West Virginia Legislature Story Archives - Page 3 of 124

Student Discipline, Financial Literacy Discussed At State Board Of Education Meeting

For the past several years, educators have identified worsening classroom behavior and discipline as key issues in state school systems.

For the past several years, educators have identified worsening classroom behavior and discipline as key issues in state school systems. A recent Senate bill aimed to address discipline in elementary grades but failed to pass the House of Delegates during the recent regular legislative session.

Jim Brown, executive director of the West Virginia School Board Association, told the state Board of Education Tuesday the bill was focused on punishment and does not deal with typical discipline matters.

“Having served as an elementary principal and a school district superintendent, I can attest this punitive approach fails to address the underlying issues and provide these students with the supports they need to succeed,” he said.

Brown said elementary schools are ill-equipped to manage, let alone address, the mental health issues students are dealing with and that schools should “not attack the child, but attack the behavior.”

“Only a small percentage of school districts in our state have an established alternative learning environment for elementary age students,” he said. “We need to acknowledge the reality of mental health challenges faced by our school-aged children, and the varying degrees of crisis they experience. It is imperative that we conduct an honest review of the supports available across our state, from urban communities to the most rural settings. To have that effectively address this pressing issue.”

Brown finished his statement by calling for the establishment of a statewide task force that brings together educators, mental health professionals, community leaders, parents, and policymakers to develop a holistic strategy to tackle the mental health crisis in schools.

His sentiments were echoed by others addressing the board, including West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee, as well as West Virginia Professional Educators Executive Director David Gladkosky. They discussed the possibility the bill could be brought back up in a proposed special session this month or in May.

Financial Literacy

Several West Virginia Board of Education policies were placed on public comment during the April meeting, including Policy 2520.4, relating to West Virginia College and Career Readiness Standards for Social Studies. The proposed changes would separate personal finance, which is currently taught as part of required civics courses, out to its own standalone requirement and course

Board member Debra Sullivan questioned the wisdom of splitting the two subjects. Joey Wiseman, director of West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of Student Enrichment, said the intent of the personal finance was always to have it be a separate course, and doing so allows educators and students to better focus on each subject.

“Now those standards look the same as a personal finance [course] they’re teaching in CTE (career and technical education), it’s the same all the way across,” Wiseman said. “It’s a very rigorous set of standards.“

He also pointed out that personal finance will not become a required credit for another two years, giving teachers and schools time to fit the new course into schedules.

WVDE Regional School Safety Meetings

During last month’s board meeting, the West Virginia Department of Education announced a series of school safety conferences across the state this spring. Dates have now been scheduled for the 2024 Regional School Safety meetings. The meetings will bring together county and school administrators as well as school safety personnel to share administrative updates that are important during a crisis event. Topics include updates on how to submit plans and code student data. Dates and locations include:

May 7, Embassy Suites, Charleston
May 10, White Palace at Wheeling Park
May 13, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
May 16, West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (WVSDB)

WVU Students Gather For Solar Eclipse And Grandson Of Woody Williams Weighs In On Failed Legislation, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, across the country Monday, people took a moment out of their day to watch the solar eclipse. West Virginia was no exception, and at West Virginia University’s (WVU) Morgantown campus, a large crowd gathered to experience the celestial event. Chris Schulz has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, across the country Monday, people took a moment out of their day to watch the solar eclipse. West Virginia was no exception, and at West Virginia University’s (WVU) Morgantown campus, a large crowd gathered to experience the celestial event. Chris Schulz has the story.

Also, in this show, the state Senate unanimously approved a resolution in February to place a statue of Hershel “Woody” Williams in the U.S. Capitol. Williams, who died in 2022 at age 98, was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. The measure, though, did not get a vote in the House of Delegates before the regular session ended. Curtis Tate spoke with Chad Graham, Williams’ grandson, about what happens next.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Candidate Filing Law Sets New Limits On Nominee Appointments

Among the bills passed in the regular state legislative session dealing with voters and elections, and one that faced partisan scrutiny, eliminates a candidate’s filing deadline.

