By Jordan Nelson, The Register-Herald of Beckley, W.Va.
Linda Boyd, a Shady Spring Elementary teacher and president of Raleigh County-American Federation of Teachers (AFT), listens intently Wednesday morning during a public hearing on House Bill 206, the newest omnibus education bill making its way through the state Legislature.
Boyd also attended a town hall last week hosted by Gov. Jim Justice. She told The Register-Herald teachers would return to the Capitol to make their voices heard.
“Going to the Capitol, standing up for what we believe in is something we won’t stop doing,” Boyd said last week. “They say they’re compromising, but we don’t see it as a compromise. We stand up for our kids and what we see as right for public education.”
Photo by Perry Bennett/WV Legislative Photography)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 206, its version of the West Virginia Senate’s Student Success Act (Senate Bill 1039), on a narrow 51-47 vote late Wednesday night.
After 11 hours of debating amendments and the final version of the bill, delegates made some changes to H.B. 206 before its passage, including changing the cap of 10 charter schools to three until July 1, 2023. After that, three more could be added every three years.
The vote came just 15 hours after a public hearing on the bill, where the majority of speakers expressed strong opposition to the inclusion of charter schools in the legislation. …
