Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
                 ENROLLED
           House Bill 4945
    BY DELEGATES ESPINOSA, HORNBY, CHIARELLI,
  HOUSEHOLDER, MAZZOCCHI, W. CLARK, HITE, SMITH,
          HARDY, STATLER, AND ELLINGTON
  [Passed March 9, 2024; in effect ninety days from passage.]
     Enr HB 4945
  AN ACT to amend and reenact §18-8-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to
        amend and reenact §18-9A-25 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-31-2, §18-31-3,
        §18-31-4, §18-31-5, §18-31-6, §18-31-7, §18-31-8, §18-31-10, and §18-31-11 of said
        code; and to amend said code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §18-31-2a
        and §18-31-14, all relating generally to the Hope Scholarship Program; providing that
        microschools, learning pods, and individualized instructional programs have the authority
        to issue secondary school diplomas; providing that the annual Hope Scholarship Program
        appropriation calculation will be based on the estimated number of participating students
        instead of the number of participating students in the prior year; defining terms; providing
       that Hope Scholarship students have certain educational privileges made available to
       other nonpublic school students; permitting the State Treasurer to appear by designee at
       Hope Scholarship Board meetings; modifying qualifications for certain Board members for
       future appointments; clarifying that the Hope Scholarship Board may take issues involving
       Hope Scholarship students in charter schools to the West Virginia Professional Charter
       School Board; authorizing the Hope Scholarship Board to request certain information from
       county superintendents and county boards of education; clarifying that Hope Scholarship
       funds may only be utilized for expenses incurred in a kindergarten through secondary
       school education; requiring a year-round application and awards process; requiring
       parental agreement to include provisions requiring parents to notify the board if a student
       reenrolls in public school or graduates from a secondary school program; clarifying that
       all records and personally identifying information of a Hope Scholarship student, applicant,
       or parent is confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant to the West Virginia
       Freedom of Information Act; clarifying that a kindergarten-level applicant's Hope
       Scholarship participation does not commence if the student does not begin kindergarten-
       level education that school year; clarifying that a public charter school may invoice a Hope
       Scholarship student for educational services; modifying qualifying expenses for Hope
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        Scholarship accounts; authorizing the Board to adopt rules and procedures regarding
        Hope Scholarship student receipt of services from a public school or school district;
        requiring the Board to promulgate legislative rules permitting certain providers to
        compensate employees who are parents of Hope Scholarship students; authorizing the
        Board to adopt certain reimbursement procedures; clarifying annual renewal process for
        Hope Scholarship parents and students; modifying annual academic assessment
        requirements for certain grade levels; authorizing the Board to propose legislative rules
        related to audit of education service providers; requiring education service providers
        conducting background screenings of employees and other persons in contact with
        students to certify screening results to the board; clarifying that providers may not assess
        increased or additional fees against Hope Scholarship students based on participation in
        the program; and adding reporting requirements.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
     §18-8-12. Issuance of a diploma or other appropriate credential by public, private, home school, microschool, or learning pod administrator.
         A person who administers a program of secondary education at a public school, private
  school, home school, microschool, learning pod, or individualized instructional program pursuant
  to the Hope Scholarship Act that meets the requirements of this chapter may issue a diploma or
  other appropriate credential to a person who has completed the program of secondary education.
  Such diploma or credential is legally sufficient to demonstrate that the person meets the definition
  of having a high school diploma or its equivalent. No state agency or institution of higher learning
  in this state may reject or otherwise treat a person differently solely on the grounds of the source
  of such a diploma or credential. Nothing in this section prevents an institution, once a student has
  been fully admitted, from administering placement tests or other assessments to determine the
 appropriate placement of students into college-level course sequences or to assess the content
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 thereof for the purposes of determining whether a person meets other requirements for a specific
 program.
     ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
     §18-9A-25. Funding for Hope Scholarship Program.
