshops to make sure that our students know how to fill out those forms.”

Tucker said West Virginia Invest and PROMISE may revert to awarding the same amounts as last year without adjustments to ensure students are not further delayed.

“I think that may be where we end up because I don’t want to keep stringing students along,” she said. “I want to do the best we can to make sure that they know that they can go to college. Our college going rate is finally ticking up. We have this great momentum.”

College Going Rate

The oversight commission also heard a report on the state’s college going rate from Zornitsa Georgieva, director of research and analysis for HEPC. She highlighted a one percent increase in post-secondary enrollment from 2022 to 2023, including enrollment in trade programs or other career and technical pathways.

“For the class of 2023, the college going grade is 47.4 percent,” Georgieva said. “We’ve had more than 7,900 high school graduates continue into some kind of post-secondary education this year. I think that really speaks for the hard work of high school staff, high school counselors, teachers, our staff in our secondary system, as well as post-secondary institutions and staff that works around outreach. And providing information about financial aid.”

In 2021 the national immediate college enrollment rate was 62 percent, which puts West Virginia 15 percent below the national average. “Immediate college enrollment” is the metric used by the National Center for Educational Statistics and looks at students who enrolled in a post-secondary institution the fall after graduation.

Georgieva said when looking at the 12 months after graduation, including spring enrollments, West Virginia’s college going rate jumps to 49 percent. Rates differ from county to county, and 36 of 55 of West Virginia’s counties increased their college going rate year over year.

Benchmarks and Screeners

As part of House Bill 3035 – also known as the Third Grade Success Act – that passed last year, screeners or benchmark assessments must be administered at the beginning of the school year and repeated mid-year and at the end of the school year to determine student progression in reading and mathematics kindergarten through third grade.

Sonya White, state deputy superintendent, presented the results of the mid-year screeners to the commission.

“Overall, we were encouraged by the results, we had a decrease in the number of students… who needed that intensive intervention,” she said.

Even accounting for regular academic gains in the first half of the school year, White said the need for intensive intervention decreased from the start of the year to mid-year. She said the screeners are also identifying new students that need intensive interventions and are getting the help they need.

“On the front side are the literacy results,” White said. “We had an average decrease of 5.4 percent of students that needed intervention in grades K through three, and an average of 6 percent of the students in grades four through eight were scoring in the lowest category.”

White presented even higher decreases in intensive intervention for mathematics, “with an average of 6 percent for K through three and an average of 8.1 percent for four through eight.”

Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, expressed concern at some of the numbers that showed an increase in the need for math intervention between first and second grade.

“Do we have schools looking at why there might be that big change from only 17 percent initially in first grade up to almost 40 percent when they get the second?” he said.

White cautioned that the state is still in its first year of collecting the data but theorized that those numbers could be a result of lowered learning opportunities three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are being proactive,” she said. “We are also looking at getting more detailed data for each section so we know what pieces of mathematics are struggling with.”

Policy 7212

Earlier in the meeting, legislators heard a brief description of changes to Department of Education Policy 7212. The policy applies to the transfer of students, both inside and out of their county of residence.

Student transfers became a point of contention this past fall after legislation passed during the 2023 regular session changed eligibility rules for student athletes after transfer. Gov. Jim Justice and others urged the legislature to revisit the issue during this year’s legislative session, but no action was taken by the legislature.

The proposed changes to Policy 7212 include significant clarifications of the requirement for county boards of education to implement an open enrollment policy for nonresident students, including a new allowance for boards to revoke applicants for chronic absenteeism or behavioral infractions. There is no mention of athletics in the proposed changes.

The changes to 7212, as well as other policies, are open to public comment until May 13.

Meeting W.Va.’s Broadband Needs

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Randy Yohe sits down with Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, and Broadband Consultant Charlie Dennie to broadband connectivity for West Virginians.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and other members of the upper chamber held a press conference to discuss the recent pause on new permits for liquefied natural gas exports. Briana Heaney has the story.

In the House, the House Committee on Energy and Manufacturing discussed a bill that would prevent publicly sourced air pollution data from being used in lawsuits and regulatory proceedings.

Also, in the House, a resolution regarding a constitutional amendment over a woman’s reproductive rights is under consideration.

In the Senate, the Senate Education Committee quickly moved along five bills, many of which updated existing educational programs. One bill would add another university to the list of eligible institutions for the Promise Scholarship. Chris Schulz has more.

And, the full Senate approved and sent one bill to the House. It would permit wineries to serve wine without serving food, and it would also permit wine to be served at festivals. The Senate advanced eight other bills. Two of these bills, if passed without amendments, will head to the governor’s desk. Briana Heaney has more.

