House of Delegates Powers Through Bills as End of Session Draws Near
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CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia House of Delegates worked its way through dozens of bills Friday on the eve of the end of the 2024 legislative session.
Senate Bill 614, relating to elementary behavior intervention and safety, passed the House in a 82-14 vote. The bill would require students in kindergarten through sixth grade to be placed in a county behavioral intervention program for violent, threatening or intimidating behavior toward staff and other students. The intervention program could either be through the county school system or with a neighboring system.
For counties without behavioral intervention programs or unable to partner with a neighboring county, students would be removed from the classroom following the incidents and suspended from school for the next one to three days while alternative learning accommodations are made, with the student receiving instruction through alternative learning.
Parents would be required to pick up the student either immediately or by the end of the school day. The student would be prohibited from returning home by school bus. Law enforcement would be notified of any student not picked up by a parent or guardian by the end of the school day.
The student would not be able to return to school until a risk assessment is done by a school psychologist. Upon completion, the student would return to school on a probationary period between five and 10 days. If another incident occurs, the student would be placed in an alternative learning environment for the remainder of the semester or school year.
House Education Committee Chairman Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, said the bill is meant to address concerns from teachers based on survey data from union groups about the rising incidents of classroom violence by students, putting themselves and other students at risk.
"We're trying to make the best effort to deal with the problem our teachers are seeing now, and not only educate the child that is causing some problems and has problems, but the other children in the classroom too," Ellington said. "We're trying to provide for their safety and a safe environment ... That's one of the biggest complaints we've heard this past year."
The bill was supported by lawmakers who also work as teachers, including Del. Andy Shamblin, R-Kanawha, and Del. Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier.
"I care about kids. I want to see kids succeed. I want to see my students succeed, but no child should be scared to come to school because of the extreme violent behavior of other children," Shamblin said. "No teacher should be scared to come to work and not have a safe place of employment. This is a pro-public school bill."
"We're not trying to bring corporal punishment back. We're trying to address the concerns of the teachers and give them some relief in the classroom," Longanacre said. "When that teacher tells that student to go see the principal because that student is disrupting his or her ability to educate the other 18 kids in the classroom, they do not want that student to be brought back into the classroom five minutes later by the assistant principal."
Opponents of the bill raised concerns about the lack of funding included to help counties without behavioral intervention programs start their own programs or additional funding for interventionists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Other concerns included adding to discipline disparities for minority and marginalized students and creating additional burdens on law enforcement and Child Protective Services.
"I can't in good conscience vote for a bill that's going to harm people who have absolutely nobody looking out for them," said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha. "I wish we could actually deal with the real issue, but that takes setting priorities and actually showing what you value in your budget."
"We have to be more specific in how we want our classrooms governed, and just kicking children out without giving them the proper tools that they need when you reinstate them back into class, they're going to be the same child without any interventions," said Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia.
The House passed Senate Bill 152, displaying the official U.S. motto in public schools, in a 86-10 vote along party lines. The bill requires public elementary and secondary schools and public colleges and universities to display "In God We Trust" in every classroom, either as a poster or a framed copy and allow for the posters to be donated or paid for with private donations. The display must include an American flag.
No member spoke for or against the bill, but members of the Democratic House caucus asked several questions of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Fast, R-Fayette, about the cost of the bill for K-12 schools and colleges and universities for implementing the bill, and whether there were any penalties for schools not complying.
Senate Bill 190, modifying the definition of sexual contact, passed the House in a 99-0 vote with no discussion. The bill removes "marriage" from the definition of terms in the State Code sections dealing with sexual assault and sexual contact and marriage as an exception for sexual assault charges in the first and third degrees. The bill helps remove the remaining marital rape exceptions after an overhaul of the state's sexual assault laws in the 1970s.