SB 802 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to school preparation days

SB 802 requires West Virginia public schools to schedule two "Leave Teachers Alone" days before the school year begins, which teachers can use for activities that improve instruction. The bill prohibits county boards from requiring teachers to use school preparation days (for opening and closing) for any purpose other than those specific tasks. These changes directly affect public school teachers and county boards of education across West Virginia. The bill amends the state's school calendar law to give teachers more autonomy over professional development time without administrative mandates.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 6, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026
Floor votes · Senate Feb 18, 2026

How they voted

300
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 33
Feb 18, 2026
D Democratic2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican31
28 Yea 3
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
To House Education
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
To Education
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 127)
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported do pass
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Committee
To Education
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors