February 12, 2020

Charleston, W.Va. –  The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) adopted three policies during its monthly meeting in Charleston this week. All policies were previously available online for a 30- or 45-day comment period, and comments were considered in the adopted policies. A brief description of each policy can be found below.

Policy 2322, West Virginia System of Support and Accountability, outlines the indicators by which each county’s and school’s outcomes will be measured and reported annually through the statewide school accountability system. The requirements of the policy assist in building capacity to ensure the efficiency of schools, counties and local boards of education to meet rigorous outcomes that assure student performance and progress toward obtaining a high-quality education. Additionally, the policy serves as a framework for continuous school improvement that counties and schools, in collaboration with Local School Improvement Councils (LSICs), can use as a guide for self-assessment, decision making, professional learning and strategic planning.

Policy 2510, Assuring the Quality of Education: Regulation for Education Programs, is a repeal and replace effort to reformat/reorganize existing policy, to address code changes, and to broaden definitions and flexibility. The adopted policy changes allow more flexibility in scheduling and personalizing education for each student in order to better address their academic, career and social/emotional needs. It also offers county-level staff more flexibility regarding middle school and high school programming and graduation requirements. The Board did not adopt proposed changes to the high school social studies requirement.

Policy 3300, Public Charter Schools, implements the provisions of state code allowing for the establishment of public charter schools in West Virginia. The policy outlines the process for establishing public charter schools, as well as operational requirements for public charter schools that may be established.

Policies 2322 and 3300 will be effective 30 days from filing and Policy 2510 will be effective July 1, 2020.