Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, is the chairman of the sub-committee for educational selection. She wants to see that the state offers parents a more competent way that wants to leave the public school system. (Photo by Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, a lawyer for school selection in the legislature, works with the Ministry of Education for Ministry of Education to create a “school selection portal” together with the first school Choice Office. It can be housed in the state education department.
Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, wants the state to support students more efficiently who leave the public school system in order to register for homeschooling, private schools, microsols and much more.
The portal of the Choice school would, as she called it, allow parents who call homeschooling, to submit the necessary applications and to find a certified teacher who could approve a homeschool portfolio of school work.
“The catalytic converter is that we have to move to this century … A portal for school selection was a way that I thought we could have everything in one place that is easily accessible to parents,” said Hess Crouse on Monday at a meeting of the sub -committee for Education selection in the House of Delegates. Hess Crouse serves as chairman of the subcommittee.
Homeschool students have to submit a portfolio in every class level. State law does not require a certain type of teaching certificate or experience to check the pupils’ portfolios.
The parents could also submit the results of a student on the portal.
“At the moment, parents have to send their documents to the County Boards of Ed either by e -mail or email, or then insert the boards in the system,” said Hess Crouse.
The technology would have been prescribed In a house bill From the beginning of this year, but the measure could not go through the Senate.
The deputy superintendent of the education department, Sonya White, informed the legislators that the department was working on the implementation of the portal without a legislative mandate.
“Shortly before the end of this month, we expect the website to be ready for the first review and examination,” said White.
Technology could reduce school authorities if they support families who need information from the public school system to switch to homeschooling or private school. The information would now be maintained in the portal operated by the WVDE, which the department for the state develops at no additional costs in its own house.
The students are assigned a clear school identification number in the public school system, which is referred to as the “Wveis number”, and the families need this number to apply for an application The Hope scholarshipThe state school voucher program.
Hess Crouse also said that there would probably be laws next year to create a state office for school selection.
According to White, the education department may explore the office at the estimated costs of 500,000 US dollars, including the payment of a manager and four program assistants to work in the state.
“It would be dependent on the appropriation,” she said.
Hess Crouse said she would prefer that it would be housed elsewhere outside the Ministry of Education.
“It was something that just started with a conversation, and my vision for this may be a little different from the vision of the State Board for it, but it is basically to give the parents a place to ask the questions and to receive the truthful answers to the choice of school,” said Hess Crouse, adding that they often receive contradicting information about the options and records of the students.
“I wanted our parents to have the right information where they could go and they knew that the information they would get would be impartial and that they would know what they had to do, what was necessary for them, regardless of how they were hit,” she said.
State school Board President Paul Hardesty said last week The fact that the focus of the legislators is on the school selection of the school has led to the tens of thousands of students left the public school system and initiated nationwide school consolidations and closures. According to the current school financing formula, the districts receive state funds on the basis of the number of students.
Sixteen public schools closed in 2024, according to WVDE in 2023 from nine in 2023.
“The financial instability of the system continues to grow and is growing and becomes worse,” said Hardesty, adding that the state schools were bound to many regulations, while private schools and homeschools are subject to the narrow state guidelines.
In response to his comments, Hess Crouse submitted a statement on Monday, in which he referred to the almost open nationwide ranking in the educational results in West Virginia.
“Parents deserve to decide what works best for their children, whether it is a home -made school, a private school, microschools, charter schools or the Hope scholarship,” she wrote. “Ultimately, education belongs to the parents, not the state. The school authorities can no longer make families to stay in a system that does not serve them.”
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