SB 67 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to public charter schools

SB 67 amends West Virginia law to update rules for public charter schools. It requires charter schools to charge only fees similar to noncharter public schools (not full tuition), shifts student tracking responsibility to the county school district when a student returns from a charter school, and allows non-certified teachers to proctor state assessments. The bill also permits charter school boards to remove members, lets schools amend applications anytime, and enables partnerships with learning pods/microschools - allowing colleges to establish virtual or campus-based microschools. These changes directly affect charter schools, county school districts, and educators managing student enrollment and staffing.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Last action Mar 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Committee Substitute for the Committee Substitute · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the legislative history and reporting dates for SB 67, shifting the committee from School Choice to Finance. It standardizes hyphenation in the text and removes two charter school eligibility requirements regarding tuition fees and enrollment exclusions. Most significantly, it introduces a phased funding schedule for charter schools that do not participate in state retirement or insurance plans, reducing their allocation from 99% to 50% starting July 1, 2026, before returning to 99% in 2027. It also clarifies the right of first refusal for charter schools to lease underutilized public buildings.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on public charter schools, but the funding applicability changes for schools opting out of state retirement and insurance plans.

TIMELINE

Updated the report date from February 13, 2026, to March 2, 2026, and changed the reporting committee from the Select Committee on School Choice to the Committee on Finance.

TECHNICAL

Added hyphens to 'non-charter' throughout the text for consistency.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the requirement that charter schools may only charge tuition or fees if they match those of non-charter public schools.

Removed the requirement that charter schools must have no enrollment exclusions that would not exist in non-charter public schools.

FISCAL

Established a temporary reduction in funding for charter schools not participating in state retirement/insurance plans, lowering their allocation to 50% effective July 1, 2026, before returning to 99% on July 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

Clarified that charter schools must offer a student orientation before any other instructional activity.

Updated the right of first refusal process for unused or underutilized public school buildings to include specific notification timelines and procedures.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026

How they voted

31–1

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 33

Mar 4, 2026

D Democratic2

1 Yea 1 Nay

50% Nay

R Republican31

30 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 5, 2026

Committee

To House Education

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Committee

To Education then Finance

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 320)

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Finance

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors