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

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.