Committee advances school‑choice portal bill after adding private‑school representation and reviewing fiscal estimate

The committee voted to report House Bill 34-22, as amended, to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass, and under the bill's original double-reference requirement the measure was first referred to the Committee on Finance.

Counsel explained the measure would require the State Board to deploy an internet-based "school choice portal" by Aug. 1, 2025. The portal must be secure, offer role‑based access, include dashboards for families and county boards, permit acknowledgment of submissions, and provide opt‑in push notifications. Counsel said the board must consult key stakeholders in developing the portal and that the portal should serve all 55 counties through a single solution. A committee amendment clarifies that nothing in subsection A authorizes submission of paperwork that must be filed directly with the Hope Scholarship board through the school choice portal.

Senators debated stakeholder representation during the amendment process. The senator from Raleigh offered an amendment to add the West Virginia Christian Education Association to the stakeholder list to ensure private-school representation; the chair adopted the amendment. Deputy Superintendent Sonia White provided the committee with a fiscal estimate: the department's Office of Technology estimated initial startup costs of about $873,000 in year one (including approximately 20 weeks and 2.5 web developers) and ongoing annual costs of roughly $780,000, with staffing needs the department estimated at four positions to manage the portal and communications.

After adopting the amendment to include private‑school representation and discussing the fiscal impacts, the committee voted to report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass, but under the original double committee reference the measure was first referred to the Committee on Finance.

The amended bill requires the State Board to consult stakeholders including representatives of the homeschool community, microschools and the Hope Scholarship program; the amendment added explicit representation from the West Virginia Christian Education Association.