SB 232 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Establishing WV Secondary School Athletic Trainer and Career Technical Education Program Act

SB 232 establishes a five-year program to place licensed athletic trainers in all West Virginia public secondary schools by 2032, requiring each school to have a trainer on staff or contracted through the county board. It expands existing career and technical education (CTE) sports medicine programs to ensure all high school students have access to accredited training aligned with higher education requirements. The bill mandates annual state funding for trainer recruitment and retention, including using the Underwood-Smith Loan Repayment Program to incentivize trainers who also teach. This directly affects public high schools, student-athletes (through enhanced safety resources), and CTE program participants.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Feb 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from an 'Introduced Version' to a 'Committee Substitute' that significantly broadened its scope from private and public schools to only public secondary schools, added specific requirements for athletic trainers to also serve as teachers, and shifted the implementation timeline by one year. The changes also altered the administrative partners involved in the program and expanded the definition of CTE programs to include transportation and multi-school instruction methods.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed to apply only to public secondary schools (previously included all secondary schools) and the definition of eligible athletic trainers was modified to require them to work in a dual capacity as both a teacher and an athletic trainer.

SCOPE

The bill now applies only to public secondary schools, removing references to private schools and general 'all secondary schools' language.

ELIGIBILITY

To qualify for financial incentives, athletic trainers must now work in a dual capacity as both a teacher and an athletic trainer.

TIMELINE

The program start date was delayed from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027, and the full implementation deadline was pushed back from July 1, 2031, to July 1, 2032.

REQUIREMENT

The program now allows for athletic trainers to be contracted through the county board rather than just being on staff, and CTE programs can be delivered via student transportation or instructors traveling to multiple schools.

DEFINITION

The bill was renumbered from Article 30 to Article 18, and the title was updated to 'West Virginia Public Secondary School Athletic Trainer and Career Technical Education Program Act'.

ENFORCEMENT

The Board of Education's collaboration partner changed from the Department of Health Facilities to the Board of Physical Therapy.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

To Finance

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

To Education

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

To Education then Finance

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors