West Virginia

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in West Virginia
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024. Statewide bans on synthetic dyes in school meals are gaining momentum, with one such ban already in effect.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Student Well-Being & Movement How Schools Can Prepare for New Restrictions on Artificial Dyes
A district in the first state where such a ban has already taken effect has lessons to share.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 30, 2025
•
4 min read
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on October 22, 2024.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on October 22, 2024. More states are banning artificial dyes from school meals.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Student Well-Being & Movement What a School District Discovered When Its State Banned Synthetic Dyes
More states are banning the petroleum-based additives from school meals.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 29, 2025
•
4 min read
AB Hernandez, a transgender student at Jurupa Valley High School, competes in the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., May 31, 2025.
AB Hernandez, a transgender female student at Jurupa Valley High School, competes in the high jump at the California high school track and field championships in Clovis, Calif., on May 31. The U.S. Supreme Court in its new term will consider state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from competing in female athletics.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Law & Courts New Supreme Court Term Puts Transgender Student Rights in the Spotlight
The justices will weigh state laws that bar transgender girls from female athletics, amid other issues of interest to educators in new term
Mark Walsh, October 2, 2025
•
8 min read
Left: Republican Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, chair of the West Virginia Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, holds a map of the U.S. on the Senate floor depicting the states, including West Virginia, that do not allow religious or philosophical exemptions for required school vaccinations on Feb. 21, 2025 in Charleston, West Virginia. Right: West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington on April 22, 2025.
Left: A U.S. map of states without religious or philosophical vaccine exemptions. Right: Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks at a news conference in Washington on April 22, 2025. West Virginia is at the center of the ongoing debate over school vaccine mandates after Morrisey this year issued an executive order requiring religious exemptions.
Left: Will Price/West Virginia Legislature; Right: Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts With Childhood Vaccination Rates Falling, Debate on Religious Exemptions Grows
There is growing pressure from parents and the Trump administration for exemptions to be expanded. The U.S. Supreme Court could decide.
Mark Walsh, September 17, 2025
•
10 min read
This artist sketch depicts Justice Amy Coney Barrett, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Justices announce opinions at the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 27, 2025.
An artist sketch depicting Justice Amy Coney Barrett, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Justices announce opinions at the Supreme Court in Washington, on June 27, 2025. The Supreme Court on July 3, 2025, announced it will hear cases challenging Idaho and West Virginia laws that bar transgender students from participating in girls’ or women’s school sports, stepping into a high-profile legal battle over transgender rights in schools.
Dana Verkouteren via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court to Weigh State Laws Barring Transgender Athletes in Girls' Sports
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up transgender sports laws from Idaho and West Virginia, among the 27 states that have such laws.
Mark Walsh, July 3, 2025
•
5 min read
Modern collage with vector style ear with red lines connected to five halftone black and white open mouths
iStock/Getty
Professional Development Teachers Set the Agenda for This Math PD Program. So Far, They Like the Results
Inviting teachers to set the professional learning agenda "shouldn't be radical," said one of the project's leads.
Sarah Schwartz, January 7, 2025
•
6 min read
data 1454372869
filo/DigitalVision Vectors
School Choice & Charters States Are Spending Billions on Private School Choice. But Is It Truly Universal?
More than half a million students in eight states last school year took advantage of private school choice open to all students.
Mark Lieberman, October 8, 2024
•
7 min read
School bus on rural route, Owens Valley, CA.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A Funding Lifeline for Rural Schools Is at Risk, and Not for the First Time
Rural schools near national forests rely on dedicated federal funds. But so far, lawmakers haven't renewed them.
Mark Lieberman, August 16, 2024
•
7 min read
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Washington.
The Biden administration's new Title IX regulation was set to take effect Aug. 1, but only in parts of the country as court injunctions block it in 26 states and the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a request to step into the debate.
AP
Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule Takes Effect Amid a Confusing Legal Landscape
The rule that expands protections for LGBTQ+ students is effective Aug. 1, but injunctions currently block it in 26 states.
Mark Walsh, July 31, 2024
•
7 min read
Yellow electric school bus plugged in at a charging station.
Thomas W Farlow/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Electric Buses Hit Some Road Bumps, But They're Still Catching On
The number of electric school buses is rising—and there’s no shortage of growing pains involving funding, legal mandates, and operations.
Mark Lieberman, February 26, 2024
•
8 min read
Ai chatgpt 1707891351 01
Artificial Intelligence Districts Are Hungry for AI Guidance. Here's How One State Crafted It
West Virginia is just the third state to release guidance for schools on artificial intelligence.
Alyson Klein, January 11, 2024
•
3 min read
Teacher aid walking with teacher in hallway.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Teacher Preparation Need Teachers? This State Is Looking to Its High Schoolers
West Virginia supports them to take coursework early, fast-tracking them to an education degree—and, hopefully, teaching careers.
Madeline Will, November 2, 2023
•
9 min read
Photo of boy in front of white board with math problem.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Mathematics 7 States Now Require Math Support for Struggling Students. Here's What's in the New Laws
They focus on providing PD, diagnostic tools, and evidence-based teaching. But it will take time to work out the details.
Sarah Schwartz, August 9, 2023
•
7 min read
Photo of cash in mousetrap.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Budget & Finance Auditors Are on the Hunt for ESSER Fraud. 5 Things to Know
Districts in some cases have failed to follow regulations for documenting spending—but criminal fraud findings have been minimal.
Mark Lieberman, July 20, 2023
•
6 min read
Load More ▼