West Virginia Legislative Update (Final)

Mike Wilson, WVCEA Legislative Liaison

In summary, the House of Delegates is currently comprised of 89 Republicans, 11 Democrats. The Senate remains 31 Republicans, 3 Democrats. I track bills that might directly or indirectly involve our schools as well as some bills that deal with Christian education and family issues. Additionally, I visit specific Legislators and attend committee meetings as needed. Occasionally, we will issue a call to action to contact members of the legislature and/or leadership to assist with particular bills.

A couple of points to notice: This session, the House of Delegates proposed 1,688 bills (HB) and the State Senate 877 bills (SB). Except for a few special circumstances, the last day to introduce a bill in the House was 2/14/24. The last day to introduce a bill in the Senate was 2/20/24.  2/28/14 was cross-over day after which, except for a few cases of budget or appropriations bills, legislation can no longer move between houses. In effect, bills are dead after cross-over day if they have not gone through 3rd reading by either House. If legislation is not concluded by midnight on the 60th day of the session, the bill dies. It has to be reintroduced in the 2025 session and the process starts over. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please contact me by cell at (770) 827-6033 or personal email at: [email protected].

Christian Education bills:

HB 4299 (Smith) – Authorizing elementary and secondary teachers to carry concealed firearms and be designated as a school protection officer. Passed House, 89-11, 2/21/24, Communicated to the Senate, referred to Senate Judiciary, then Senate Finance Committee. *This was a bill that I knew several of our school personnel would be interested in. As such, I notified the Judiciary chair of our interest; however, this bill died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB 4654 (Steele) - The purpose of this bill is to remove schools, museums, and public libraries from the exemption which protects these types of entities from prosecution for distribution and display to minor of an obscene matter. Passed the House, 85-12, on 2/16/24, communicated to the Senate, referred to Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB 4851 (Statler) – The purpose of this bill is to authorize local school boards, public charter schools, and private or religious schools to employ school security officers. Passed the House 89-0, 2/8/24. Passed the Senate 33-0, 3/7/24 with amendments. House refused to concur on amendments, Senate refused to recede amendments. Conference committee was chosen, session expired before conference committee action.

HB 4945 (Espinosa) -The purpose of this bill is to make several specific changes in the Hope Scholarship Program; including that the annual Hope Scholarship Program appropriation calculation will be based on the estimated number of participating students instead of the number of participating students in the prior year; and clarifying that providers may not assess increased or additional fees against Hope Scholarship students based on participation in the program. *Hornbuckle (D-Cabell) attempted to place a 2nd reading amendment on the bill (2/27/24) limiting funds to be spent in WV. The Hornbuckle amendment failed overwhelmingly. Bill passed the House 76-21 (2/28/24). Senate approved bill with amendments, 32-1, 3/8/24. House concurred with amendments 80-17, 3/9/24. Bill will now go to the Governor for signature. *We will get more information out to our schools on this bill once it becomes available.

HB 5105 (Kimble) – This bill was originally to allow vaccine exemptions for public virtual schools, but was amended to include religious exemptions for private school students, except for those participating in WVSSC activities. Passed the House 57-41, 2/26/24. Senate approved bill 20-12, 3/9/24 with amendments. House concurred with amendments, 70-29, 3/9/24. Bill will now go to the Governor for signature. *This bill allows for private and religious schools to opt out of the required vaccine mandate on religious grounds. Schools must notify county health department and notify parents of their exemption yearly. Parental notifications must be signed and returned to the school. We will have more details on the specifics of the bill later.

HB 5553 (Hornby) – To provide and change graduation requirements and change duties relating to academic content standards. Referred to House Education Committee 2/9/24. There is committee substitute language stating that starting in 2026-27, ½ credit of computer science must be earned in 9-12 grades. Passed the House, 89-7, 2/20/24. The Senate passed the bill 33-0, but with amendments that were not related to the original intent of the bill. The House refused to concur with the amendments. The bill died as time ran out on the session.

SB 614 (Grady) – Relating to elementary behavior and safety. Passed the Senate 31-2, 2/12/24. Passed the House with amendments 82-14. 3/8/24. Senate amended House amendments, 30-1, 3/9/24 and sent it back to the House. Time ran out on the bill.