         (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, for fiscal year 2023
  and each fiscal year thereafter, in addition to all other amounts required by this article, the
  Department of Education shall include in its budget request, and the Governor shall include in
  each budget bill submitted to the Legislature, an appropriation to the Department of Education for
  the greater of an amount not less than two percent of net public school enrollment adjusted for
  state aid purposes or the total number of estimated Hope Scholarship applications for the fiscal
  year, multiplied by the prior year's statewide average net state aid allotted per pupil. The Hope
  Scholarship Board shall certify the estimated number of Hope Scholarship applications for the
  fiscal year to the Department of Education by December 10 of each year. The amount
 appropriated shall be transferred by the Department of Education to the Hope Scholarship Board
 to be used solely to meet the Hope Scholarship Program obligations set forth in §18-31-1 et seq.
 of this code except as otherwise provided in this section. The Governor shall also provide in each
 budget for the reappropriation for expenditure during the ensuing fiscal year the unused
 accumulated balance in the Hope Scholarship Fund.
        (b) Each fiscal year, the amount required to be requested and included in the budget bill
 for appropriation under subsection (a) of this section shall be reduced by an amount equal to the
 unused accumulated amounts transferred to the Hope Scholarship Board for these purposes from
 previous years.
     ARTICLE 31. HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
     §18-31-2. Definitions.
         The following words have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly
  indicates a different meaning:
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         (1) "Account" or "scholarship" means a Hope Scholarship account, awarded pursuant to
  this article, to which funds are allocated by the board to the parent or parents of an eligible Hope
  Scholarship student in order to pay qualifying elementary and secondary education expenses to
  educate the student pursuant to the requirements and conditions of this article;
         (2) "Board" means the Hope Scholarship Board created pursuant to §18-31-3 of this code;
         (3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular elementary or
  secondary education content area or grade level including, but not limited to, textbooks;
 workbooks; student and teacher curriculum kits; activity, learning, or study guides; or any
 supplemental materials required by the curriculum;
        (4) "Education service provider" means a person or organization that receives payments
 from Hope Scholarship accounts to provide educational goods and services to Hope Scholarship
 students;
        (5) "Eligible recipient" means a child who:
        (A) Is a resident of this state; and
        (B) Is enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in
 this state for at least 45 calendar days during an instructional term at the time of application and
 until an award letter is issued by the board under §18-31-5(c) of this code, or enrolled full-time in
 a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for the entire instructional term the
 previous year, or is eligible at the time of application to enroll in a kindergarten program in this
 state pursuant to §18-8-1a of this code, except that if on July 1, 2024, the participation rate of the
 combined number of students in the Hope Scholarship Program and students eligible who have
 applied to participate in the Hope Scholarship program during the previous school year is less
 than five percent of net public school enrollment adjusted for state aid purposes for the previous
 school year, then, effective July 1, 2026, a child is considered to meet the requirements of this
 paragraph if he or she is enrolled, eligible to be enrolled, or required to be enrolled in a
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 kindergarten program or public elementary or secondary school program in this state at the time
 of application;
         (6) "Hope scholarship funds" means the moneys deposited in a Hope Scholarship
 student's account in accordance with the requirements of this article:
         (7) "Hope scholarship student" means a student who receives a scholarship pursuant to
 this article;
         (8) "Individualized Instructional Program (IIP)" means a customized educational
 experience that takes place either at home or another location. Hope Scholarship students
 participating in an IIP are not enrolled in a participating school and shall be governed by the
 requirements of this article, unless otherwise stated, and not any other compulsory school
 attendance exemption requirements;
         (9) "Parent" means a biological parent, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with
 legal authority to act on behalf of an eligible recipient or Hope Scholarship student;
         (10) "Participating school" means any private school that provides education to elementary
 and/or secondary students and has notified the board of its intention to participate in the program
 and comply with the program's requirements;
         (11) "Resident school district" means the county school district in which the student
 resides; and
         (12) "Treasurer" means the West Virginia State Treasurer.
     §18-31-2a. Educational privileges and programs available to Hope Scholarship students.
          (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a Hope Scholarship student
  that pursues an individualized instructional program is exempt from the requirements of
  compulsory school attendance pursuant to §18-8-1(m) of this code and shall be subject to the
  requirements of this article unless otherwise stated: Provided, That a Hope Scholarship student
  that pursues an individualized instructional program shall have the same privileges and access to
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  programs that this code makes available to students exempt from compulsory school attendance
  pursuant to §18-8-1(c) of this code including, but not limited to:
          (1) The ability to receive a diploma from the student's secondary educational program
  administrator according to the requirements of §18-8-12 of this code;
         (2) The ability to receive the PROMISE scholarship according to the requirements of
 §18C-7-1 et seq. of this code;
         (3) The ability to receive a work permit without prior review by a school administrator
 pursuant to §21-6-3 of this code; and
         (4) The ability to participate in an ACE program according to the requirements in
 §18-2E-11 of this code.
