Senate Education Committee Story Archives - Page 5 of 5

In First Week, Legislature Considers Bills Related To Charter Schools, Education Savings Accounts And More

Members of the West Virginia Legislature kicked off the first week of the 2021 session introducing a flurry of education bills — 83 total.

As of Saturday, 64 bills have been introduced dedicated to K-12 education, 16 bills related to higher education, and three bills aimed at education generally.

W.Va. Jumpstart Savings Program

The Jumpstart Savings Program, HB 2001, is an initiative coined by newly elected West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore. This program was one of his top three campaign promises. The bill, whose lead sponsor is House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, would create a tax-free savings plan for individuals working in trades such as welding or electrical work. Investments in these savings accounts could be used to pay for tools, equipment, certifications, apprenticeships, expenses or supplies needed for a trade or occupation, or to open an approved business.

“We would be the first state in the country,” Moore told the House Education Committee last week. “We feel very strongly that this would be a real model, in terms of how state government could help incentivize labor and small business growth, and really the working individuals of not only our state, but our country. So, it’s actually a really exciting opportunity.”

West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore answers questions pertaining to the West Virginia Jumpstart Saving Program during a meeting of the House Education Committee on Feb. 11, 2021.

Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, minority chair of House Education, offered an amendment that was approved by the committee. The amendment lowers the initial deposit requirement to start a Jumpstart account from $50 to $25.

“I just want to make sure that we’re affording more people the opportunity to start something like this — saving and investing,” Hornbuckle said. “They are hard principles to come by, especially for some of our population. A lot of it is actually just habit-building, so I don’t want to block anyone out. And I think that by lowering it to $25 from $50, it would encourage more people to get started.”

Hornbuckle also offered an amendment to expand the savings account to aid in transportation and childcare needs, but this amendment failed.

Minority Chair of House Education Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, asks questions during a House Education Committee meeting on Feb. 11, 2021.

The bill passed unanimously out of committee and was reported to the full House. It could be up for a vote by the full chamber as early as Tuesday.

Charter School Expansion

Another bill passed by the same committee was HB 2012, which expands on the current public charter school law in West Virginia.

The expansion would allow for up to 10 charters to be established in the state over a three-year period, and it would permit the state to also establish virtual charter schools. It would also approve the creation of a dispute option for charters. If an authorizer (which in West Virginia means a county school board) finds that a charter school is not living up to its contract, it wouldn’t be shut down immediately but given time to address those issues. If concerns continued after a five-year period, the county board could opt not to renew the school’s charter contract.

The bill also creates some checks and balances. An audit must be performed by the legislative auditor on the Public Charter School Program two years after the first public charter school is established. Those findings must then be reported to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability, or LOCEA, which is a bi-partisan joint committee made up of House and Senate members. Additionally, the state school board must report on the status of the state’s public charter schools to LOCEA by Nov. 1, 2022 and every three years after that.

Virtual public charter schools would be held to the same requirements, but the governing body of the virtual charter must undergo at least one training per year “related to appropriate oversight of the virtual public charter school,” according to the bill. Families would not be eligible for the virtual charter school option, however, if they cannot afford internet or adequate devices.

In committee, there was some back-and-forth between three Democratic lawmakers and the committee’s counsel, but no amendments were adopted, nor was there any discussion on the bill itself.

Del. Ed Evans, D-McDowell, a retired science teacher, voiced concerns about ensuring charter schools would be held accountable and have oversight.

“I just want to make sure that we are monitoring, you know, progress,” Evans said. “If a local school system is failing, the state board steps in and does some adjustments, and if things continue to be bad, that they’re going to take that system over.”

The subject of public charter schools in West Virginia has long been debated at the statehouse. Teacher unions do not like the idea of public charter schools, because they are concerned charters will take funding away from traditional public schools. They argue that more funding and aid should be dedicated to and focused on traditional public schools to help them improve and grow.

Supporters of charters, however, argue that the traditional public model has failed West Virginia, and parents want more options for their children.

Last fall, there was an attempt to establish what would have been West Virginia’s first public charter school that would have served both Monongalia and Preston counties. The attempt failed, however, after both county school boards rejected the application.

