By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill allowing parents to use a portion of state per-pupil funding for private and homeschool education is on its way to the Senate Finance Committee after being approved by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday night.
In a voice vote Tuesday night, the Senate Education Committee recommended House Bill 2013 creating the Hope Scholarship for passage before sending the bill to the Finance Committee.
The Hope Scholarship would give parents the option to use a portion of their per-pupil expenditure from the state School Aid Formula for educational expenses, such as private school tuition, home tutoring, learning aids and other acceptable expenses. If passed, West Virginia would become the seventh state with an ESA program.
The Senate Education Committee adopted a committee substitute for HB 2013, making some changes to the House version of the bill passed last Thursday. The committee questioned its legal counsel, heard testimony and debated amendments to the bill for nearly two-and-a-half hours before recommending the bill for passage…
