2026 Regular Session
Link to Bill History on Legacy Website (Click Here)Summary: Relating to school system fiscal and governance early warning, stabilization, and accountability.
PDF: hb5499 intr.pdf
DOCX: HB5499 INTR.docx
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5499
By Delegates Dittman, Drennan, Pritt, Hall, Ellington, Bell, Moore, Campbell, and Toney
[Introduced February 13, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article designated §18-2L-1, §18-2L-2, §18-2L-3, §18-2L-4, §18-2L-5, §18-2L-6, §18-2L-7, §18-2L-8, §18-2L-9, §18-2L-10, §18-2L-10a, §18-2L-10b, §18-2L-10c, §18-2L-10d, §18-2L-11, §18-2L-12, §18-2L-13, and §18-2L-14, all relating to school system fiscal and governance early warning, stabilization, and accountability; proving for the creation of the School System Performance and Accountability Board and the operational Office of School System Performance and Accountability; providing for the separation of roles and core purpose; providing for the goal and Mission of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability; providing for the responsibilities of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability; and providing for rulemaking.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2L. SCHOOL SYSTEM EARLY WARNING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
§18-2L-1. Legislative findings and intent.
The Legislature finds that school system failure is often preceded by identifiable fiscal and governance stress. It is the intent of this article to require early detection, corrective action, and transparency in order to preserve local control and reduce the need for state intervention.
§18-2L-2. Statewide early-warning system.
(a) The West Virginia Department of Education shall maintain a statewide early-warning system using objective indicators, including:
(1) Reliance on temporary funding for recurring costs;
(2) Staffing levels exceeding formula-supported capacity;
(3) Declining reserve balances;
(4) Repeated audit findings; and
(5) Governance dysfunction impairing operations.
(b) Indicators shall be reviewed quarterly.
§18-2L-3. Fiscal and Governance Watch List.
Counties who are not meeting established thresholds shall be placed on a public Fiscal and Governance Watch List and shall be required to submit a corrective action plan with timelines.
§18-2L-4. One-time funding safeguards.
Temporary or extraordinary funds may not be used for recurring personnel costs without a multi-year sustainability certification approved by the Department.
§18-2L-5. Narrative Risk Brief.
(a) For each county placed on the Watch List, the Department shall prepare a Narrative Risk Brief not exceeding seven pages that explains:
(1) The primary risks identified;
(2) Contributing governance or leadership factors;
(3) Required corrective actions; and
(4) A timeline for reassessment.
(b) The brief shall be provided to the county board, State Board, and the public, subject to lawful confidentiality.
§18-2L-6. Targeted on-site stabilization authority.
The Department may conduct a limited on-site stabilization visit to assess governance, leadership capacity, and fiscal decision-making. Such visits shall not constitute a full audit or accreditation review.
§18-2L-7. Documentation prior to intervention.
Before recommending state takeover, the Department shall document:
(1) Early-warning indicators;
(2) Assistance provided;
(3) County response; and
(4) Reasons escalation is necessary.
§18-2L-8. Accountability following state intervention.
§18-2L-9. Performance evaluation.
The Department shall be evaluated on its effectiveness in preventing crises, not solely responding to them.
§18-2L-10. Creation of School System Performance and Accountability Board and the operational Office of School System Performance and Accountability.
(a) There is hereby established a School System Performance and Accountability Board ("the Board"), and an operational Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") as an independent state entity focused on early warning, stabilization, and accountability for county school systems across all domains and for the effectiveness of state‑level support.
(b) The Legislature shall determine how members are appointed and removed
§18-2L-10a. Composition and Appointment of the School System Performance and Accountability Board.
(a) The Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") Board shall consist of five members: for the First Congressional District, one member appointed by the Joint Committee on Education and one member appointed by the Governor; for the Second Congressional District. one member appointed by the Joint Committee on Education and one member appointed by the Governor; and for the at-large seat, one member appointed by the Joint Committee on Education. Members shall be selected based on professional experience in education, public finance, or governance. The chairs of the House and Senate education committees, or their designees, shall serve as ex-officio, nonvoting members of the board.
(b) The terms of members shall be five years and shall be staggered so that one member's term expires each year. To establish staggering. the Governor shall initially appoint:
(1) One member for a one-year term;
(2) One member for a two-year term;
(3) One member for a three-year term;
(4) One member for a four-year term; and
(5) One member for a five-year term.
(c) Each subsequent appointment shall be for a full five-year term. Members may be reappointed once.
(d) The Governor shall designate one member to serve as Chairperson. Vacancies shall be filled by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
§18-2L-10b. Independence and Oversight Relationship.
(a) The Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") shall operate independently from the West Virginia Board of Education ("WVBE") and the West Virginia Department of Education ("WVDE").
(b) The OSPA Board shall be solely responsible for hiring, supervising, and evaluating the OSPA Director.
(c) The OSPA Director shall:
(1) Report to the OSPA Board on all operational activities and findings:
(A) Provide quarterly or as-needed reports to the Legislative Oversight Committee and to the Governor's Cabinet; and
(B) Submit recommendations to the WVDE and WVBE as appropriate.
§18-2L-10c. Elimination of WVDE Accountability Division and OSPA Staffing.
Upon the effective date of this article, the Division of Accountability within the West Virginia Department of Education ("WVDE"), currently comprising one director position, four coordinator positions, support staff and an Associate Superintendent with shared responsibility for accountability, shall be eliminated. The Office or School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") shall be staffed with one Director and at least four coordinators, together with appropriate support staff as necessary to cany out its functions.
