HB 2879 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Relating to the creation of the West Virginia Math & Science Teacher Scholarship Act

HB 2879 creates the West Virginia Math, Science and Special Education Teacher Scholarship Act, providing debt relief to qualifying educators. It offers up to $2,000 in debt relief after three years of teaching in West Virginia public schools and an additional $2,000 after six years, totaling a maximum of $4,000 per teacher. To qualify, teachers must hold a master's degree in math, science, or special education, be West Virginia residents for at least one year, and work full-time in eligible public school positions. The program, funded through state budget appropriations, runs from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2036.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 24, 2025 Last action Mar 20, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand eligibility from mathematics and science teachers to include special education teachers, updated the program title to reflect this change, and refined the funding structure to clarify that the maximum debt relief per teacher is capped at $4,000. These changes broaden the program's reach to support more educators while maintaining the same financial incentives.

Scope change

The program now includes special education teachers in addition to mathematics and science teachers, expanding the eligible population of educators who can receive scholarship benefits.

SCOPE

Added special education teachers to the list of eligible specializations alongside mathematics and science.

TITLE

Updated the program name from 'Math & Science Teacher Scholarship Act' to 'Math, Science and Special Education Teacher Scholarship Act'.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that specializations must be in mathematics, science, or special education to qualify for the scholarship.

FISCAL

Explicitly stated that total debt relief per teacher cannot exceed $4,000, regardless of whether they take the three-year or six-year option.

REQUIREMENT

Updated eligibility requirements to specify that positions must qualify under State Board of Education rules and policies rather than just Department of Education standards.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 20, 2025

Committee

To House Finance

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

By substitute, do pass, but first to Finance

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Committee

To House Education

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Committee

To House Higher Education

lower

Feb 24, 2025

Committee

To House Education

lower

Feb 24, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Feb 24, 2025

Committee

To Education then Finance

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors