Who gets the final say over the rules that run West Virginia's public schools? On Friday, the state's highest court answered: the State Board of Education, not the Legislature.
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ruled that House Bill 2755, a 2025 law requiring the board to send its new rules to lawmakers for review, is unconstitutional. The justices also directed Secretary of State Kris Warner to accept and publish a board policy his office had refused to file.
What the 2025 Law Did
Under HB 2755, new State Board of Education rules had to go through the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and then the full Legislature, which could approve, amend or reject them. If lawmakers did not act within 15 months, a rule would take effect as written. The law took effect July 11, 2025, without the governor's signature.
A School Bus Rule Started the Fight
Three days after the law took effect, on July 14, 2025, the board voted on Policy 4334, which sets design and equipment requirements for school buses. It sent the policy straight to the Secretary of State's Office for publication in the State Register instead of through the legislative review process. The office declined to publish it, citing the new law, and the board took the dispute to the Supreme Court.
What the Court Said
The state constitution gives the board "general supervision" of public schools. Writing for the majority, Justice H.L. Kirkpatrick said the court had already decided this question in a 1988 case and held then that a law requiring the board to submit its rules to the Legislature interfered with the board's rulemaking power. The court found no reason to depart from that decision and granted the board's request for a writ of mandamus.
Justice Charles Trump dissented and reserved the right to file a separate opinion. Justice Bill Flanigan did not take part in the case, and Senior Status Justice Elizabeth Walker sat by temporary assignment.
Voters Weighed In Before
According to the board's court filing, West Virginia voters have twice rejected constitutional amendments that would have given lawmakers more control over the board, most recently in 2022, when a proposed amendment requiring legislative review of board rules failed 275,683 to 200,791.
The board welcomed the ruling. The decision means Policy 4334 can now be filed for publication, and future board rules will not have to clear the Legislature first.