Education

West Virginia Public Broadcasting - National academic assessments have shown the pandemic students across the nation lost ground in both reading and math. One study is pinpointing the investments needed to be made in education to ensure future success. Read the full article. The Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicates West Virginia…

Public News Service - Math and reading proficiency among West Virginia kids has worsened over the past five years, according to new data. Read the full article. The latest Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed in 2022, 85% of the state's eighth graders were behind in math and 78% of fourth graders…

Dominion Post, Aol - The 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book is out, and while West Virginia is steadily climbing rungs in its general showing from last year, the state still remains in the lower tier of the nation related to children’s health. Read the full article. West Virginia’s composite rating was 35th in the country –…

West Virginia Watch, News from the States - West Virginia public schools need money, that’s no secret. Read the full article. Many schools are struggling to figure out what they’re going to do when they lose the temporary federal pandemic funding, which ends in September. For the 2024-2025 school year, there will be $392 million…

West Virginia Watch, News from the States - West Virginia lawmakers will give an additional $27 million to the Hope Scholarship, the state’s education savings account program, from unused state dollars.  Read the full article. It is one of the nation’s broadest education saving account programs, giving roughly $4,400 per student in taxpayer money to families to…

Nearly 250,000 West Virginia children receive their education in the public school system. High-quality public education helps make the American dream possible—at its best, ensuring a strong educational foundation for all children across race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, religion, and socioeconomic background. In addition to public schools educating the vast majority of children in our…

One in four children in West Virginia lived in poverty in 2022, the second highest rate of any state in the country. With the state pursuing education reform focused on funneling taxpayer funding out of public schools and into the private sector via the Hope Scholarship, West Virginia's voucher program which is growing more expensive…

Associated Press, Cumberland Times-News - West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s administration has been characterized by flat budgets and record surpluses that helped cut the state’s income tax last year. Read the full article. Now, the state could face collateral damage: a possible $465 million clawback of pandemic aid by the U.S. Department of Education. It has…

West Virginia MetroNews, Dominion Post - West Virginia has a $465 million question with the federal government based not on any allegations of misspending — but instead over whether school systems fell short on an obligation to maintain financial support for education at levels in line with overall spending. Read the full article. A revelation…

Daily Kos - West Virginia’s almost entirely Republican state Senate passed a bill in late January that would require schools in the state to display “In God We Trust'' signs—in every single classroom. When the state’s House Education Committee took up the bill, it was initially amended to require signage in a single prominent area of each…