# West Virginia SB 63: Creating Sustaining Opportunities for Academics in Rural Schools Act West Virginia SB 63, Creating Sustaining Opportunities for Academics in Rural Schools Act, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Patricia Rucker (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-06-25 (Chapter 116, Acts, Regular Session, 2026) (as of 2026-11-04). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB63-2026rs - As of: 2026-11-04 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: West Virginia SB 63 - State: West Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Creating Sustaining Opportunities for Academics in Rural Schools Act - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-06-25, Chapter 116, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 - Sponsor: Patricia Rucker (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: §18-5G-3, §18-5G-4, §18-5G-7, §18-5G-8, §18-5G-18, §18-5G-19 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (325 yes, 55 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 14 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Special education and fair enrollment: benefit, medium. If your child has an IEP and attends a charter, the school provides the required services. It can deliver services itself or contract with the county or another provider. Charter enrollment rules cannot exclude a child who could attend a regular public school. - SOAR keeps rural schools open: benefit, medium. After a school closure is approved, a charter has 90 days to apply to reopen the site as a SOAR school. During that window, the county cannot offload the property and must give the charter first chance to take it ‘as‑is’; if several apply, the state charter board picks the best plan. The county mus… - Stronger state oversight of charters: benefit, medium. Charter schools are part of the state public school system and meet the same student performance standards. Authorizers must enforce charter contracts, and the state board can step in, overturn decisions, or revoke an authorizer that fails to close a low‑performing school. The state board provides… - County school staff protected from charter pressure: benefit, low. County boards cannot force their employees to work at a charter school. They also cannot harass, threaten, discipline, fire, or discriminate against any employee for helping with a charter school application. These rules protect job assignments and shield staff from retaliation. - More charter options for students: benefit, low. Charter schools can offer pre‑K through grade 12 and add dual credit, AP, internships, and workforce credentials. Colleges that partner with a charter cannot add extra rules beyond those for other public schools. Schools can focus on STEM, arts, special needs, or other themes and offer before‑ or a… - No tuition at charter schools: benefit, low. Public charter schools cannot charge full-time tuition. Any fees must be no more than what regular public schools may charge. Families do not pay extra tuition to enroll full time at a charter school. - Secular and hate-free charter rules: benefit, low. Charter schools must be secular. They cannot be run by or promote a specific religion in programs, admissions, employment, or operations. They also cannot affiliate with groups that attack whole classes of people, as listed by DOJ, FBI, or similar state officials. These rules protect students and f… - College microschools and pod partnerships: benefit, low. Colleges and universities can start on‑campus public charter microschools or blended programs. These cannot be full‑time virtual charter schools and must meet state microschool rules. Public charters can also partner with learning pods and microschools to teach students on campus or online. - Funding follows students to charters: benefit, low. 99 percent of state per‑pupil funding follows a student to a charter school. The state sets which county pays and lets that county count the student in net enrollment. If a student transfers midyear, the new school can bill for a pro‑rated share, and the sending district must pay within 30 days. Th… - No home-based charter schools: cost, low. The law bars home-school–based charter schools. Applicants must set up a charter school that is not based in a home setting. This blocks plans to open a charter from a home. - Small oversight fee for authorizers: cost, low. Each charter pays its authorizer an oversight fee set as a uniform percentage of per‑student funding. The fee is capped at 1 percent per school year. The state may use a sliding scale and reviews the formula each year. - Charter staff pay, benefits, safety: mixed, medium. Each charter school employs its own staff and handles paychecks, retirement, and insurance. Staff who moved from a county school keep their county seniority for future non‑charter employment. The board sets required qualifications and licenses and must verify them. All staff and board members must… - Charter boards’ powers and limits: mixed, medium. Charter boards run school finances, staffing, schedules, and curriculum. Boards must have at least five members, including two parents and two local residents. Members cannot be school or provider employees, must disclose conflicts, and bring legal, finance, and curriculum skills. Boards can sign c… - Easier growth for proven charters: mixed, low. Charter applications must include a mission, student goals, enrollment and lottery plans, a five‑year budget, services for special populations, facilities and insurance plans, and closure steps. A charter in good standing can use a short form to open a second campus. Rural in‑person charters under… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Patricia Rucker (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-14 | Senate | Effective from passage (Roll No. 663) | pass | 34 | 0 | | | 2026-03-14 | Senate | Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 662) | pass | 32 | 2 | | | 2026-03-13 | House | Effective from passage (Roll No. 515) | pass | 78 | 16 | | | 2026-03-13 | House | Passed House (Roll No. 514) | pass | 70 | 21 | | | 2026-03-11 | House | Motion to dispense the second reference adopted (Roll No. 386) | pass | 82 | 12 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Passed Senate (Roll No. 251) | pass | 29 | 4 | | ## Actions (47) - 2026-06-25: Chapter 116, Acts, Regular Session, 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-25: Approved by Governor 3/25/2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-19: To Governor 3/19/2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-14: House Message received (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 662) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Effective from passage (Roll No. 663) (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Communicated to House (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Completed legislative action (Senate) - 2026-03-14: To Governor 3/19/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 3/25/2026 - Senate Journal (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Approved by Governor 3/25/2026 - House Journal (House) - 2026-03-13: On 3rd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-03-13: Read 3rd time (House) - 2026-03-13: Passed House (Roll No. 514) (House) - 2026-03-13: Title amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House) - 2026-03-13: Effective from passage (Roll No. 515) (House) - 2026-03-13: Communicated to Senate (House) - 2026-03-12: On 2nd reading, Special Calendar (House) - 2026-03-12: Read 2nd time (House) - 2026-03-12: Amendment reported by the Clerk (House) - 2026-03-12: Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote) (House) - 2026-03-11: With amendment, do pass, but first to Finance (House) - 2026-03-11: Immediate consideration (House) - 2026-03-11: Motion to dispense the second reference adopted (Roll No. 386) (House) - 2026-03-11: Read 1st time (House) - 2026-03-08: Markup Discussion (House) - 2026-03-02: House received Senate message (House) - 2026-03-02: Introduced in House (House) - 2026-03-02: To Education then Finance (House) - 2026-03-02: To House Education (House) - 2026-02-27: On 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Read 3rd time (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Unanimous consent to amend on 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Amended on 3rd reading (Voice vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Passed Senate (Roll No. 251) (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Ordered to House (Senate) - 2026-02-26: On 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Read 2nd time (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Reported do pass (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Immediate consideration (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Read 1st time (Senate) - 2026-02-06: Reported do pass, but first to Finance (Senate) - 2026-02-06: To Finance (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Filed for introduction (Senate) - 2026-01-14: To School Choice then Finance (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Introduced in Senate (Senate) - 2026-01-14: To School Choice (Senate) ## Bill text - Engrossed: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 eng.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 eng.pdf) - Enrolled: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 enr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 enr.pdf) - Introduced Version: [HTML](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 intr.htm), [PDF](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 intr.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313. (signed) - HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licensure and create disclosure requirements and daily transaction limitations for ne… (signed) - HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations (signed) - HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to that of a foster parent (signed) - HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance (signed) - HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally (became law) ## Sources - [Engrossed (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 eng.htm) - [Engrossed (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 eng.pdf) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 enr.htm) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 enr.pdf) - [Introduced Version (HTML)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 intr.htm) - [Introduced Version (PDF)](https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2026_SESSIONS/RS/bills/sb63 intr.pdf) ## Related - [HB 5694: Supplemental appropriation to Department of Education, fund 0313.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5694-2026rs) - [HB 5353: To bring virtual currency kiosks within the purview of money transmission licen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB5353-2026rs) - [HB 4452: To remove Mortmain restrictions on religious organizations](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4452-2026rs) - [HB 4390: Relating to the temporary payment to a kinship parent of a subsidy equal to tha…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4390-2026rs) - [HB 4354: Relating to necessity allowance](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4354-2026rs) - [HB 4191: Relating to providing child care generally](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-HB4191-2026rs) - [West Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia/bills) - [West Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/west-virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/WV-SB63-2026rs (as of 2026-11-04).