§18-2L-10d. OSPA Funding and Fiscal Neutrality.
Funding for the OSPA shall be derived from staffing positions eliminated at the WVDE and resources otherwise allocated for the Division of Accountability within the WVDE. Any savings derived from reduced office rental cost within the Department may be reallocated to support OSPA rental and operational costs.
§18-2L-11. Separation of roles and core purpose.
(a) The West Virginia Board of Education ("WVBE") remains responsible for promulgating policies and rules based on statute, including standards for student achievement, accountability, school climate, leadership, finance, and operations.
(b) The West Virginia Department of Education ("WVDE") remains the agency that implements those policies and provides support to counties.
(c) The State Superintendent with the assistance of the West Virginia Department of Education remains responsible for implementing policies, procedures, and rules established by the West Virginia Board of Education as prescribed in this code.
(d) The newly created School System Performance and Accountability Board and Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") shall be structurally and operationally independent from both the West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education.
§18-2L-12. Goal and Mission of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability.
The goal of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") is to provide independent monitoring and auditing of the progress of public school districts (counties) in their designated areas of accountability, and to assess the effectiveness of the West Virginia Department of Education in providing assistance and supports to maintain a "thorough and efficient" system of education for the students and citizens of the state of West Virginia. The mission of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability is to monitor the performance of county school districts to ascertain problem areas and to inform responsible parties for corrective action to occur.
§18-2L-13. Responsibilities of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability.
(a) The responsibilities of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability ("OSPA") are to:
(1) Assess county proficiency in meeting standards and policies.
(2) Determine county proficiency in meeting West Virginia Board of Education ("WVBE") policies and standards.
(3) Using the criteria to determine if each county is meeting West Virginia Board of Education standards and policy requirements across academics, climate, leadership, governance, finance, and operations.
(4) Findings are formalized in county level reports that may include ratings, risk levels, or designations (e.g., on a Watch List), with required corrective action plans and timelines.
(5) Assess West Virginia Department of Education effectiveness in support and prevention
(6) Determine the effectiveness of West Virginia Department of Education in helping counties meet those standards.
(7) What support the West Virginia Department of Education is offered (content, intensity, and duration).
(8) How quickly the West Virginia Department of Education responded to early warning signs.
(9) The impact of the West Virginia Department of Education support on county performance over time.
(b) The Office of School System Performance and Accountability shall issue an annual statewide report on the West Virginia Department of Education’s effectiveness in preventing crises and raising performance, emphasizing prevention of low performance rather than post failure response.
(c) Criteria for assessments of county proficiency and West Virginia Department of Education effectiveness, shall be in the following manner:
(1) The Office of School System Performance and Accountability will evaluate counties school systems and the West Virginia Department of Education based on performance standards established by legislative enactments (law) and West Virginia Board of Education policies, procedures, and rules. The following major domains are the focus of these assessments:
(A) Student achievement and growth: Performance on statewide assessments, growth expectations, persistent low performance or gaps, and evidence of instructional supports improving outcomes.
(B) School climate and culture: Attendance, absenteeism, discipline, safety indicators, surveys of perceptions, and evidence of positive supports and inclusive environments.
(2) Effectiveness of leadership and governance: Stability and performance of county/school leaders; board practices (compliance, planning, data monitoring); avoidance of dysfunction.
(3) Fiscal health and management: Budget balance, reserves, one-time fund reliance, audit findings, internal controls, forecasting sustainability.
(4) Operational effectiveness: Human resources, facilities, transportation, nutrition, technology impacting learning.
(d) Early‑warning and watch list system. – The Legislature directs the Office of School System Performance and Accountability to operate a statewide early‑warning system using objective indicators across these domains, reviewed quarterly: reliance on temporary funds, excess staffing, declining reserves, audit findings, governance dysfunction, low achievement, poor climate, leadership instability.
(1) Counties crossing thresholds go on a public Fiscal and Governance Watch List and shall submit corrective action plans with timelines and benchmarks.
(2) For each, the Office of School System Performance and Accountability shall prepare a Narrative Risk Brief (less than seven pages) on risks, factors, actions, and reassessment, shared with the county, West Virginia Board of Education, State Superintendent, legislative oversight, and public, subject to confidentiality.
(e) Stabilization visits and safeguards. – The Office of School System Performance and Accountability shall perform stabilization on-site reviews.
(1) Targeted on‑site stabilization visits to assess governance, fiscal decisions, plan implementation; narrower than accreditation but can recommend broader reviews.
(2) One‑time funding safeguards: Counties certify multi-year sustainability for recurring costs from temporary funds; OSPA approves/disapproves with findings to stakeholders.
(f) Access to West Virginia Department of Education data and collaboration. The Office of School System Performance and Accountability has:
(1) Timely electronic access to all West Virginia Department of Education data (including but not limited to academic, financial, staffing, and discipline), with the West Virginia Department of Education required to provide datasets and assistance without discretion.
(2) Collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Education to develop new indicators/dashboards for performance quality and low-performing student early warning, but OSPA independently defines methods, thresholds, and findings.
§18-2L-14. Rulemaking.
The department may promulgate rules necessary to implement the provisions of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill relates to school system fiscal and governance early warning, stabilization, and accountability. The bill provides for the creation of the School System Performance and Accountability Board and the operational Office of School System Performance and Accountability. The bill provides for the separation of roles and core purpose. The bill provides for the goal and Mission of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability. The bill provides for the responsibilities of the Office of School System Performance and Accountability. Finally, the bill provides for rulemaking
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.