         (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, a Hope Scholarship student
 that attends a participating school shall have the same privileges and access to programs
 available to students exempt from compulsory school attendance pursuant to §18-8-1 of this code
 by virtue of attendance of a nonpublic school including, but not limited to:
         (1) The ability to receive a diploma from the student's school administrator according to
 the requirements of §18-8-12 of this code;
         (2) The ability to receive the PROMISE scholarship according to the requirements of
 §18C-7-1 et. seq. of this code; and
         (3) The ability to participate in an ACE program according to the requirements in
 §18-2E-11 of this code.
         (c) Nothing in this section may be construed as subjecting homeschool students or
 nonpublic school students not participating in the Hope Scholarship Program to the requirements
 of this article.
     §18-31-3. West Virginia Hope Scholarship Board; members; terms; compensation;
             proceedings generally.
          (a) The West Virginia Hope Scholarship Program shall be administered by the West
  Virginia Hope Scholarship Board.
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         (b) The board shall consist of nine members and include the following:
         (1) The State Treasurer, or his or her designee;
         (2) The State Auditor, or his or her designee;
         (3) The State Attorney General, or his or her designee;
         (4) The State Superintendent of Schools, or his or her designee;
         (5) The Chancellor of Higher Education, or his or her designee;
         (6) The Director of the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, or his or her designee;
 and
        (7) Three members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate
 who are parents of Hope Scholarship students, or for the initial appointments of board members
 following the effective date of this article, parents who intend to apply for the Hope Scholarship
 on behalf of eligible recipients, to be appointed as follows:
        (A) Only state residents are eligible for appointment to the board;
        (B) The parent members shall reside in geographically diverse areas of the state;
        (C) For appointments made after July 1, 2024, the parent members shall represent
 parents of students engaged in a diverse range of educational options, such as microschools or
 other individualized instruction;
        The Governor shall make appointments necessary to satisfy the requirements of
 subdivision (7) of this section to staggered terms as determined by the Governor. After the initial
 staggering of terms, appointed parent board members shall serve for three-year terms and are
 eligible for reappointment at the expiration of their terms; and
        (D) If there is a vacancy among appointed members, the vacancy shall be filled by
 appointment to the unexpired term of a person meeting the requirements of this section by the
 Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Members of the board shall serve until the
 later of the expiration of the term for which the member was appointed or the appointment of his
 or her successor.
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        (c) Members of the board shall serve without compensation. The board may reimburse
 members for all reasonable and necessary expenses, including travel expenses, actually incurred
 by board members in the conduct of their official duties. Any expense reimbursements shall be
 made from the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Program Expense Fund at the same rate paid to
 state employees.
        (d) The Treasurer is the chairman and presiding officer of the board. The Treasurer may
 provide office space and staff to the board upon request of the board.
        (e) The State Superintendent of Schools may provide staff to the board, upon request of
 the board.
        (f) A majority of the members of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the
 business of the board.
        (g) Members of the board are subject to the ethical standards and financial disclosure
 requirements of the West Virginia Governmental Ethics Act in §6B-1-1 et seq. of this code.
     §18-31-4. Powers of the board.
         The board is authorized to take any action necessary to effectuate the provisions of this
  article and to successfully administer the Hope Scholarship Program, subject to applicable state
  and federal law including, but not limited to, the following:
         (1) Adopt and amend bylaws;
         (2) Execute contracts and other instruments for necessary goods and services, employ
  necessary personnel and engage the services of private consultants, actuaries, auditors, counsel,
  managers, trustees, and any other contractor or professional needed for rendering professional
  and technical assistance and advice: Provided, That election of these services is not subject to
  the provisions of §5A-3-1 et seq. of this code;
        (3) Implement the program through the use of financial organizations as account
 depositories and managers;
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        (4) Develop and impose requirements, policies, procedures, and guidelines to implement
 and manage the program;
        (5) Determine whether an expenditure of Hope Scholarship funds is or was a qualifying
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