Advocates from across the state gathered at the state capitol Thursday to bring attention to sexual violence. Emily Rice has the story.

Finally, in meeting the plan to have broadband connectivity for all of West Virginia within five years, there are progress and time markers that must be met to get all the $1.2 billion federal dollars to complete the work. Randy Yohe sits down with Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, and Broadband Consultant Charlie Dennie to talk about meeting those markers.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Senate Education Committee Adds Another University To Promise Scholarship

Senate Bill 529 would add Salem University to the list of eligible institutions where the Promise Scholarship may be used.

The Senate Education Committee quickly moved along five bills today, many of which updated existing educational programs. One bill would add another university to the list of eligible institutions for the Promise Scholarship.

The Promise Scholarship is a merit-based financial aid program for West Virginia high school graduates planning to attend one of the state’s public or independent two- or four-year institutions.

Senate Bill 529 would add Salem University to the list of eligible institutions where the scholarship may be used.

Currently, 17 of the state’s four-year institutions are eligible for students to use the scholarship.

Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, asked why Salem had not been included over the scholarship’s more than 20 years of existence.

Kristin Boggs, general counsel for the Higher Education Policy Commission, gave a simple answer.

“Salem University is a for-profit institution and at the time the Promise scholarship statute was passed, the included private institutions were private nonprofits,” she said.

The only private for-profit institutions currently eligible for the scholarship are West Virginia Junior College’s Bridgeport, Charleston and Morgantown locations.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, said he had previously sponsored a similar bill and that all qualifying students should be open to pursue their passions where they please.

“This summer we did our fact-finding visit to Salem, met with administration faculty, staff and students,” he said. “There are some exciting things going on that campus. There are a handful of West Virginia students who would meet the eligibility requirements to receive the Promise scholarship and we don’t want to stand in their way of allowing them to go to school there.”

The bill was recommended to the full Senate with a reference to the Senate Finance Committee. Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, said with zero fiscal impact, the finance committee chair will be asked to waive the second reference.

Other Business

The Senate Education Committee recommended four other bills to the full Senate with the recommendation that they do pass.

SB547 – Authorizing legislative rules for Higher Education Policy Commission
SB563 – Updating Center for Nursing to Office of Nursing Education and Workforce Development
SB507 – Relating to repeal of WV EDGE
SB546 – Updating STEM scholarship program

All four bills were voted forward without discussion.

Education Committees In Both Chambers Address Financial Issues

Now more than a week into the session, the Education committees of both chambers are addressing financial issues in the state’s schools.

The West Virginia Legislature is more than a week into the session and bills have started to move through their respective committees. The Education committees of both chambers are addressing financial issues in the state’s schools.

Many of these bills taken up and passed this week may seem familiar. That’s because most of them also passed both Education committees last year, only to founder in House and Senate Finance.

The House Education Committee took up issues of educator pay at their meeting Wednesday. House Bill 4202 would raise salaries for school service personnel by $670 per month.

House Bill 4767 raises the salaries of new teachers with no experience to $44,000. A similar bill, Senate Bill 204, passed out of the Senate Education Committee last year but did not make it out of Finance.

House Education Committee Chair Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, said the two bills would make positions in West Virginia more competitive with neighboring states.

“Of note, that also brings up to the 50th percentile of our surrounding states,” he said.

Gov. Jim Justice already announced plans to raise the pay of all state employees, including teachers and school staff, by 5 percent this year. Legislative leaders have indicated their support of the raise, but union leaders and other advocates say the raise isn’t enough to address rising PEIA premiums, let alone bigger issues of teacher retention.

Related to the teacher shortage, a bill that attempts to define and limit the role of school counselors drew much discussion. House Bill 4769 aims to narrowly define the duties of school counselors, something Del. David Elliott Pritt, R-Fayette, said is necessary.

“I actually had a lunch meeting with a couple counselors that work in the county that I represent, and these counselors have over 300 unanswered counseling referrals because they’re being asked to fill in the role of teacher in positions that no long-term or short-term, day-to-day sub will take,” he said. “And it’s a problem. These are counseling referrals that could be potential suicide risk, abuse from a parent or guardian. They’re unanswered, because they’re being asked to fulfill other duties. This bill is incredibly important. I’m happy to support it. And I’m honestly very glad that we’re really addressing this, this year.“

Pritt works as a social studies teacher at Fayetteville PreK-8.

All five of the bills discussed were recommended to the House for passage.

On the Senate side, the Education Committee Thursday morning took up a bill regarding the Promise PLUS program, Senate Bill 259. First established in 2001, the Promise Scholarship is a merit-based academic award that pays in-state tuition and fees, or $5,000, whichever is less, at any eligible institution in West Virginia.

