[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6111327,"mediaKeyId","2751428-82db68c92fcec3f5e3b9190651880121","parentId",2751428,"title","Senate committee advances bill requiring licensed athletic trainers in West Virginia public secondary schools","audioSeconds",2950,"startMs",1278000,"endMs",4228000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2751428-82db68c92fcec3f5e3b9190651880121&start=1278&end=4228","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2751428-82db68c92fcec3f5e3b9190651880121/thumbnail_1278000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6111327/West-Virginia/Senate-committee-advances-bill-requiring-licensed-athletic-trainers-in-West-Virginia-public-secondary-schools","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6111327-3307b4547e82514dea505b42916becac/orig.mp4?Expires=1770346211&Signature=nEFnCifIOn7jhPiFIXtU5Uxj7c-1ohO5W7dWCzdXsdlfWwfOdSTIDAHfxdX3JVgwZTkXTBr522BBD~ClkuOcsT9apuWmqk8evZT6L5XEVp0fN1fQPyrehh3rTaPBUV2VkJ2aOftz4BV35LOMVbBAB3Ah94oH0z4RkrB2ms5wEPUE2KYBA80EkmYK1XDSiaJgcouYptxNDJFK-vmfRRmA5Gf8e08Mf~uaRetvosFMc9M2ZfYYXWsZ8AW9zvSmCFb1raRc2AAzmHVBzTmB93B-7GdKg-4jfusDvETO521nyjwX-JJLHHVl3EMo1clO7l04hUKukFzFH4q9cRbK09LTnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","West Virginia Legislature","date","2025-03-24T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Education Committee members on March 20 approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 755 that would require the West Virginia Board of Education to implement a five-year program to place licensed athletic trainers in secondary schools and to appropriate funding annually to support the effort.

The committee substitute, explained by committee counsel, would require the program to commence July 1, 2026, and to be fully implemented by February (implementation year not specified in the committee record). The measure also directs the State Board to expand existing career and technical education (CTE) sports-medicine programs, promulgate implementing rules, and allow use of the Underwood-Smith loan repayment program to help recruit athletic trainers, with the Higher Education Policy Commission developing eligibility criteria.

Why it matters: supporters said trained athletic trainers at practices and games improve student safety and concussion response and create CTE pathways to health-care careers. Opponents and some members pressed for clearer funding language, limits on state mandates for private schools, and guardrails tied to existing rules and local implementation.

Committee counsel (referred to in the record as Hank) summarized the committee substitute before members questioned details of scope and finance. Counsel said the bill \"requires that funding for the program be appropriated annually to the state board to support the expansion of career and technical sports medicine programs throughout the state, and the recruitment, hiring, and retention of athletic trainers.\" The committee record also notes the bill recognizes existing non-CTE sports-medicine programs and requires alignment with postsecondary standards.

Members debated which schools the mandate would cover. \"Does this only apply to secondary schools that are in the SSAC, or does it apply to all private and public schools that have high school secondary?\" asked a senator from Raleigh. Counsel replied, \"It applies to... all secondary schools,\" and later the committee adopted an amendment to specify the requirement applies to public secondary schools in the bill's short title and findings.

Lawmakers also pressed whether the measure mandates full-time trainers. Counsel said the text requires that schools \"employ a licensed athletic trainer on staff\" but does not define full time; \"it doesn't say a full time licensed athletic trainer on staff,\" counsel said, adding that the language would allow part-time arrangements or shared positions. Senator Randolph and others successfully offered and the committee adopted an amendment clarifying that a trainer may be \"on staff or contracted\" through the local board of education to provide coverage for practices and games.

The committee record contains practical implementation examples offered by Zach Garrett, identified in the transcript as a program director for an athletic-training program. Garrett described multiple models in use: some counties hire full‑time athletic trainers who teach CTE classes during the day and provide clinical coverage for practices and events; other programs use split schedules or traveling instructors so smaller schools can participate. Garrett said Marshall University has started offering dual credit for students taking those courses and that athletic trainers on site improve emergency response, citing a recent state basketball tournament cardiac-arrest rescue that involved trainers, EMS and firefighters.

Funding and loan-repayment questions dominated discussion. Counsel initially said the bill did not specify whether funding would come from the state or counties, then noted a provision in subsection C saying, \"Funding for the program shall be appropriated annually to the West Virginia Board of Education.\" That prompted follow-up from senators seeking a fiscal note; counsel said no fiscal note had yet been completed. Joe Jenkins, who identified himself to the committee and contrasted the Underwood-Smith scholarship and loan programs, explained the Underwood‑Smith teacher loan program already provides loan-repayment awards (Jenkins described the loan-repayment program as providing $3,000 for every two years of qualifying service, up to five award years) and that adding athletic trainers would draw from a finite pool of funds unless appropriation levels increase.

Some members raised legal and administrative concerns. One senator with a professional background in physical therapy urged additional drafting work, cautioning that the bill ties program rules to the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WSSAC), whose rules the senator described as outside legislative oversight and potentially disruptive. Other senators urged the bill proceed so safety protections can be phased in over the five-year timeline, while several suggested conceptual or drafting amendments before floor action.

The committee adopted several amendments during the session: a conceptual amendment permitting state appropriations language to be discretionary in a specific clause, insertion of the word \"public\" to restrict the mandate to public secondary schools in short-title and findings language, and language allowing trainers to be \"on staff or contracted\" by local boards. After amendments, the committee \"agreed to\" the committee substitute and, on a motion by the vice chair, voted to report the substitute to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass and with first reference to the Finance Committee. The record shows the chair declared \"the ayes have it\" on those actions (voice votes), and the committee substitute was reported out.

