WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2024 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4960

By Delegates Holstein and Mazzocchi

[Introduced January 22, 2024; 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 §18-2E-8a, relating to adding requirements for a career exploration course to grades seven and eight educational instruction.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Article 2E. High Quality Educational Programs.

§18-2E-8a. Requirements for career exploration in seventh and eighth grades.

(a) Starting in fiscal year 2024, every student in grade seven or grade eight enrolled in a West Virginia public school district or a public charter school shall complete one or more career exploration courses. A student may opt out by submitting a form to the school showing the student's parent or legal guardian has consented to the student not participating in the career exploration courses pursuant to this section. Such courses may be offered face-to-face, through virtual education programs, as online courses, or as hybrid courses consisting of a combination of online and in-person instruction.

(1) All staff teaching a career exploration course must have participated in a career exploration professional development course approved by the state board of education. If such courses are not currently available for staff teaching a career exploration course, the state board of education will instigate the creation of the necessary course or lesson.

(2) The state board of education will maintain resources that can be utilized or modified for the implementation of this section.

(b) The requirement of this section is in addition to the expectations created in §18-2E-8 of this code and shall begin implementation in the 2024-2025 school year.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add requirements for a career exploration course to grades seven and eight educational instruction.

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