West Virginia bill letting teachers remove ‘threatening’ students from class dies at end of session

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia bill that would have provided a framework for public school teachers to remove kindergarten and elementary school students from the classroom for severe misbehavior failed to pass after legislators missed a midnight Sunday deadline.

The measure did not reach the final hurdle to passage in the state House of Delegates after a back and forth on Saturday with the Senate after the chambers passed slightly different versions of the bill.

Saturday’s events followed years of conversation among lawmakers and state Department of Education officials about school discipline and behavioral issues among children with trauma and adverse experiences at home. The House passed a version of the bill on Friday.

One in four children live below the poverty line in West Virginia, the state with the highest rate of opioid overdoses. In some school districts, more than 70% are being raised by grandparents, other family members or guardians because their parents are unable to take care of them.

A study from the state Department of Education found that during the 2021-2022 school year, one in four students in foster care were suspended from school. The study also found that students with disabilities and Black students were disproportionately disciplined compared with their white peers, with one in five Black children being suspended from school that year.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> West Virginia Legislature ends session with pay raises, tax cut