The House of Delegates passed a bill giving the legislature policy and rule-making authority over West Virginia’s public schools.
Currently, the state Board of Education consists of nine members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor. If there is no existing legislation governing a rule or policy for public schools, the state board can step in and create those rules and policies with the assistance of the state Department of Education.
In 2022, a constitutional amendment giving the legislature ultimate rule-making power over schools, similar to this bill, was on the ballot. Voters rejected the amendment.
Del. Mike Puskin, D-Kanawha, opposed the bill. He claimed that it would be contrary to popular opinion.
“The clear will of the voters in ’22 rejected this question and we say, ‘we don’t care what you think we’re going to, we’re going to pass it’,” according to Pushkin.
The bill’s lead sponsor is Del. Michael Hornby, R-Berkeley. He claimed that the ballot was skewed by the politics of the time.
“It was on the ballot, but there were political things happening with our previous governor that affected the passage of this bill,” Hornby informed the crowd. “My county overwhelmingly understood and voted for it.”
According to Pushkin, the law also violates previous state Supreme Court precedent. Hornby agreed, but stated that if this law is appealed to a higher court, that precedent may be reevaluated.
“I think the Supreme Court has gotten decisions wrong before, so I’d like to revisit this,” he said.
The bill passed 84 to 12. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
