The West Virginia House of Delegates Finance Committee introduced a fresh Hope Scholarship bill introduced on February 20 that will not lower the $230 million price tag. (Photo by Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
The House Finance Committee has changed course on its proposed plan to cut the cost of the state’s $230 million education voucher program after considering banning the employ of funds at out-of-state schools and for things like musical instruments.
House Republicans’ goal with the now-shelved bill was to make the program financially sustainable. The fresh in brief legislation will not lower the price of the program.
“When it comes to the type of dollars and the number of students that we have here, we need to look at the program and make adjustments to make sure that it endures and is functional and that the Legislature can actually afford to pay for it and keep it going,” Del said. Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, who serves on the Finance Committee, said it was simply “irresponsible” not to set responsible guardrails for the Hope Scholarship, now used by more than 10,000 students.
“We are losing money and the public education system is failing because of it,” Hornbuckle said.
The measure proposed by the committee Thursday morning would not change until the voucher amount is paid out to families or directly to private schools. The measure will shift payments to Hope participants from semi-annual to quarterly.
“This bill allows the state appropriate flexibility in providing payments for the Hope Scholarship Program,” Del said. Evan Worrell, R-Cabell. “I support this version of the bill because it continues to allow parents to choose the best educational path for their individual children, which is the premise of the Hope Scholarship program, within the existing guardrails that already exist within the program.”
He added: “I said from day one that I would be the wall that the original bill hit.”
On Wednesday the House of Representatives have approved their budget proposal This included $212 million for the Hope Scholarship.
The Hope Scholarship provides students with approximately $5,200 to employ for private school tuition, homeschooling and more. The program will be open to all West Virginia students for the first time next school year, and lawmakers are pre-funding the program to accommodate a likely raise in the number of students using it.
A analysis of federal education funding through the RAND Corporation — requested by House leadership this year — recommended expanding the Hope Scholarship. The Report also proposed Hope Scholarship Cap Based on Income.
A previous bill considered by the House Finance Committee would have made the first significant changes to the program since its inception in 2021. One idea was to do this Set the voucher amount at a fixed value of $5,250, compared to the $5,435.62 planned for next school year. It would have banned the employ of Hope funds at out-of-state schools or for tutoring services, fees for college admissions-related exams, and fees for after-school and summer programs.
“The reason this bill came out of the House was for two main reasons: cash flow and budget reconciliation,” said House Finance Vice Chairman Clay Riley, R-Harrison. “We need to adopt a budget and that is a good cash flow cash management strategy, but we should embrace discussions on all aspects. It is important to listen to the pros and cons from all sides.”
Riley said the current bill is “a great bill that resolves the original intent of the discussion” and addresses the tax implications of the Hope Scholarship.
During the bill debate, Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, pointed out that Thursday’s original bill bypassed a House vote Rule That required a hearing on the bill. The GOP-leaning committee then suspended the rules to put the bill up for a vote and send it to the House of Representatives.
Williams and Hornbuckle — the two Democratic members of the committee — sought to amend the measure to include guardrails such as banning the employ of the Hope Scholarship in out-of-state schools. Another proposed change would have prevented high-income families in West Virginia from receiving the funds.
“Many of the families participating in this program would still have had the opportunity to make their school choices with the help of the School Hope Scholarship, but we would not have ensured that millionaires’ children attend private school,” Williams said. “And we need to think about it before it really gets out of hand.”
Their amendments were deemed not relevant to the bill, meaning they were not relevant to the section of code the bill addressed and therefore could not be voted on.
The bill now goes to the plenary session for consideration.
State Treasurer Larry Pack, whose office oversees the Hope Scholarship, said he appreciated House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss reconsidering changes previously made to the Hope Scholarship.
“We understand the need to thoroughly review all government initiatives and look forward to future discussions with the leadership of both chambers on this program,” Pack wrote in a statement. “The Hope Scholarship has had a tremendous impact on thousands of West Virginia students. We want to ensure the longevity of the program for years to come.”
The amount of the Hope Scholarship varies each school year and depends on the amount of state funding per student made available to county school boards for public school students. The projected scholarship amount for the 2026-2027 school year is $5,435.62.
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