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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Requires Certified Board Staff to Fill Critical Classroom Vacancies
Last action · January 29, 2026: To House EducationSponsors: Pritt and 2 others
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia House Bill 4904 requires county who hold certification in a specific subject area to act as classroom substitutes when an unfulfilled exists in that subject. The requirement applies until a permanent replacement is hired. The bill also formally defines a critical vacancy in public education.
Changes daily staffing obligations for certified central office or administrative personnel by mandating direct classroom instruction during severe staff shortages. School districts must alter how they deploy existing certified staff to maintain daily school operations and compliance standards.
- State legislatures frequently propose mechanisms to address chronic teacher shortages and critical vacancies in public school classrooms. context
- West Virginia county boards of education employ professional personnel and manage local school staffing policies under Chapter 18A of the state code. 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.
board staff
Certified board employees face mandatory reassignment to classroom substitution duties when subject-specific critical vacancies arise.
county boards of education
Boards must deploy their certified administrative or support personnel to fill instructional gaps during teacher shortages.
public school students
Students experience altered classroom staffing arrangements through the mandatory placement of certified board personnel as temporary substitutes.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is required to fill a critical classroom vacancy under this bill?
How does the bill define a critical vacancy?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Education
- Jan 29, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 29, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Education
- Jan 29, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled 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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Internal Reassignment for Teacher Shortages
The bill shifts from optional or external substitute recruitment to a mandatory internal deployment of certified central board employees to cover instructional vacancies.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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