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SB 959WEST VIRGINIASession 2026State Billdead

Did Not Advance

West Virginia closes Parent Education Fund and redirects fees and civil penalties to Family Court Fund

Original title: Closing Parent Education Fund

Last action · February 16, 2026: To JudiciarySponsor: Mike Oliverio

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Proposed

West Virginia Senate Bill 959 closes the on July 1, 2026, transferring any remaining balance and future class fees and civil penalties for violations directly to the .

Background

Parent education classes are commonly mandated by family courts in West Virginia for divorcing or separating parents to help minimize trauma and conflicts for minor children. context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Divorce and Custody Litigants

Directly affected

Parents Subject to Parenting Plans

Key Facts

The Parent Education Fund is officially closed as of July 1, 2026.
Family courts may continue to require divorcing or separating parents with minor children to attend parent education classes unless attendance is deemed inappropriate or unnecessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.

Procedural history

4 actions

Feb 16, 2026SenateCommittee
To Judiciary
Feb 16, 2026SenateIntroduced
Introduced in Senate
Feb 16, 2026SenateCommittee
To Judiciary then Finance
Feb 16, 2026SenateIntroduced
Filed for introduction

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Consolidation of Court Special Funds

The legislation eliminates a standalone revenue fund for parent education and merges its revenue streams into the broader Family Court Fund.

Parent Education Fund Family Court Fund

Connected Entities

Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Joint Committee on Government and Finance, Supreme Court of Appeals and 2 more

OrganizationAdministrative Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals“Previously used Parent Education Fund moneys to reimburse class providers and su”Map →

OrganizationJoint Committee on Government and Finance“Recipient of parent education program effectiveness reports”Map →

OrganizationSupreme Court of Appeals“Approves organizations for parent education and oversees program administration”Map →

PersonMike Oliverio“Lead sponsor of Senate Bill 959”Map →

OrganizationState Treasurer“Receives parent education class fees for deposit into state funds”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.wvlegislature.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 35)
Controversy5
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment1
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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