Week 1 (January 10-12)

The second regular session of the 86th West Virginia Legislature commenced with a burst of activity as lawmakers unveiled a flurry of more than 75 education bills. The Education Alliance compiled this initial education bill tracking sheet. On Wednesday, Governor Justice presented his final State of the State address and highlighted educational issues including teacher pay raises, Communities in Schools, Hope Scholarship, etc... On Monday, the House Education Committee is scheduled to meet to address several bills.

Senate Education Updates

• SB 162 Establishing a Summer Feeding for All Program. This bill was introduced in the Senate, and the normal Committee reference was dispensed and is on the third reading. It provides for a county-by-county assessment of non-school-day student initiative; addressing food insecurities, empowering county school boards to develop initiatives and programs for feeding students in need during summer and other non-school time periods; providing county board reporting requirements to the Office of Child Nutrition; and directing the Office of Child Nutrition to collect and distribute information regarding available food resources.