Allow school board members to run for the state legislature

HB 4788 Text

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Introduced Version

House Bill 4788 History

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Key:
Green
= existing Code.
Red
= new code to be enacted

WEST virginia legislature
2026 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4788
By Delegates Ridenour, Hillenbrand, Butler, Funkhouser, Jennings, Foggin, Mazzocchi, Jeffries, Ellington, Martin, and Dillon
[Introduced January 23, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education then the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing currently serving members of county school boards to retain their position on the board during a campaign for other public office.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 5. County Board of Education.

§18-5-1a. Eligibility of members; training requirements.

(a) A person who is a member of a county board:
(1) Shall be a citizen and resident in the county in which he or she serves on the county board. A person who is a candidate for membership on a county board or who is a member-elect of a county board shall be a citizen and resident in the county in which he or she seeks to serve on the county board;
(2) May not be employed by the county board on which he or she serves, including employment as a teacher or service person;
(3) May not engage in the following political activities:
(A)
Become a candidate for or hold a candidate for or hold

Hold
any other public office, other than to succeed himself or herself as a member of a county board subject to the following:
(i) A candidate for a county board, who is not currently serving on a county board, may hold another public office while a candidate if he or she resigns from the other public office prior to taking the oath of office as a county board member.
Additionally, a currently serving member of a county board may retain their place on the board during the pendency of any campaign for any other public office, regardless of whether that election is partisan or not.
(ii) The term "public office" as used in this section does not include service on any other board, elected or appointed, profit or nonprofit, under the following conditions:
(I) The person does not receive compensation; and
(II) The primary scope of the board is not related to public schools.
(B) Become a candidate for, or serve as, an elected member of any political party executive committee;
(C) Become a candidate for, or serve as, a delegate, alternate or proxy to a national political party convention;
(D) Solicit or receive political contributions to support the election of, or to retire the campaign debt of, any candidate for partisan office;
(4) May engage in any or all of the following political activities:
(A) Make campaign contributions to partisan or bipartisan candidates;
(B) Attend political fundraisers for partisan or bipartisan candidates;
(C) Serve as an unpaid volunteer on a partisan campaign;
(D) Politically endorse any candidate in a partisan or bipartisan election; or
(E) Attend a county, state, or national political party convention.
(b) A member or member-elect of a county board, or a person desiring to become a member of a county board, may make a written request to the West Virginia Ethics Commission for an advisory opinion to determine if another elected or appointed position held or sought by the person is an office or public office which would bar service on a county board pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(1) Within 30 days of receipt of the request, the Ethics Commission shall issue a written advisory opinion in response to the request and publish the opinion in a manner which, to the fullest extent possible, does not reveal the identity of the person making the request.
(2) A county board member who relies in good faith upon an advisory opinion issued by the West Virginia Ethics Commission to the effect that holding a particular office or public office is not a bar from membership on a county board and against whom proceedings are subsequently brought for removal from the county board on the basis of holding that office or offices, is entitled to reimbursement by the county board for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred by the member in defending against these proceedings, regardless of the outcome of the proceedings.
(3) A vote cast by the member at a meeting of the county board may not be invalidated due to a subsequent finding that holding the particular office or public office is a bar to membership on the county board.
(4) Good faith reliance on a written advisory opinion of the West Virginia Ethics Commission that a particular office or public office is not a bar to membership on a county board is an absolute defense to any civil suit or criminal prosecution arising from any proper action taken within the scope of membership on the county board, becoming a member-elect of the county board or seeking election to the county board.
(c) To be eligible for election or appointment as a member of a county board, a person shall possess at least a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED) diploma. This provision does not apply to members or members-elect who have taken office prior to May 5, 1992, and who serve continuously from that date forward.
(d) A person elected to a county board after July 1, 2024, may not assume the duties of county board member unless he or she has first attended and completed an orientation training relating to boardsmanship governance effectiveness, and fiscal management, which shall be provided between the date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office under the following conditions:
(1) A portion or portions of subsequent training such as that offered in the orientation training may be provided to members after they have commenced their term of office;
(2) Attendance in the orientation training provided between the date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office permits the member-elect to assume the duties of county board member, as specified in this section:
Provided
, That any county board member who is unable to attend the initial orientation training for good cause, is required to complete a make-up orientation training within 30 days of being sworn in as a county board member;
(3) Members appointed to the county board shall attend and complete an orientation training within 30 days of being appointed; and
(4) The provisions of this subsection relating to orientation training do not apply to members who have taken office prior to July 1, 2025, and who serve continuously from that date forward.
(e) Annually, effective July 1, 2025, each member of a county board shall receive twelve hours of training in areas relating to boardsmanship, governance effectiveness, fiscal management, and school performance issues including, but not limited to, pertinent state and federal statutes such as the "Process for Improving Education" set forth in §18-2E-5 of this code and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education and Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), and their respective administrative rules: Provided, That the state board may require any county board member to attend additional training if they believe that the training would be beneficial in assisting the member in successfully fulfilling his or her duties on the county board as requested by the State Superintendent.
(1) All training required in this section shall be approved by the state board and conducted by the West Virginia School Board Association or other organization or organizations approved by the state board:
(A) The state board may exclude time spent in training on school performance issues from the requisite twelve-hour requirement; and
(B) If the state board elects to exclude time spent in training on school performance issues from the requisite twelve hours, the state board shall limit the training to a feasible and practicable amount of time.
(2) Failure to attend and complete the orientation training, annual training, or training required by the state board, without good cause, as determined by the state board by duly promulgated legislative rules, constitutes neglect of duty under §6-6-7 of this code.
(f) In the final year of any four-year term of office, a member shall satisfy the annual training requirement unless the county board member is not seeking reelection. Failure to comply with the training requirements of this section without good cause, as defined by the state board by duly promulgated legislative rules, constitutes neglect of duty under §6-6-7 of this code.
(g) The state board shall appoint a committee named the "County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee" whose members shall include the chair of the Senate Committee on Education and the chair of the House Committee on Education, or their respective designees, which shall serve as non-voting ex officio members. The County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee shall, at a minimum, meet annually. Subject to state board approval, the committee shall determine which trainings and training organizations shall be approved, and whether county board members have satisfied the annual training requirement. Members of the committee serve without compensation but may be reimbursed by their agencies or employers for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties under this subsection.
(h) On or before January 1, 2026, and annually on or before January 1 thereafter, the State Superintendent shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the activities of the County Board Member Training Standards Review Committee, the types of training provided to county board members, the level of training participation by county board members, and the number of board meetings held.
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of §6-5-5 of this code, no person who has been convicted of an offense under the provisions of §61-8A-1
et seq
., §61-8B-1
et seq
., §61-8C-1
et seq
., and §61-8D-1
et seq
. of this code in which the victim is a minor may hold office as a member of a county board.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow currently serving members of county school boards to retain their position on the board during a campaign for other public office.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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