High School Educator Flexibility Act of 2026

SB 409 Text

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Senate Bill 409 History

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= existing Code.
Red
= new code to be enacted

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026
REGULAR SESSION

FISCAL NOTE

Introduced
Senate Bill 409
By Senator Rucker
[Introduced January 15, 2026; referred
to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new article, designated §18-2L-1, §18-2L-2, §18-2L-3, §18-2L-4, §18-2L-5, §18-2L-6, and §18-2L-7, relating to course-specific teaching; providing a short title; providing definitions; establishing course-specific permits; clarifying eligibility criteria; clarifying the role of local education agencies; identifying a list of qualifying courses; and providing a funding guarantee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2L. High School Educator FlexIbility Act of 2026.

§18-2L-1. Short title.

(a) This article may be cited as "The High School Educator Flexibility Act."
§18-2L-2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this article:
"Approved professional learning" means a professional learning experience facilitated by an approved provider that satisfies all the following conditions:
(1) The professional learning consists of no fewer than 30 clock hours of course-specific content and pedagogy instruction offered in one training or in sequenced modules completed within a single year;
(2) Professional learning sessions are anchored to the provider’s course framework;
(3) Professional learning sessions are facilitated by an individual the provider has formally vetted and then endorsed after completing the provider’s own faculty-development program and maintaining currency with the latest framework version; and
(4) At the conclusion of professional learning, participants receive a dated certificate verifying the course title, hours earned, and the approved provider’s name; districts shall accept that certificate as proof of compliance.
"Approved provider" means a U.S.-based, non-profit educational organization that publishes the curriculum framework for each high-quality course and requires each school offering the course to secure course authorization.
"High-quality course" means a high school course that satisfies all the following criteria:
(1) The course is designed and maintained in partnership with accredited postsecondary institutions or industry representatives;
(2) The course leads to articulated post-secondary credit or an employer-endorsed credential; and
(3) The course includes an externally validated, nationally administered end-of-course exam.
§18-2L-3 Establishment of course-specific teaching permit.

(a) The Board of Education or West Virginia Commission for Professional Teaching Standards shall establish a course-specific teaching permit for certified educators who hold valid professional educator certificates but do not possess endorsements for specific subject areas.
(b) The course-specific permit shall authorize eligible educators to teach high-quality courses outside their formally endorsed certification area. These high-quality courses can be in academic and/or career and technical education areas.
(c) The permanent course permit shall be issued upon completion of approved professional learning directly linked to the specific high-quality course content.
(d) The course-specific permit shall enable immediate classroom instruction upon successful completion of the approved professional learning.
§18-2L-4. Eligibility criteria.

Educators eligible for the course-specific permit shall:
(1) Possess a current, valid professional educator certificate issued by the Board of Education or West Virginia Commission for Professional Teaching Standards; and
(2) Successfully complete approved professional learning from an approved provider aligned to high-quality course-specific content.
§18-2L-5. Role of local education agencies.

Local education agencies shall have the authority and flexibility to assign teachers holding course-specific permits to classrooms requiring such specialized instructional capacity.
§18-2L-6. List of qualifying courses and training.

The Board of Education shall maintain, and update on an annual basis, a list of:
(1) Approved high-quality courses eligible for staffing through course-specific permits;
(2) Approved providers who facilitate approved professional learning experiences; and
(3) Approved professional learning experiences.
§18-2L-7. Career-technical education funding guarantee.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an instructor who holds a valid course-specific permit shall be deemed an "appropriately licensed or certified career-technical instructor" for purposes of:
(1) Program approval and renewal under §18A-3-1 of this code, and
(2) The calculation and distribution of career-technical education weighted funding under

§18-9A-1
et seq
. of this code.
(b) The Board of Education or Office of Certification shall:
(1) Publish licensure-guideline language recognizing the course-specific permit as proper
certification for the corresponding career-technical education program area; and
(2) Implement an automated data-system override that clears any licensure error codes generated solely because the instructor holds a course-specific permit rather than a standard career-technical education license.
(c) Districts and career-technical planning districts shall not experience any reduction, withholding, or restricting of career-technical education weighted funding for a course taught by a properly permitted instructor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide rural communities educational courses that parents and employers value most.
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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