The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday morning, advancing several bills and a resolution, including those concerning Glenville State University and school athlete requirements.
Senate Resolution 15 would recognize the 154th anniversary of Glenville State University.
The resolution states that Glenville State was founded to serve West Virginia by preparing teachers for classrooms across the state.
The University has expanded its mission by preparing students for careers in not only teaching, business, land resources, criminal justice, music and art, health sciences, language arts, and human services.
The Resolution was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of adoption.
Senate Bill 801 would increase each school district’s foundation program.
The bill would increase the ratio of professional educators per 1,000 students and the ratio of service personnel per 1,000 students, which is used to determine each school’s foundation program.
This ratio would increase to 57.92 service personnel per 1,000 students beginning July 1, 2026.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage, first being sent to the committee on Finance.
Senate Bill 437 would establish the Fair State Aid Formula Act of 2026.
This bill would establish a method for distributing state aid to county boards of education, particularly in rural and isolated counties where educational costs are higher.
The bill is intended to “promote fairness, transparency, and adequacy in education funding.”
No action was taken on the bill today.
Senate Bill 804 would remove physical education requirements for specific middle and high school students.
The bill states that obesity is a problem of epidemic proportions in the state of West Virginia and that children are becoming more at risk. The bill expresses concerns about children in West Virginia being more likely to develop health risks such as Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
The West Virginia State Department of Education would require that each child enrolled in public schools participate in physical education classes as follows:
- Elementary School Grades: No less than thirty minutes of physical education, including exercising and age-appropriate physical activities, for no less than three days a week.
- Middle School Grades: No less than one full period of physical education, including physical exercise and age-appropriate physical activities, each school day of one semester of the school year.
- High School Grades: No less than one full course credit of physical activities, which would be required for graduation, and the opportunity to enroll in an elective lifetime physical education course.
The coach of each sport will provide the principal with a list of which students are in good standing, determined by the coach, and they will not be required to participate in the physical education requirements with the other students.
The bill was reported to the full Senate with a recommendation of passage.