Signed by Gov. Jim Justice on March 27, the last day to do so, House Bill 4350 says if no one files as a party candidate for an elected office after the filing deadline, that vacancy may not be filled. Previously, the party executive committee had 17 days after that deadline to appoint a nominee. The change eliminates that practice except in certain circumstances, including no one filing to run for the position at all, death, disqualification or resignation of a candidate.

The bill sponsor, Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, said the change gives voters security in knowing who is running for office. And, he said it allows that someone hasn’t been tossed on the ballot just for political purposes.

“A function of a party is to recruit candidates, number one, and number two, to win elections,” Holstein said. “If we can’t find an individual for two years leading up to an election, and the three to four week filing period, to get them found, we have to scramble. At the end of that, to find somebody just to toss on, it’s usually not a very high quality person or a high quality candidate, it’s just someone that’s filling a ballot.”

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, and West Virginia Democratic Party chairman, said the legislation hurts voters and only benefits incumbents.

“The only thing that does is make less alternatives, less choices for voters,”Pushkin said. “Democracy works better when we have more choices for voters, when we have more people participating in their democracy. It doesn’t benefit anybody except people already serving in this building.”

West Virginia University Associate Professor of Political Science Scott Critchlow noted that many West Virginia election districts have small populations. He said each of the 100 House of Delegates districts have less than 20,000 people, and that can create a challenge for political parties to find candidates.

“What the practice has been so far is to allow for the people to register after the filing deadline, in case you didn’t get somebody in one of those very, very small, 100 districts,” Critchlow said. “This will stop that practice. And effectively, that’s going to mean that voters don’t have a choice when they go to the polls in November.”

Critchlow also said that House Bill 4350 was voted on by politicians, and noted that many of them could see it as in their own best interest to have fewer possible people run against them as they seek reelection.

“The filing deadline in West Virginia is in January,” Critchlow said. “So just take the last few months as an example. Somebody might know in January that they’re not going to face a person running against them in November. That means that for the entire legislative session from January to March, they can vote however they want to without having to worry about the voters.“

In response, Holstein said he rejects Critchlow’s entire premise, saying the legislation does not impact an incumbent and it preserves election integrity.

“What folks need to know is this preserves the situations where neither major party files a candidate,” Holstein said. “It still allows them to go out for that additional two weeks and seek somebody, so that’s still intact. All this does, it preserves death, it preserves withdrawal, it preserves eligibility, it preserves if no one has filed. All this does is say, if you have not filed during this entire period, and you’ve had two years from the last election cycle to prepare, you’re no longer eligible to be a candidate.”

House Bill 4350 takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

The Growing Need For Foster Families On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, in the latest installment of our occasional series “Now What? A Series On Parenting,” Chris Schulz speaks with Terri Lynn Durnal of the National Youth Advocate Program about the unique experience of fostering children – and the need for foster parents in the state.

On this West Virginia Morning, from grandfamilies to kin networks and everything in between, families come in all shapes and sizes in West Virginia, and there is a growing need for one particular type.

In the latest installment of our occasional series “Now What? A Series On Parenting,” Chris Schulz speaks with Terri Lynn Durnal of the National Youth Advocate Program about the unique experience of fostering children – and the need for foster parents in the state.

Also, in this show, in the final hours of the 2024 regular state legislative session, lawmakers passed a budget that cut funding for IDD waivers. Emily Rice has more.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Unemployment Benefits Now Capped, Even If Inflation Rises

Under a new law, West Virginia’s maximum unemployment benefit rate will no longer adjust as inflation rises. Also, unemployed residents must prove they’re seeking a job at least four times a week to receive benefits.

A controversial new law will soon limit how much money residents can receive through state unemployment benefits.

Beginning in July, residents can collect a maximum of $622 per week from West Virginia’s unemployment trust fund. That figure cannot be adjusted, even if inflation rates rise like they did in 2022.

Most residents already receive less than the new maximum. On average, the state provides benefit recipients $420 per week, the Associated Press previously reported.

But critics of the new law worry that capping benefit rates could exacerbate hardship in periods of economic downturn, especially among low-income and blue-collar residents.

