Senate 504

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 504

By Senator Taylor

[Introduced January 19, 2026; referred

to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §18-5H-1, §18-5H-2, §18-5H-3, §18-5H-4, §18-5H-5, §18-5H-6, §18-5H-7, §18-5H-8, §18-5H-9, §18-5H-10, and §18-5H-11, relating to protecting rural public schools; establishing heightened standards and procedures for the closure or consolidation of certain rural schools; providing legislative findings; defining terms; requiring rural school closure impact statements; requiring supermajority approval by county boards of education; requiring voter ratification or petition-triggered referenda; establishing mandatory student transportation time limits; restricting waiver authority; requiring mitigation plans; creating a rural school preservation funding weight; requiring State Board of Education approval; providing severability; and establishing an effective date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5H. West Virginia Rural School Protection Act.

§18-5H-1. Short title; legislative findings; purpose.

(a) This article may be known and cited as the "West Virginia Rural School Protection Act."

(b) The Legislature finds that rural public schools are essential institutions providing education and serving as centers of stability and continuity for many communities in this state.

(c) The Legislature further finds that, in certain circumstances, school consolidation has resulted in extended student transportation times and reduced educational access, particularly in rural areas.

(d) The Legislature recognizes that the geography, weather conditions, road infrastructure, and population density of West Virginia warrant heightened scrutiny before decisions are made to close or consolidate rural schools.

(e) It is the purpose of this article to establish uniform statewide standards to ensure that the closure or consolidation of rural schools occurs only after careful review, meaningful public participation, and consideration of reasonable alternatives.

§18-5H-2. Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this article:

(1) "Protected rural school" means any public school that meets one or more of the following criteria:

(A) The school is located in a county with a population density of less than 100 persons per square mile;

(B) Closure or consolidation would result in any enrolled student exceeding the maximum one-way transportation times set forth in §18-5H-7 of this code;

(C) The nearest same-grade public school is located more than 15 road miles from the school; or

(D) The school serves as the sole public school facility within its attendance area.

(2) "Consolidation" means the permanent closure of a school building and reassignment of its students to another public school.

(3) "One-way transportation time" means the actual elapsed time a student spends traveling from home to school, excluding transfer wait times unless such wait times exceed 10 minutes.

§18-5H-3. Rural school closure impact statement.

(a) Prior to any vote by a county board of education to close or consolidate a protected rural school, the board shall prepare a rural school closure impact statement and make it publicly available not less than 90 days before any final action.

(b) The rural school closure impact statement shall include, at a minimum:

(1) Projected one-way transportation times for all affected students, disaggregated by grade level and by route;

(2) The number and percentage of students projected to exceed transportation limits under §18-5H-7 of this code;

(3) Enrollment trends for the affected school and any receiving school for the previous ten 10 school years;

(4) A comparison of the costs of renovation, repurposing, continued operation, and consolidation;

(5) Anticipated impacts on academic performance, attendance, discipline, extracurricular participation, and student health;

(6) Impacts on community use of the school facility, including civic, emergency, and after-school functions; and

(7) A detailed statement identifying all reasonable alternatives to closure and explaining why each alternative was rejected.

(c) The impact statement shall be subject to public comment and at least one public hearing held within the affected attendance area.

§18-5H-4. Supermajority vote required.

(a) A county board of education may not close or consolidate a protected rural school unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the full membership of the board.

(b) Any vote under this section shall be taken by roll call and shall include written findings addressing each requirement of the rural school closure impact statement.

§18-5H-5. Voter ratification; petition-triggered referendum.

(a) In addition to approval under §18-5H-4 of this code, closure or consolidation of a protected rural school shall require ratification by the qualified voters residing within the affected attendance area at a statewide primary or general election, as provided in chapter three of this code. No standalone or special election may be used for this purpose.

(b) If, within 45 days of the county board vote, a petition signed by not less than 25 percent of the registered voters in the affected attendance area is submitted, the question of closure or consolidation shall be placed on the ballot at the next available statewide primary or general election.

(c) The ballot question shall be clearly stated and limited to the approval or rejection of the proposed closure or consolidation.

(d) No closure or consolidation may take effect unless approved by a majority of voters casting ballots on the question.

(e) A county board of education may not take final action to close or consolidate a protected rural school until the certification of the election results by the appropriate election authority.

(f) Expiration of approval. If the next available statewide primary or general election occurs more than 18 months after the date of the county board vote approving closure or consolidation, the proposal shall expire and shall have no force or effect. Any subsequent attempt to close or consolidate the protected rural school shall require a new vote of the county board of education and full compliance with this article.

§18-5H-6. State Board approval required.

(a) No closure or consolidation of a protected rural school shall take effect without the approval of the State Board of Education.

(b) The State Board shall deny approval unless it finds that the proposal:

(1) Fully complies with this article;

(2) Does not materially increase student transportation burdens beyond statutory limits; and

(3) Preserves reasonable educational access for all affected students.

§18-5H-7. Mandatory student transportation time limits; waiver restrictions.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the following maximum one-way student transportation times shall apply to any closure or consolidation involving a protected rural school:

(1) Elementary school students: 30 minutes;

(2) Middle school students: 40 minutes; and

(3) High school students: 40 minutes.

(b) These limits are mandatory and may not be waived except as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) The State Board of Education may grant a waiver only if:

(1) The waiver applies for no more than one school year;

(2) Fewer than 10 percent of affected students exceed the applicable limit;

(3) The county demonstrates that no reasonable routing, scheduling, or facility alternative exists; and

(4) The State Board issues written findings supporting the waiver.

§18-5H-8. Mitigation and transition requirements.

(a) Any approved consolidation shall include a transportation and student support mitigation plan addressing:

(1) Additional buses, drivers, or route adjustments;

(2) Adjusted school start times;

(3) Academic and counseling supports for affected students; and

(4) Annual evaluation metrics.

(b) Failure to implement the mitigation plan constitutes grounds for revocation of approval.

§18-5H-9. Rural school preservation weight.

(a) There is created within the state school aid funding formula a rural school preservation weight for protected rural schools.

(b) The weight shall provide additional per-pupil funding based on geographic isolation, average transportation time, road conditions, and lack of proximate alternative facilities.

(c) Funds provided under this section shall be used to offset operational costs and reduce financial pressure to consolidate.

§18-5H-10. Severability.

If any provision of this article or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications.

§18-5H-11. Effective date.

This article shall take effect July 1 following passage.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia Rural School Protection Act.

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