The Education Committee met this afternoon.
Markup & Passage
House Bill 2355 allows middle and high school students to participate in travel sports teams without repercussion. The bill requires the athletes to give school program preference when a scheduling conflict arises.
House Bill 2737 establishes the Higher Education Health and Aid Grant to address food, health, and hygiene insecurities among students enrolled in public institutions of higher education and appropriates $450,000 per calendar year.
House Bill 3387 provides for the creation of a regional school district pilot program of up to three contiguous counties to address shared issues.
Committee Hearings
House Bill 2528 authorizes any private, parochial, church, religious, or other nonpublic school to participate in county tournaments as long as they have played against two public schools held at the end of the basketball season, except for invitational tournaments.
House Bill 2651 makes general and special supervisors or directors of instruction serve at the will and pleasure of the county board of education.
House Bill 2973 clarifies that legal action involving the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) shall be filed in the Kanawha County Circuit after a 30-day notice is provided to the WVSSAC, the State School Board, and the Attorney General.
Senate Bill 275 removes the requirement for cooks and custodians 21 years or older to have a high school diploma or equivalent as a condition of employment by a county board of education.
Senate Bill 280 requires “In God We Trust” to be displayed in every public elementary school, secondary school, and state higher education institution.
Senate Bill 282 allows a person receiving retirement benefits under the Teachers Retirement System to accept employment as a critical needs substitute teacher and work over the 140 day limit.
Senate Bill 650 provides a full-time interventionist hired and assigned to up to two classrooms to satisfy the early childhood assistant teacher, aide, or paraprofessional-related requirements for kindergarten through third grades for both classrooms. The bills clarifies a part-time interventionist only covers one classroom.