Other Conservative Christian Issues:

HB 4313 (Butler) – Parents Bill of Rights. The Legislature finds that it is a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, care, and medical care of their minor children. The Legislature further finds that important information relating to a minor child should not be withheld, either inadvertently or purposefully, from his or her parent, including information relating to the minor child’s health, wellbeing, and education, while the minor child is in the custody of the school district. Passed the House, 83-14, 2/28/24. Reported out of Senate Education Committee 3/4/24 to full Senate. On 1st reading was referred to Senate Judiciary Committee, 3/4/24. Died in Senate Judiciary Committee.

HB 4809 (Hornby, Pinson, etc.) - The purpose of this bill is to create the "Health Care Sharing Ministries Freedom to Share Act". The bill exempts a health care sharing ministry form the state's insurance laws. Passed the House, 95-0, on 2/19/24. Passed the Senate, 29-2, 2/26/24. The bill now goes to the Governor for signature.

HB 5297 (Foster) - The purpose of this bill is to remove pubertal modulation and hormonal therapy from prohibited practices. Passed the House 88-11, communicated to the Senate, 2/28/24, referred to Senate Health and Human Resources Committee. Died in Senate Health and Human Resources Committee.

SB 152 (Roberts) – Display of U.S. motto in public schools. Passed the Senate. Passed the House with a committee amendment, 86-10, 3/8/24. Senate amended House amendment, 3/9/24. Clock ran out and the bill died before differences could be rectified.

SB 280 (Grady, Roberts, Taylor, etc.) - The purpose of this bill is to allow teachers in public schools, including public charter schools, that include any one or more of grades Kindergarten through 12 to address intelligent design as a theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist. Passed the Senate, 31-2, 1/23/24. Passed House with committee amendment, 89-9, 3/9/24. Senate concurred with House amendments and passed the bill, 29-1, 3/9/24. The bill now goes to the Governor.

Senate Joint Resolution 6 (SJR 6) - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending section 47, article VI thereof, relating to authorizing the incorporation of religious denominations; numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such proposed amendment. Passed the Senate 33-0, 2/28/24, ordered to the House. Referred to House Judiciary Committee. Died in House Judiciary Committee. *They were attempting to run the religious incorporation constitutional amendment that was voted down in the 2022 election.

*General thoughts and observations

In conclusion, while this session was hectic with more bills introduced than last year, there wasn’t as many Christian education or religious freedom bills introduced as in past sessions that directly or indirectly involved WVCEA schools. The WVCEA continued to build relationships with many legislators and staff during the session. This is beneficial for the future. Our schools can assist in this area in multiple ways. One thing I would urge our schools to do, if you are within easy driving distance of Charleston, is to bring your students to the legislature, whether as pages or on field trips during the session. This is a great educational experience for our students and creates positive exposure for our schools and the entire association. I take students every year and they love it. Your local senators and delegates enjoy this too as they get to meet their young constituents and future voters. I will be glad to provide information on visiting the legislature and paging opportunities.

A couple of items I would also encourage of our administrators and teachers is to consider attending the AACS annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C. in September. We learn about relevant, pending legislation regarding Christian education and religious freedom. We receive briefings from AACS legislative staff, outside experts, and members of Congress. We also spend a morning visiting the West Virginia delegation on Capitol Hill to discuss pending issues with congressional staff. It is interesting and informative and you just have to show up. The AACS legislative staff sets up all the briefings and I set up our Capitol Hill visits and lead you where you need to go. In addition, I will again be conducting my workshop, “From the Schoolhouse to the Statehouse”, which discusses the legislative process and how our educators can be involved at the teacher’s conference next fall. The workshop is very basic, so if you are interested in learning about the legislative process, I hope you will stop in.

As we close the books on this year’s legislative session, we now look forward to the election season. The WVCEA will be putting out some information later regarding candidate positions on important Christian education and religious liberty issues. I urge all of us to be as informed as possible before we prayerfully enter the voting booth.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.