WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 241

By Senator Baldwin

[Introduced January 9, 2020; referred
to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-9A-7a, relating to requiring the State Board of Education to develop a method for funding student transportation costs as a stand-alone consideration separate from the current total state basic foundation program; requiring consideration of cost factors in addition to population density or number of students on a particular bus route; and requiring a report to the Legislature.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARtICLE 9a. Public School Support.

§18-9A-7a.  Report on alternate method for funding student transportation costs required.

(a) The Legislature finds that the present method of calculating the total state basic foundation program as established in §18-9A-3 and §18-9A-7 of this code, which bases transportation cost allowances on the number of students transported, may result in undue hardship for certain counties with required bus routes serving lower-density populations.

(b) The State Board of Education shall propose a plan which makes student transportation costs a stand-alone funding issue separate from the other items in §18-9A-3 of this code and shall report the proposal to the Legislature before September 1, 2020.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the State Board of Education to propose a plan to fund school transportation costs as an item separate from the present total state basic foundation program, and providing for better consideration of fixed costs of transportation in counties with low-density population.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.