Battle rages in W.Va. over control of public school policy

Source: Associated Press

Battle rages in W.Va. over control of public school policy

By LEAH WILLINGHAM
October 22, 2022

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Voters in West Virginia will get the final say on a ballot question that would amend the state constitution to give the Republican-dominated legislature control over virtually every aspect of public schooling.

The vote comes amid a fight raging nationally over the politicization of schools. West Virginia’s Republican leaders have joined politicians elsewhere in pushing to regulate how subjects such as race are taught in classrooms and funnel public money into alternative education options, including charter schools and voucher programs.

Just this year, the state Board of Education joined a lawsuit against top Republicans over a school choice program — one of the nation’s most expansive — alleging it unconstitutionally drains money from public schools. The case went to the state Supreme Court, which sided with lawmakers.

And in a state that once was a stronghold of organized labor, some see the proposed amendment as part of an effort to defang the most formidable center of union power left standing: public school employees. Four years after more than 30,000 school workers went on strike in one of the nation’s poorest states, igniting teacher walkouts nationwide, many say they’re overworked and exhausted.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-west-virginia-education-government-and-politics-charter-schools-f5cd1f8b927857962c96bd2cb8850ea6