Senate 215

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 215

By Senator Hart

[Introduced January 14, 2025; 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 §18-36-1, relating to education; and creating the West Virginia Constitutional Schools Act of 2026.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 36. west virginia constitutional schools act of 2026.

§18-36-1. Establishment of act.

(a) Schools in this state shall designate a time each day for prayer or meditation and announce such at the beginning of each day in keeping with the West Virginia Bill of Rights.

(b) At the beginning of each school day, instruction shall include both the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States, and to the Flag of the State of West Virginia, which shall state the following: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of West Virginia, which serves as a constant reminder that ‘Mountaineers are always Free,’ which stands as a symbol of her majestic mountains, fertile forests, rich veins of coal, and the pride of her people."

(c) At outset of each school year, students and parents shall be supplied with a copy of the West Virginia Constitution, and the preamble shall be read at least twice, once on two separate days, during the first week over the intercom.

(d) Beginning with the 2026/2027 school year, schools shall remove the mandatory West Virginia Department of Education "Next Generation" standards and provide choice with suggested classical curriculum standards for districts to decide according to their leadership, community priorities, and educational philosophy, or, allow districts to establish their own standards which fit their strategic plans, and submit both to LOCEA, not for approval, but for policy research and records.

(e) Schools shall remove mandatory state general summative assessment testing and replace these methods with strategic testing choice at the district level.

(f) The county board of education shall allow schools and districts to adopt testing policies which serve the needs of their pupils.

(g) County boards of education shall limit statewide testing to a statistical random sample in each district for policy research purposes.

(h) County boards of education shall offer a range of testing services such as the SAT or CLT (Classical Learning Test) for parents wishing to know how their child is performing on national norm-references tests.

(i) This act shall be known and cited as the " the West Virginia Constitutional Schools Act of 2026."

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the creation of the West Virginia Constitutional Schools Act of 2026.

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