HB 2012 will be on the amendment stage in the House of Delegates on Monday and could be passed out of the chamber as early as Tuesday this week.

Encouraging Teachers To Get Master’s Degrees

The third education bill that was considered in committee last week and is already on the floor in its respective chamber is SB 15, which relates to in-field master’s degrees.

The bill will be on first reading Monday in the Senate.

The bill prohibits teachers from receiving a pay increase “for any education level above A.B. plus 15” unless they have received a master’s degree that directly connects to their field. This would not affect teachers who are currently teaching and have already received a master’s degree, regardless of field.

The intent is to encourage teachers to pursue master’s degrees in the subjects they teach to help strengthen their effectiveness — and receive a salary boost for doing so.

Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, who is a school teacher, spoke in support of the bill.

“This seems to me as an incentive to keep quality teachers teaching in the classroom,” Grady said. “Because a lot of times what [teachers] do is they’ll get their administrative degree, and then they’ll move into administration to get that step increase … [but] they get the step increase based on getting a master’s or further certification in a field that makes them be a more effective teacher. I think it’s a good incentive.”

Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, asks questions during a Senate Education Committee meeting on Feb. 13, 2021. Grady is a school teacher whose seat in the Senate was formerly held by Senate President Mitch Carmichael.

SB 13 passed without amendment or opposing votes and will be on first reading in the Senate chamber on Monday.

Hope Scholarship Program

HB 2013 would create the Hope Scholarship Program, which allows for the establishment of education savings accounts, or ESAs. It passed out of the House Education Committee last week and then out of the House Finance Committee on Saturday.

The issue of education savings accounts has been a source of contention in recent years in West Virginia.

The Hope Scholarship Program would allow eligible families to have access to public dollars to help support them in school. The education savings accounts could be used by students attending private schools, private religious schools or being homeschooled.

The money could be used in multiple ways: as 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.

Del. John Doyle, D-Jefferson, expressed concern in committee and voted to reject the bill.

“I think it lacks accountability in terms of how this public money is going to be spent,” Doyle said. “I know that a significant attempt has been made in writing to be able to come up with that accountability, but I don’t think we’ve got there … I think it doesn’t take into account sufficiently for low-income people or for rural people. And I think it discriminates geographically, among other ways, because almost all the private schools in the state are only in a few counties, and I think the provisions regarding discrimination are just way too loose.”

But Jefferson County Republican Wayne Clark spoke in favor of the bill, saying it would help students succeed.

“This is not a private school bill, this is homeschool,” Clark said. “This is additional tutoring services for kids who may be dysfunctional. I think this is a great thing for the state of West Virginia. It gives every kid in the state an option, whether it’s from homeschool, whether it’s private school, whether it’s virtual school — it gives every kid in the state of West Virginia an option to better their education.”

The bill is expected to be on first reading sometime this week.

W.Va. Senate Education Survey Seeks Input From K-12 Teachers; Vaccine Distribution For Educators Continues Across State

A new online survey for K-12 teachers is seeking input from them on ways to improve the state’s education system.

The survey was created by the West Virginia Senate Education Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Republican from Jefferson County.

The survey went live this week and can be found on the lower right corner on the home page of the West Virginia Legislature’s website.

The intent of the survey is to collect input from K-12 teachers for ideas or suggestions on ways to improve the state’s overall education system.

According to the West Virginia Senate’s Communications Director Jacque Bland, the survey has not been sent directly to any schools, but the committee plans “to send an invitation … to all teachers” to take the survey.

“Naturally, people organically sharing the link is a huge help in getting as many responses as possible, too,” Bland said.

It’s not yet been discussed how long the survey will remain live, but Bland said it’s likely to be available at least through the end of the upcoming state legislative session that convenes on Feb. 10.

State lawmakers have said responding to the pandemic would be a priority this session.

It has been a particularly challenging year for K-12 teachers as they have navigated teaching during the coronavirus pandemic — from in-person, to hybrid, to blended, to virtual, to remote-style learning. There has been push and pull between state education officials and local education officials about the best teaching modalities.

There have been attempts by the state’s two largest teacher unions to keep teachers remote until all teachers could receive both doses of a coronavirus vaccine — an effort that ultimately failed this week.