What is not yet decided: the fiscal impact has not been recorded in a fiscal note in committee; the precise implementation date for the February milestone was not specified in the minutes; and how the Underwood‑Smith loan‑repayment fund would be adjusted if athletic trainers are added to eligibility was discussed but not resolved.

The committee's actions now send the bill to the Finance Committee under its double-referral before the full Senate considers it.

Ending: Proponents and opponents left the committee with a clearer picture of operational options and financing questions, but the measure still requires further work in Finance and on the floor for fiscal details and final language to be settled.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","WV Senate Education Committee in Session Mar 24, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Education Committee members on March 20 approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 755 that would require the West Virginia Board of Education to implement a five-year program to place licensed athletic trainers in secondary schools and to appropriate funding annually to support the effort.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature WV, West Virginia","taxId",77714,"location","West Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6111322,"Committee debates renaming School Building Authority, shifting focus to maintenance; discussion laid over",0,4067000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2751428-82db68c92fcec3f5e3b9190651880121&start=4067&end=4067","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2751428-82db68c92fcec3f5e3b9190651880121/thumbnail_4067000.jpg","/articles/6111322/West-Virginia/Committee-debates-renaming-School-Building-Authority-shifting-focus-to-maintenance-discussion-laid-over","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6111322-7b33bf5506c4807f8b03c4087b837ab0/orig.mp4?Expires=1770346211&Signature=klZ6jSX8s4Tr8dIoxKIm-lcQg0QXIhE~5kiRBu792qoXADbpt7zAW8Beb-dTKESs9KdtBbdQRisBSD1Sxek87AZ2oLXT8OPO96gwgQoRA53lwvQv0AM8hsLm5AFmv7y-k9ovvuhF-n4ovVY~I0pybYUMA4mMKVXh6Zvyfkb69EVVeuKAYTSGDEP5LYpVDb6GNe79UbzsqAyA2Bdvu6mWPWBykg8Si8I~DoC0ObkviPvDvCc9yhZ987FFDurf7K6mlxYg5vBwWHH-FwiAPdmi7jnU7CmlQvtRezyqFRq~6vS7DIxCBGedCUerbEaNyywEmvUgCcACvsswdUZyOs825A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Education Committee considered a committee substitute for Senate Bill 261 on March 20 that would rename the School Building Authority (SBA) to the School Maintenance Authority and shift its statutory focus from financing school construction to prioritizing and funding school maintenance.

Counsel described changes that add a definition for maintenance projects, require the authority to prioritize maintenance when distributing funds, and mandate an annual report to the Legislative Oversight Commission listing projects funded and percentages allocated to construction, major improvements and maintenance.

Why it matters: supporters said the change would refocus limited state resources on preserving existing school facilities; critics, including SBA staff who testified, warned of legal, practical and fiscal consequences to renaming the authority and altering its mission, especially for bond issuance and oversight.

Committee counsel summarized the substitute: it \"expresses the intent to transition the purpose of the authority from an entity that focuses primarily on financing school construction and improvements to an entity that focuses primarily on financing school maintenance,\" and it requires prioritization of maintenance projects. Senators questioned how the bill would change current funding practice and whether counties that have not kept up preventive maintenance would be required to demonstrate local stewardship before receiving state support.

Andy Neptune, identified as executive director of the School Building Authority of West Virginia, and Jordan Kirk, SBA chief financial officer, testified in the committee room. Neptune described the SBA's existing work with counties and the comprehensive educational facility plan (CFP) counties use to prioritize projects. Kirk and Neptune said changing the authority's name would require technical changes—including reissuing bond documents and indentures—and produce administrative and market effects. \"We'd have to rename in every facet. So we'd have to reissue all of our bonds that we currently have with the new name under them, new indenture documents,\" Neptune said.

SBA staff offered data showing the range of projects the authority has funded since FY2020: a mix of new schools, roof replacements, mechanical/plumbing/electrical upgrades, safety projects and renovations. Director of architectural services Dana Womack said SBA and the Department of Education examine counties' preventive maintenance practices and that the SBA inspects funded projects for up to 10 years; she confirmed the authority considers whether a county has used local funds or has preventative maintenance plans when evaluating requests.

Several senators raised concerns that altering the authority's focus might affect bond market reception; CFO Jordan Kirk warned that bond buyers may prefer financing construction projects over recurring maintenance needs, and Neptune said the authority's historic bond issues and related legal documents would need revision. A senator asked who pays bond debt; Kirk said the bonds have been repaid from excess lottery and lottery debt-service funds and that the last bond issue was in 2022.

The committee also discussed whether the substitute changes incentives so that local counties could defer maintenance in hopes of receiving state funds; counsel and SBA witnesses confirmed counties currently have options such as levies and local funding and that SBA evaluates county need and previous maintenance before grants are awarded. The committee did not adopt final language altering those eligibility criteria during the session.

Outcome: with time running, the committee chair announced the bill would be laid over to the next day's meeting for continued discussion. The committee took no final vote on the committee substitute and requested additional review and time to consider bond implications, funding guardrails and the proposed reporting requirements.

Ending: SBA officials agreed to return with additional detail; the committee postponed action to allow further review of fiscal and legal effects-related questions raised during testimony.","A committee substitute would rename the School Building Authority to the School Maintenance Authority, prioritize maintenance projects for funding, and require annual reporting; testimony from SBA officials raised bond, funding and oversight concerns and the committee laid the bill over for further review.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate committee advances bill requiring licensed athletic trainers in West Virginia public secondary schools

Committee debates renaming School Building Authority, shifting focus to maintenance; discussion laid over