Charleston Gazette-Mail - I was trying to find a word that sums up the 2021 legislative session, and after much consideration, it came to me: Despicable. Read the full article. Despicable, in that the Legislature committed acts of cruelty for no reason but the sheer pleasure they derived from doing so. They passed a despicable…
Education
Martinsburg Journal, Parkersburg News and Sentinel - West Virginia is now the seventh state in the nation to offer an education savings account program. Read the full article. Gov. Jim Justice has signed the Hope Scholarship bill. The Legislature received a letter Monday from Justice announcing the signing of several bills Saturday, including House Bill…
West Virginia MetroNews - Both houses of the Legislature have passed a bill that would divert dollars for students leaving public schools for private school or homeschooling. Read the full article. And the governor let go into law without his signature a bill clarifying that strikes against the state by public employees including educators are unlawful. The…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - I’ve been following the governor and Legislature’s 2021 mind-numbing attempts to force West Virginia’s laws and constitution to waste money, crush public education, poison our water and generally make life more difficult for those already suffering from poverty and systemic racism. Read the full letter to the editor. I couldn’t agree more…
West Virginia MetroNews - A bill allowing families to use public money for private education costs is on the edge of passing West Virginia’s Legislature. Read the full article. “I am very proud to support this bill,” said Senator Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, a pastor who is also administrator of the private school Victory Baptist Academy.…
The West Virginia legislative session began on Wednesday, February 10 and legislators have wasted no time rolling out their priority bills. Several bills with major fiscal impacts are being moved quickly, raising worries of whether lawmakers have had adequate time to thoroughly consider individual bills — much less to consider how the interaction of numerous…
Mountain State Spotlight - This week, state lawmakers return to the Capitol for the first legislative session since the beginning of a pandemic that has so far claimed the lives of 2,150 West Virginians. Read the full article. The Republican majority’s priorities include tax cuts that would favor richer West Virginians and charter schools. Less clear:…
This piece was co-authored by WVCBP executive director, Kelly Allen, and WVCBP senior policy analyst, Sean O'Leary. State-funded vouchers use existing state funds intended for public schools and instead redirect them for use in non-public, private education programs. Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are a form of these state-funded vouchers. The primary difference between ESAs and…
Statewide enrollment in West Virginia's public schools fell by 9,300 students this past year, as states across the country are seeing declining school enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Declining enrollment could mean budget cuts for school districts, even as schools struggle with the extra costs of improving remote learning offerings and adopting safety procedures…
WV Schools May Need Help to Reopen, but Justice Hasn’t Used Any of $1.25B in Federal Dollars on Them
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - On July 20, Gov. Jim Justice rejected calls to use some of the state’s $1.25 billion in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to help schools reopen safely and provide internet and computer access to families who may want their children to return to school remotely. Read full article. “Everybody wants to start running…