This bill would allow public schools and charter schools in West Virginia to refuse enrollment to students who are unlawfully present in the United States, provided the student or their parent has exhausted all available legal appeals. The legislation requires schools to verify a student's immigration status through documentation before enrollment, accepting only U.S. citizenship, citizenship applications, or legal visa status as valid proof. By adding a new section to state law, the bill creates an eligibility standard for public school enrollment that differs from current federal precedent, permitting schools to deny access to students with final removal orders without charging tuition.
This bill establishes the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board and sets specific qualifications for its appointed voting members. It requires board members to be state citizens with experience in public or nonprofit governance, school leadership, or education law, while also mandating geographic diversity and limiting political party representation to no more than three members. The legislation also creates conflict-of-interest rules that prevent appointments for individuals currently employed by charter schools or companies serving them, and it defines the board's duties including authorizing charter schools, investigating complaints, and conducting audits.
This bill, titled the Future-Ready Education Act, aims to modernize educational programs and technologies in West Virginia to better prepare students for future workforce needs. It allows local school districts to enter multi-year contracts for educational materials that include technology licensing, provided these contracts offer significant fiscal savings and include a cancellation clause. The legislation extends the Mountain State Digital Literacy Project to include grades 9-12 and adds support for reading, mathematics, science, and career-technical education. Additionally, it authorizes the state to retain $7.1 million from the 2026-2027 school year budget to fund high-quality professional training in the science of reading for kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers, with voluntary participation allowed for public charter school educators.
HB 5124 amends West Virginia law to establish requirements for nonpublic schools and education service providers (like tutoring centers) seeking to accept funds from the Hope Scholarship Program. It requires these providers to submit participation notices, provide expense receipts to parents, avoid refunding scholarship funds improperly, pass background checks for staff, and for schools, submit annual accreditation proof and enrollment data. The bill explicitly states providers cannot be forced to change their admission policies, curriculum, or hiring practices to accept scholarship students. This directly affects nonpublic schools and educational service organizations that wish to participate in the program by receiving scholarship funds for eligible students.
SB 1051 creates a Charter School Revolving Loan Fund to provide low-interest loans specifically for public charter school facility projects (like building or renovating school buildings) in West Virginia. The fund is administered by the Professional Charter School Board, with loan repayments recycled back into the fund to support future projects. The bill requires the Board to establish rules for the fund's operation and mandates that initial loans be distributed during the 2027 fiscal year, pending state appropriations. This directly affects public charter schools seeking facility funding and the Professional Charter School Board as the fund administrator.
HB 5089 requires West Virginia public schools to accept transcripts from all types of schools (including homeschools, charter schools, private schools, and Hope Scholarship programs) when students enroll or re-enroll. It mandates that public schools record the class, grade, and source (e.g., "homeschool" or "charter school") directly on the student's public school transcript. Schools must also submit annual demographic reports to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability (LOCEA) detailing re-enrolling students' backgrounds and prior educational settings. This bill directly affects students transferring between different school types and public schools receiving those students.
HB 5194 prohibits the use of calculators and math computational devices (like graphing calculators or digital math tools) in all K-8 public and charter school classrooms across West Virginia. The bill directly affects students in kindergarten through eighth grade and their teachers, requiring classrooms to operate without these devices for math instruction. Key provisions explicitly ban such devices in all public school settings, removing their use from math lessons for this age group. The law aims to ensure students develop foundational math skills without technological assistance during early education.
SB 1017 establishes two financing programs under the West Virginia Economic Development Authority to support public charter schools. The Charter School Direct Loan Program provides loans for charter school startup, operations, facility acquisition, or improvements, while the Charter School Credit Enhancement Program helps schools secure better loan terms by reducing lender risk. Qualifying charter schools - those meeting authority-set standards and designated by the Economic Development Authority - can access these programs, with priority given to rural school development. The bill creates specific mechanisms for loan administration, debt service reserves, and project definitions (including facilities and capital equipment) without altering existing charter school governance.
HB 5453 modifies West Virginia's school funding formula, shifting to a block grant of $6,100 per student for county school districts starting in 2029-2030 (with a minimum 1,200-student threshold per county), while public charter schools receive $8,600 per student. It creates a "Supplemental School Aid Fund" to provide additional per-pupil funding for Tier II ($3,050) and Tier III special needs students beginning in 2029-2030. School districts may also request supplemental funding for specific needs like transportation, vocational centers, or pilot programs through this fund. The bill requires annual oversight reports by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and defines "maladministration" as financial mismanagement that could trigger funding restrictions.
HB 5362 would amend West Virginia's Hope Scholarship Program by establishing income limits for eligibility, requiring scholarship recipients to use public school testing resources, and restricting scholarship use to in-state schools. The bill would require the Board of Education to create rules for reimbursing counties when public schools provide services to scholarship students. It directly affects families applying for Hope Scholarships for their children attending public or private schools in West Virginia. The bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process, having been introduced on February 9, 2026, and referred to the House Education committee.