Gov. Jim Justice and Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch have said that in the fall 2020 semester, one-third of students received failing grades in at least one core subject. Both argue virtual and remote learning models are not conducive to effective learning.

As of this week, all 55 county school systems have returned to some form of in-person learning following some initial push back by seven counties.

State and federal health leaders say children from kindergarten to 8th grade do not transmit or become infected with COVID-19 at the rate adults do when key mitigation strategies are followed, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.

“Doing all the right mitigation measures, including testing, contact tracing, quarantining and cleaning, the rate of spread is very, very low in the classroom,” said West Virginia’s coronavirus Czar Clay Marsh in Friday’s virtual press briefing with the governor. “In fact, the classroom setting is much lower than the transmission rates in the community.”

K-12 teachers and staff, 50 and older, began receiving the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Jan. 4. Justice said on Friday that by 5 p.m. on Jan. 29, all teachers age 50 and above who requested the vaccine in the first round will have received it.

“And let me be perfectly clear,” Justice said. “All school employees who are scheduled for a second dose will absolutely get their second dose and will receive them at school where they received their first dose … If you have gotten your first shot, you will get your second shot in the same place, right on time.”

Second doses for teachers are on schedule for the next couple of weeks, according to the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE).

Justice has also encouraged teachers and school personnel who have not received the vaccine yet to sign up for it through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resource’s website. All West Virginians, regardless of age or profession, are encouraged to sign up.

More than 38,000 public school teachers and service personnel have been sent surveys to gauge interest in receiving a coronavirus vaccine, according to the WVDE. This number also includes staff from the WVDE, the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind and the West Virginia Schools for Diversion and Transition.

Of that figure, the WVDE said 30,086 have responded so far. About 67 percent of survey respondents indicated an interest in being vaccinated.

“Many, however, changed their answer after consulting with their doctor and subsequently were added to the vaccination lists,” said Christy Day, director of communications for the WVDE.

To date, the number of vaccines already or soon to be administered to teachers and school staff totals 21,440, according to the WVDE.

Senate Education Committee Paves the Way for Free Community College Programs

Updated: January 24, 2018 at 11:05 a.m.

The Senate Education Committee passed a bill that would make community and technical college free for some West Virginians.

Senate Bill 284 creates Advances Career Education, or ACE, programs that aim to fulfill workforce needs by connecting secondary schools with community and technical colleges.

The bill also creates the West Virginia Invests Grant Program, which would cover tuition costs for students after other financial aid has been applied.

The grant program will cost about $7 million, according to a fiscal note affixed to the bill from the Community & Technical College Education System. That fiscal note takes into consideration the age eligibility requirement of 20, which was in the introduced version of the bill.

According to another fiscal note from the West Virginia Department of Education, the ACE program will come at no cost to that department.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Mike Romano of Harrison County changed the age eligibility requirement for the grant from 20 to 18 and also includes anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent certification.

“My biggest problem with this bill — maybe it’s a fiscal one, maybe that’s why they did it: why would you make kids wait to 20 years old to take advantage of it?” Romano asked the committee’s counsel.

The committee’s substitute of the bill also includes home school and non-public school students in addition to public school students.

The bill now heads to the Senate Finance Committee.

W.Va. Senate Advancing Education Standard Review

State Senators have made changes to a bill that, as approved by the House, would repeal the state’s Common Core education standards and aligned standardized tests.

Senators on the Education Committee accepted amendments to the bill during an evening meeting Monday.

As approved by the committee, the bill still requires a repeal of Common Core based education standards, but those standards were repealed by the state Board of Education in December and replaced with the West Virginia College and Career Ready Standards.

The bill requires the Senate President and House Speaker appoint a commission to review the current standards and suggest changes to the state board. That commission would be made up of content experts in the fields of English, math, and science and would be overseen by the chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission.

Senators also included an amendment that would keep the current science standards in place, allowing them to take effect in July of this year, but would make those standards subject to the review of the commission.

It also removes the provision that would allow students to opt out or refuse to take a standardized test.

The bill will be reported to the full Senate today and could be up for a vote by Friday.

