West Virginia lawmakers have paused a high-stakes lawsuit over the state's school-aid formula, invoking an automatic legislative stay just as Charleston prepares for a busy stretch of interim meetings — and a first look at a draft overhaul bill for 2027.
Senate President Randy Smith (R-Preston) and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R-Clay) filed with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals on Wednesday, citing West Virginia Code 4-1-17. That statute says lawmakers and legislative employees are not required to attend to pending tribunal matters when the timing conflicts with legislative duties during regular or special sessions and interim meetings.
The automatic stay began Thursday and runs through Saturday, Nov. 14. Proceedings could resume after Thursday, Dec. 10. Lawmakers gather in Charleston on Monday for two days of legislative interim meetings, putting the case on hold while the Legislature is in town for that work.
The lawsuit was filed in September by ACLU-WV on behalf of Lincoln County families. The Attorney General's office represents the respondents. The petition asks the court to determine that the Legislature, the Board of Public Works, the Lincoln County Board of Education, and state education and tax officials violated a constitutional duty to maintain a "thorough and efficient" system of free schools.
In a separate Thursday filing, the West Virginia Board of Education backed a motion for abeyance seeking to delay the case until April 12, 2027 — after the 2027 regular session, which runs Jan. 13 through March 13. At an October meeting, the state board voted to give its attorney a position paper concurring that the funding formula is inadequate. Board President Paul Hardesty has pushed for reform.
Meanwhile, the West Virginia Department of Education has unveiled a draft school-aid overhaul bill aimed at the 2027 session. The proposal would weigh more than raw enrollment, factoring in service intensity, poverty and socioeconomic status, English learners, career and technical education, gifted students, and rurality. Base funding would use the higher of the prior year's second-month net enrollment or a three-year average. Officials have said special-needs funding changes alone could cost up to about $190 million, with the full price tag still to be fleshed out in a second phase.
Lawmakers are set to get their first briefing on that draft Monday before the Joint Standing Committee on Education — a timely moment for a formula that has shaped how money reaches all 55 county school systems since the post-1982 era, when enrollment became the heavy driver of distribution. Declining enrollment in many counties has already meant hard choices: layoffs, school closures, and consolidations that hit hometowns from the Northern Panhandle to the southern coalfields.
For families in Lincoln County and educators watching every line of the budget, the stay does not end the debate. It simply hits pause while Charleston works through interims and digests a draft that could redefine how West Virginia funds its classrooms. West Virginia Pulse will follow the Monday briefing and any next steps once the stay lifts.