The Senate reconvened at 3 p.m. to receive the House Amendments to Senate Bill 451, which introduces comprehensive education reform for West Virginia.
The Senate then moved to strike the entire House amendment and insert a new amendment to the omnibus education reform bill. The proposed amendment brings back much of the original language that was in the Senate version of the bill with a few changes. Some of the proposed changes include:
- Removes non-severability clause
- Creates a hard cap of no more than seven charter schools throughout the state
- No more than two per year can be created
- Requires at least one of the seven schools primarily serve an at-risk population
- Charter schools will not sunset
- Limits education savings accounts (ESA) to no more than 1,000
- Only students with special needs or victims of bullying are eligible for ESAs
- Funds for ESA accounts to include $3,200 per account
- Modifies language allowing counties to base RIF decisions on more than seniority except:
- Lists the qualifications and lists seniority first
- Adds House’s language requiring a reduction in force of personnel whose last performance evaluation was less than satisfactory before considering other criteria
- Adds classroom aides and other service personnel as being eligible for the $250 tax credit
- Removes language explicitly requiring pay to be withheld for a work stoppage or strike
- Strikes the House amendment of requiring every school to have one resource officer
- Increases annual leave for school employees from three to fou4
- Drops the House amendment of $1,000 bonus for teachers back to $500
For more information about the differences between the Senate introduced, House amended, and Senate proposed amendment, click here.
UPDATE:
The Senate reconvened at 6 p.m. to finish discussion over the proposed strike and insert amendment. After a long debate across both sides of the aisle, the strike and insert amendment passed by a vote of 18 to 16. Senate Bill 451 will be reported back to the House of Delegates tomorrow.
The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow at 11 a.m.
RA
