W.Va. School-to-Work Law Caught in Ideological Battle

West Virginia educators and business leaders tout their new education law as just the tonic schools need to offer students a more rigorous education and prepare them better for work.

But a year after the landmark Jobs Through Education Act overwhelmingly passed the legislature, its proponents have a fight on their hands. A bill in the legislature would repeal the law, and some lawmakers want to hold up money for its implementation.

Much of the opposition stems from provisions of the law that emphasize career preparation, echoing battles in Oregon, Oklahoma, and elsewhere in the country. As in West Virginia, the struggle...