WASHINGTON, D.C. After weeks of discussions and bipartisan negotiations, the Senate Bill 14, which will allow up to 10 public charter schools over five years, passed the West Virginia Senate today.
Nina Rees, President and CEO at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools released the following statement:
“Today’s affirmative vote for the public charter schools bill in the Senate puts the interests of West Virginia’s students front and center. By passing the bill, the Senate clearly showed its support for creating new pathways for high performing public schools for West Virginia families.
“We thank our Senate Sponsor, Senator Dave Sypolt (R-Preston) and Senate President Bill Cole (R-Mercer) for their devoted leadership on negotiating and passing the bill.
“This legislation, based on national best practices, will allow the growth of high-quality public charter schools in the state for the first time and will serve those students most in need of better public schools. West Virginia is one of the eight states that has yet to enact a public charter school law.
“We urge the House to strengthen and pass this legislation this session.”
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many independent research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit our website at www.publiccharters.org.
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