On March 9 — the last day of the West Virginia Legislature’s 2024 regular session — Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, expressed as much on the House floor.

“We are hamstringing people who are at the worst time of their lives,” he said. “There’s going to be a mess on our hands in less than 10 years, once inflation takes its toll.”

Inflation rates are down nationally from their peak in 2022. But they still remain above levels before the surge, as well as the target set by the Federal Reserve.

Currently, the state updates its benefit rates annually based on labor data that takes broader economic circumstances into account, like the average weekly wage in West Virginia.

However, that process will be removed under the new law, which passed in the final hours of this year’s regular session.

During the session, proponents of the bill expressed concerns about overspending state unemployment funds. The final bill was pared down from initial, more sweeping drafts of legislation that would have cut benefits far more drastically.

Speaking in favor of an earlier bill also addressing unemployment benefit spending, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said the legislation would help preserve access to unemployment benefits in years to come.

“If we do not do something now to go in and fix this unemployment fund, what’s going to happen is unemployment services will become unavailable in the future,” he said in February. “That’s just a matter of math.”

Gov. Jim Justice declined to veto or sign off on the final bill, allowing it to become law automatically Thursday. As of Friday, he had not explained his decision publicly.

Opponents of the bill, however, were outspoken about their concerns throughout this year’s legislative session.

In February, Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said lawmakers backing the bill should have sought more input from labor unions and business owners, especially as layoffs and labor tensions mounted statewide.

Josh Sword, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, told West Virginia Public Broadcasting he agreed.

“The best way to get good policy is to bring all impacted parties to the table,” Sword said in February. “That absolutely did not happen.”

Republican lawmakers like Sen. Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, said they would use the final remaining weeks of the session to clue labor leaders into discussions. But, since its passage, Sword has maintained his disapproval of the law.

Beyond capping benefit rates, the new law also poses additional requirements for benefit recipients. Recipients now must prove they have taken steps to find a job on a weekly basis.

These requirements — and the new maximum rate — will take effect statewide on July 1, alongside the start of a new fiscal year for the state.

Justice Vetoes Bill To Ease Vaccine Requirements For Some Schools

On the final day of bill signing from the 2024 regular legislative session, Justice vetoed controversial House Bill 5105.

Gov. Jim Justice has vetoed a bill to ease vaccine requirements for many of the state’s school-age children.

On the final day of bill signing from the 2024 regular legislative session, Justice vetoed House Bill 5105.

The controversial bill would have changed West Virginia’s vaccination requirements by allowing virtual public school students to be exempt from vaccination policies and for private and parochial schools to institute their own policies either exempting students or not.

In a statement, Justice said he was persuaded by the state’s leading medical experts, who advised him to veto the bill.

“Since this legislation was passed, I have heard constant, strong opposition to this legislation from our state’s medical community,” Justice said. “The overwhelming majority that have voiced their opinion believe that this legislation will do irreparable harm by crippling childhood immunity to diseases such as mumps and measles.”

Justice added that spikes in measles in surrounding states with less stringent vaccine requirements guided his decision.

“West Virginia historically has seen very few instances of these diseases, specifically because the vaccination requirements in this state are so strong,” he said. “Importantly, the vaccines at issue have been required in this state for decades and have kept our communities safe.”

As the regular session wound down earlier this month, the House approved HB 5105 on a vote of 70 to 29 and in the Senate by 20 to 12.

As the law stands, all students in West Virginia have to receive vaccines for diseases like polio and measles, unless they are homeschooled or medically exempt.

Justice said parents from private and parochial schools voiced their opposition to the bill.

“We have heard from this community that they see this bill as purely divisive and, if signed into law, requiring consideration of adopting policies that will result in parents pulling their children from their schools,” he said.

Justice said while he understood those who saw the issue as one of freedom to make other health decisions, he could not ignore the “wisdom” of the medical community.

“I will defer to our licensed medical professionals who have come forward overwhelmingly to say this bill could and likely would result in reduced immunity and harm to West Virginia’s kids. Our kids are our future. They are our most important resource, and I will protect them with everything I have.”