The Promise PLUS program would act as a supplement for individuals who meet more rigorous standards so that the total of both scholarships is equal to the actual cost of tuition.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, voiced his opposition to what he called the bill’s “held hostage” provision, which would require recipients of Promise PLUS funds to pay the state back if they left the state after graduation.

“I think the approach would better be to increase the amount of money that we give to all of the Promise scholarship recipients and continue to not have a “held hostage” provision over them and really live by that concept of, as a state, we should train and educate our next generation,” he said. “And if they leave, so be it, maybe they’ll come back. But if we don’t train and educate them, and they stay, we have a lot of problems.”

Senators also discussed bills to require age-appropriate education on the Holocaust (SB 448), as well as the development of an education program to teach safety while accessing technology (SB 466). All three bills were recommended to the Senate for passage.

Senate Moves Dozens of Bills As Session End Looms

With just two days left in the session, the Senate passed dozens of bills Thursday. Many of the bills related to issues of education that legislators have made a priority all session.

House Bill 2346 declares a shortage of qualified bus operators and allows retired bus operators to accept employment without losing their retirement benefits.

Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, said that an alarmingly large fiscal note that stymied a similar Senate bill from passing had been removed.

“One last important note Mr. President, I’d like to add is that originally, three sessions ago I saw a fiscal note of $999,999,999 and it is now at zero,” Grady said.

During discussion of the bill in committee, Grady – who is a teacher – said she has seen firsthand how the driver shortage is already interrupting students’ education.

The House of Delegates must now approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it becomes law.

House Bill 2890 modifies student discipline guidelines for schools. The bill was amended twice on the floor to limit the application of new discipline provisions to grades six through 12, and exclude their application to elementary schools.

The new provisions primarily relate to when a student can be excluded from a classroom for behavior that obstructs the teaching or learning process of others. The bill now returns to the House for its approval of the changes.

House Bill 3035, in its original form, was intended to establish the state’s Grow Your Own program to facilitate a career path for high school students to pursue a career in education. However, after extensive amending, the bill no longer contains provisions for Grow Your Own, and is instead the vehicle for several other priority programs.

“This amendment will replace the House of Delegates method of promoting grade level proficiency in English language, arts and mathematics by grade three, which is the Third Grade Success Act that was part of Senate Bill 274, which has already passed the Senate earlier this session,” Grady said. “It would also remove provisions relating to the Grow Your Own program,” Grady said. “The amendment also adds in a modified version of House Bill 3293, which imposes requirements on the state board and local education agencies for addressing learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dyscalculia.”

Senate Bill 274, which had already passed out of the Senate, was similarly and significantly amended by the House Education Committee earlier this week, necessitating the addition of the Third Grade Success Act to House Bill 3035 to ensure it a chance to pass.

The bill is also pending House approval of the Senate’s amendments.

The Senate completed legislative action on House Bill 3224 adds West Virginia Junior College to the list of eligible institutions that can accept PROMISE scholarship recipients.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said the change will help the state address its shortage of nurses.

“West Virginia junior college, they have three campuses around the state and one of the biggest programs that they have is their Registered Nurse program, training nurses at more than 10 locations around the state,” Weld said. “They’ve got an average of 400 students that they do, so I think that this legislation is going to help them build their student enrollment and will help West Virginians who want to become a nurse do so and help us with one of our bigger healthcare crisis that we have in the state.”

After a brief recess just after 1 p.m., the Senate returned to the floor and passed three other education bills.

House Bill 3369 completed legislative action and creates a School Safety Unit within the Division of Protective Services to conduct school safety inspections and make recommendations to county school personnel.

House Bill 3441, which completed legislative action, revises the training requirements for members of the Higher Education Policy Commission, while House Bill 3555 relates to student purchase and refunds of course material and awaits House approval.

Beyond Education

The Senate also passed out House Bill 2814, which would create a Hydrogen power task force to study Hydrogen energy in the state’s economy.

Sen. Randy E. Smith, R – Tucker, chair of the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee, said the task force will look at everything regarding the power source, including sources of potential hydrogen in the state, and recommendations to prepare the state workforce for jobs in the new industry.

“The study will include a review of regulations and legislation needed to guide development of hydrogen energy and an examination of how the state can take advantage of incentives created by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” he said.

The bill only needs its passage to be received by the House to complete legislative action.
Also passed out of the Senate was House Bill 3189, the PFAS Protection Act, which would identify and address sources of so-called “forever chemicals” to reduce toxic chemicals in drinking water supplies. The House must now approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it becomes law.