Governor Morrisey said the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) adopted the new ruling following the passage of House Bill 4425.
As the final minutes ticked away in the West Virginia legislative session Saturday night, the House held a fiery debate over “Raylee’s Law,” a bill that supporters argue would protect children from abuse and neglect.
Counties with a higher living cost will receive a higher pay bump in 2027, up to 20 percent, in addition to the 3 percent that all will receive next year.
On the second to last day of the West Virginia legislative session, several lawmakers made a last-minute push for “Raylee’s Law,” a measure meant to protect against child abuse and neglect.
After nearly an hour of debate, the West Virginia Senate passed a bill Friday that would repeal the high school athlete transfer rule, in a 20-14 vote.
Tuesday, members of that team were at the West Virginia Capitol to advocate for a bill that would create permanent funding at universities to support their women’s sports programs.
House Republican leadership describe the TEAM-WV initiative as an private, independent non-profit that aims to bolster economic development in the state.
After a debate that lasted more than an hour, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed H.B. 4425, which would repeal the current transfer rules, making the transfer rule up to the WVSSAC and its system of West Virginia school principals.
If passed, the bill would pause requests from parents with child abuse allegations to pull their children from public school into homeschools, pending a short CPS investigation into the allegations.
The bill explicitly allows footage from cameras mounted on school buses to be shared directly with law enforcement, which officers say will make it easier to catch and punish anyone driving past the stopped bus.
The HOPE Scholarship is the state’s school voucher program, which allows parents to spend state money on non-public school education expenses, such as private school tuition, homeschooling, and tutoring.
A WSAZ investigation found that Linville and Milton’s workers did not have the proper equipment or training, nor was there an entity to investigate the accident.
The current rules were passed in 2023, and allow all high school students to transfer schools at any point in the year and keep their athletic eligibility for the next season.
The committee heard from parents who have dealt with the state’s child welfare system, as well as those formerly inside the system, about what they believe needs to be changed.
The HOPE Scholarship program is an education savings account program that allows parents to spend state funding on educational expenses like non-public schooling tuition and home schooling.
On Friday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey presented a proposal for a flood prediction program called SENTRY, which he hopes will help warn people about incoming floods and save lives.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Del. Dana Ferrell (R-Kanawha) told WSAZ the primary intent of the bill is to contain the transfer issue in high school athletics, equating the current standard to “open borders.”
Much of the conversation at the Capitol surrounding potential changes to the state aid formula, as well as the Hancock County Schools' financial crisis.
The Workforce Readiness and Opportunity Act would, in part, expand credentialing options for blue collar and manufacturing jobs and also expand incentives for apprenticeships.
WSAZ reviewed his first speech to the Legislature last February to see how those plans panned out in 2025 -- all as the governor is set to deliver his next address this Wednesday.
According to House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay), the first bill House Republicans plan to introduce will be the TEAM West Virginia bill, an economic development plan modeled after Ohio’s JobsOhio program.
