Stay Informed
2026 Legislature: Weekly Wrap Up
The first full week of 2026 Legislative Session has concluded, and the pace was fairly slow compared to some recent years. The education committees in each chamber advanced a handful of bills and heard numerous presentations on various topics like charter schools and athletics for homeschool students.
The structure of the House Education Committee includes three subcommittees. The subcommittees held hearings on several bills this week, so we expect those bills to move to full committee agendas soon. You can read the subcommittee agendas and the bills discussed this week in our Daily Legislative Updates on the Legislative Lookout page on our website.
Also this week, the Senate passed a resolution, SR 6, to recognize the invaluable service of WV school custodians.
Priority Issues
Bills to address salaries and PEIA have not been on a committee agenda yet, which is not unusual for this early in the session for high price tag items. There have been multiple pay raise bills introduced, but it is unclear at this time which version will end up moving. While the Governor proposed an average pay increase of 3% during his State of the State, the House leadership has indicated they are looking at a 5% increase.
SB 526 is an important bill to watch regarding PEIA. This bill modifies the 80/20 method of calculation of the employer and employee contribution percentages for PEIA premiums. This change would be beneficial to employees and result in lower costs.
Education WV has been working with lawmakers on other bills to offer employees relief on PEIA, including modifying the spousal surcharge, but this legislation has not yet been introduced.
Bills that have passed one chamber
HB 4574 and HB 4575 have both passed the House.
- HB 4574 relates to providing condition-based emergency funding for a financially distressed county.
- HB 4575 makes Supplemental Appropriation to State Board of Education.
- These two bills are the response to Hancock County’s financial crisis. While the House dispensed with the rules and passed both bills on 1-19-26, the Senate chose to utilize the traditional process, and the bills will move through their committee references. There was some discussion and disagreement on the floor amongst a few senators on whether the bills should be fast tracked or not. The Senate chose not to suspend rules and to proceed via the regular process to pass the bill. Both bills move to Senate Education, then Senate Finance for consideration.
HB 4081 establishes the Higher Education Health and Aid Grant. The bill passed the House Education Committee and was on third reading on the House floor today. An amendment was offered by Delegate Young on the House floor during second reading to include buying food. The amendment passed. During third reading, there was a surprising amount of debate around the bill, with a faction of the House opposing the bill. The bill did ultimately pass in a 71-22 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Bills that have advanced from a committee
SB 388 requires public elementary or secondary school make the Aitken Bible available to certain classrooms. During committee discussion, it was explained that the purpose of this bill was to make the Aitken bible available in 4th, 8th and 10th grade social studies classrooms. No instruction is required by the teacher. The bill is modeled after last year’s “In God We Trust” sign bill as community organizations would provide these bibles at no expense to school systems. While this bill does not alter the instruction provided to students, it’s an example of spending time during the legislative session on priorities that are out of touch with what our teachers and students need for success. The bill advanced from the Senate Education Committee and moves to the Senate floor for consideration.
SB 428 creates three separate job titles for school bus operators (pay scale based on experience) and includes cafeteria managers (class D & E). This bill is intended as a retention incentive. The bill passed the Senate Education Committee and now moves to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
SB 445 creates a program to include Potomac State College of West Virginia University as an eligible institution for participation in the "Learn and Earn Program." The bill removes reference to the program being a "pilot" program. The bill advanced from the Senate Education Committee and moves to the Senate floor for consideration.
Comm Sub for HB 4002 establishes the WV Collaboratory. The bill allows WVU, Marshall and WV State to conduct, manage or participate in research projects and opportunities of interest to lawmakers and citizens in areas of workforce development, public education and other areas. The bill passed the House Education Committee and was on second reading on the House floor today. Amendments were adopted during second reading that includes all state-funded higher education institutions in the bill.
The Committee Substitute for HB 4005 clarifies the categories of employment which are prohibited or authorized for persons in West Virginia who are under the age of 18 and clarifies youth apprenticeships prohibited or authorized in such categories of employment and to be known as "The Workforce Development Act of 2026." This bill, on second reading on the House floor today, was amended with some code cleanup as well as a restoration of the prohibition of certain job categories. The bill was advanced to third reading.
HB 4422 permits students in eighth and ninth grade to attend summer school in order to raise their grades and establish academic eligibility to play sports in the fall. This does not require counties to provide summer school. The bill passed the House Education Committee and is on first reading on the House floor.
**Please note that introduced bills are generally not reported on until they are on a committee agenda and considered active.
Be sure to take advantage of all the ways to stay informed about the 2026 Legislative Session:
- Weekly Wrap Up (email and posted on Legislative Lookout page)
- Daily Updates (posted on the Legislative Lookout page)
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Bluesky
- Read Education WV’s Special Legislative Edition of Rising Voice