W.Va. Senate Clears Bill to Create Charter Schools

Members of the Senate approved a bill Monday evening that allows for the creation or conversion of a public school to a public charter school in West Virginia.

A public charter school is a school that uses government funding, but is not overseen by the county Board of Education, giving the school’s administrators and teachers more flexibility in how they deliver education. The schools, however, are subject to state education standards.

The Senate Education Committee worked the bill for weeks, hearing from stakeholders every step along the way, but the bill stalled in the chamber over the weekend as Senators negotiated some final details, which ultimately were not agreed to by Democratic members of the body.

The bill was approved 18-16 on a straight party line vote.

Former Senate Education Chair Bob Plymale was in on those negotiations and offered amendments to the majority, some of which were incorporated into the bill Monday on the floor, but Plymale told members he wasn’t satisfied with the final bill, particularly when it comes to the oversight of school and student performance at the charters.

Education performance is currently overseen by the Office of Education Performance Audits, or OEPA. in the state Department of Education.

“Even though it gives some verbiage in this related to OEPA, it does not explicitly say that it will be looked at on student performance, assessments and school performance. That’s really what you want to be looking at on this,” Plymale said.

Sen. Bob Beach was more concerned with the financial audits of the schools. The bill does require an annual audit by an independent organization, but Beach said the language in the bill is the same adopted in many other states across the country who created public charter schools. Many of those states also had to revisit the language after embezzlement scandals, he said.

Republicans stood to back the bill many said gives students in West Virginia another option, another chance to succeed, including Education Chair Dave Sypolt in an emotional address to the body.

“I’ve said over the years, I remember on the campaign trial many times and education is always a big issue, one of my tag lines in front of a whole lot of people, I’m really not an education guy. I’ve said it many times. Mr. President, when the chairmanship of Senate Education was offered and I accepted I promised you I’d do one thing. I promised you I’d do the best job I could and I only hope that I haven’t let you and the state of West Virginia down. I believe in my heart that passing this legislation is an opportunity that has until now been unavailable to our parents and our students.” -Sen. Dave Sypolt,R., Preston County

The bill now heads to the House of Delegates for its consideration. The last day of the legislative session is March 14.

Senate Begins Debate Over Common Core Repeal

Members of the West Virginia Senate began discussing a bill Monday that, if approved, would repeal Common Core standards in West Virginia. The legislation passed the state House of Delegates Saturday.

House Bill 2934 calls on the West Virginia Department of Education to repeal the Common Core standards adopted in 2010 for math and language arts. It then requires the board, along with the state Department of Education, to draft new standards.

Members of the Senate Education Committee heard testimony from stakeholders, including parents and a fifth grade student from Kenova Elementary School. Republican sponsors of the bill, Delegates Jim Butler and Michael Moffatt also spoke to the committee calling for the repeal of the national standards.

Butler told the committee no West Virginia teachers were involved in writing the standards, which newly appointed state Board of Education member Beverly Kingery disagreed with.

Kingery is the former superintendent of Nicholas County schools and told Senators she sent teachers from her county to participate in workgroups that adapted the national standards to set that are West Virginia specific, known as the Next Generation Content Standards. Those standards are in place in West Virginia Schools today.

Speaking against the bill, American Federation of Teachers West Virginia President Christine Campbell said lawmakers should be more focused on making sure teachers across the state have the professional development they need to teach the more rigorous standards rather than repealing something teachers across the state tell her are working.

“We’re really moving in the right direction and we have to have the time to do this,” Campbell said, “and if we go back we’re going to be starting from scratch and set the state back at least five to seven years.”

State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano joined the department in September and told the committee he hears the legislature’s concerns over the standards, but asked for more time to dig in and analyze what the state has before them.

“I am doing a very intensive review of our education model. I’ve come with expectations from our citizens, from our elected officials to do certain things to improve our educational system I need the opportunity to dig in deep to our education standards and understand where those concerns are,” he told the committee.

The Department of Education predicts the repeal will cost the state $113 million to craft new standards.

The bill was placed in an education subcommittee for further discussion. Chaired by Sen. Boley, the committee also includes Sen. Robert Karnes and Sen. Bill Laird and will hold their first meeting Tuesday morning at 8:30.