State senators passed a bill that would give the Legislature ultimate say-so over state Board of Education policies.
Who has the authority is an important question at a moment when the U.S. Department of Education is on track for dismantling. Both influence and money could be redistributed during that process.
The legislation also reignites a question of power that has been debated for many years, including through a constitutional amendment rejected by citizens three years ago and by reviews of the state Supreme Court, which concluded the state Board of Education has final say over its regulations.
SB705 passed the state Senate 19-15 on Wednesday.
“I think the people want us to take courageous action to fix the education system in West Virginia,” said Senator Tom Willis, R-Berkeley.
The House of Delegates already passed its own version of the bill, HB 2755, last week. So for the policy to become law, legislators would need to align the two bills prior to the regular session’s conclusion in less than three weeks.
The Senate bill in the spotlight right now emphasizes the Legislature’s ultimate authority over educational rules, mandating that newly created rules be submitted for legislative review, approval, amendment or rejection.
Specifically, the bill would require the state Board of Education to submit newly promulgated rules to the Legislature through the Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee.
Three years ago, West Virginians rejected a constitutional amendment that would have given the Legislature authority to review and approve the state Board of Education’s rules and policies.
The proposed amendment on the November 2022 ballot was defeated by a 58%-42% vote. That vote of the citizens left the board’s current constitutional authority intact.
“I think this sends the wrong message to our voters. I think it tells them that we think they got it wrong and we’re going to do it anyway,” said Senate Education Chairwoman Amy Nichole Grady, R-Mason.
Senator Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said that when people were voting on the constitutional amendment in 2022 there were several other amendments on the ballot and the governor barnstormed the state against one of those that focused on property taxes.
“All four constitutional amendments went down,” Tarr said. And he added, “There was absolute confusion among the voters.”
The state board’s authority is laid out in the state Constitution’s Article XII, which the state Supreme Court has upheld in multiple instances. “The general supervision of the free schools of the State shall be vested in the West Virginia board of education which shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law.”
Tarr said the Supreme Court got it wrong before.
“The reason it needs clarification is because the Supreme Court’s misinterpreted it twice. If you think the courts aren’t political, you’ve got another thing coming,” Tarr said.
The state Board of Education includes 9 citizen members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the state Senate. Board members serve overlapping terms of nine years, and no more than five citizen members may belong to the same political party.
When the Legislature passes laws dealing with education, the state board and state Department of Education produce rules for how to comply with the law. In other words, the law is the broad picture and the regulations fill in the detail. Typically, legislators are looped in during that process.
Senator Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, spoke against the bill and took note of several bills affecting schools that were passed this very day.
“The people at home don’t want us messing with education because we’re not educators,” Clements said.
Senator Joey Garcia, D-Marion, also criticized the legislation.
“This bill does absolutely nothing. This is blatantly unconstitutional legislation.”
Noting the vote from three years ago, Garcia said, “The citizens of West Virginia do not want politics encroaching on our education.” And he concluded, “This bill really does nothing but try to dig up a fight in the courts, which we don’t need, which will fail.”