MORGANTOWN – The House of Delegates spent just under an hour and 15 minutes Thursday debating the Hope Scholarship bill before passing it 60-39 and sending it to the Senate. Fifteen Republicans joined the Democrats to vote against it.
The House spent anther 40 minutes debating and defeating an amendment to the bill to curb the governor’s emergency powers. The amendment would have specifically covered the current COVID emergency.
House Judiciary approved the amendment Saturday, then pulled it on Monday, allegedly under pressure from the governor. The amendment sponsor, Delegate Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, took a second crack at it but fell three votes shy.
At the other end of the Capitol, the Senate made considerably shorter work of passing a teacher alternative certification bill, taking just 10 minutes.
HB 2013 is the Hope Scholarship bill. It originated as a way to provide state money to families for public school to transfer into a private or home-school. An estimated $4,600 of state school aid money would follow each student to their new destination to cover specified expenses.
It was estimated the bill might affect about 5,000 students for a total cost of $23 million, But a Wednesday amendment expanded the eligibility to cover all private and home-schooled students starting in 2026.
No official estimates came with that change but opponents said it would expand the number to 22,000 students at a potential cost of $101 million.
McGeehan said he believes the bill could lead private schools in his area that charge roughly $3,400 in tuition to jack up their prices to the state aid figure of $4,600, harming families already attending.
Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, said the Finance Committee reviewed and approved the bill at its original cost but the amended version hasn’t been properly vetted. “When we have a bill like this that is a game changer, a break-the-bank bill, we need to know what those numbers are.”
Delegate Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, said the state Constitution requires the state to provide a thorough and efficient system of public schools. It doesn’t say West Virgnia should use public money to pay for private school tuition.
On the same theme, Delegate Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, said, “We are going to be paying for religious education with public funds.” Christians might not be thrilled with their tax dollars going to Muslim schools. And the bill might subject private schools to unnecessary public audits.
Defending the bill, Delegate Tom Fast, R-Fayette, said, “It is the jurisdiction of parents to educate their children, not the state.” Parents pay taxes and if they decide to private school their children they pay full tuition plus school taxes. “This is not a diversion from public education. It gives education choice to the taxpayers for the use of their taxpayer dollars.”
All local delegates voted with their party.
Emergency powers bill
The state of emergency bill is HB 2003, a result of the frustration with the governor’s sole control of the COVID-19 state of emergency declared last March.
The bill says a state of emergency may last no longer than 60 days unless both houses of the Legislature pass a concurrent resolution to extend it. A state of preparedness may last no longer than 30 days unless extended by resolution.
Because the bill doesn’t specify that it applies to the emergency Gov. Jim Justice declared last March, McGeehan proposed the amendment to say that, which the committee adopted. The action two days later to pull it back out irked some Judiciary members.
Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said Monday, “It made somebody upset in the executive office, the old king himself.”
On Thursday, Judiciary chair Moore Capito, R-Kanawha, argued that bill is clear without the amendment, and the additional sentence could subject the legislation to needless court challenges.
Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, argued that separation of powers has been ignored for a long time and there’s no harm to the bill to make it specific.
After 40 minutes of similar arguments on both sides, the amendment failed 47-51 in a roll call vote.
Delegates did adopt an amendment offered by Nathan Brown, D-Mingo, that says the bill doesn’t “authorize the governor to close or dictate religious practices in a house of worship during a state of preparedness or state of emergency.”
The bill is on third reading for passage on Friday.
Teacher certification bill
SB 14 adds a third means for people who want to become teachers to get certified. Currently, prospective teachers can take the traditional teacher preparation route or earn an alternative certificate, which requires at least a bachelor’s degree, successful passage of skills and subject matter tests and completion of an alternative teacher education program.
The third means offered in SB 14 is faster: have a bachelor’s degree, get a criminal history check, take pedagogical training aligned with national standards or approved by the state board, and pass subject matter and competency tests.
Senate Education chair Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said, “This bill is going to help us with the many, many vacancies we have in our schools right now that are being filled by substitutes.”
Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, argued against it. “This body’s been moving in the wrong direction for a long time on public education.” This bill waters down the qualifications for teachers, he said.
But Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, a teacher, supported the bill. Another teacher raise would be ideal, she said, but won’t happen and doing nothing won’t fill 1,400 empty classrooms in grades 7-12.
This bill, she said, offers another pathway for professionals with four-year degrees to take the same teacher training classes she took her last few semesters.
Teaching is a calling, she said, that some realize later in life. This gives them the opportunity to follow that calling without lowering the standards.
The bill passed 25-9 with two Democrats joining the majority. All local senators voted with their party. SB 14 now goes to the House where an identical bill is working through the system.
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