House 4607

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4607

By Delegate Hornby

[Introduced January 20, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-28-8, relating to ensuring equal treatment of private and parochial schools for school building construction.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 28. PRIVATE, PAROCHIAL OR CHURCH SCHOOLS, OR SCHOOLS OF A RELIGIOUS ORDER.

§18-28-8. Equal treatment of private and parochial schools for school building construction.

(a) Legislative findings. – The Legislature finds that private and parochial schools have recently been treated differently and held to more rigorous restraints than public schools in this state relating to the process of the construction and building of schools. The standards are very different between public schools and private schools for the process of the build of these facilities.  

(b) Implementation. – Any state permitting agency, county regulations, or municipality regulations for construction must treat private and parochial schools the same as public schools are treated. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: building permits, fees charged, safety standards, wastewater management, septic systems, the timeliness of permitting processes, and associated build requirements.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ensure equal treatment of private and parochial schools for school building construction.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.