Bill
HB 4859
Allows a county in a multicounty vocational center to withdraw and offer a local high school CTE program (state-approved or local) while guiding coordinated vocational facility pla
HB 4859 (2026) — West Virginia
Summary
This bill would modify provisions governing how county boards of education participate in multicounty vocational centers and how vocational programs are integrated with local high schools. It also revises planning considerations for constructing comprehensive vocational facilities when a multicounty center is involved.
Purpose and intent
- Allow a county board that participates in a multicounty vocational center to withdraw from participation. This is paired with a mechanism to optionally incorporate a career technical education (CTE) program directly into the local high school.
- Enable a CTE program at the local high school to be either a state-approved program of study or a locally created program of study.
- Adjust state guidance on the construction and planning of comprehensive vocational facilities to coordinate with multicounty centers and, when feasible, to include facilities for community or technical college education.
Key provisions and changes
1) Withdrawal and local high school integration (Article 2B, §18-2B-2a)
- Current law: Counties participating in a multicounty vocational center are not permitted to withdraw.
- Proposed change: A county board participating in a multicounty vocational center may determine that a CTE program should be part of the local high school.
- Program options: The local CTE program can be:
- A state-approved program of study (as required by federal standards, 20 U.S.C. § 2342), or
- A locally created program of study.
- Implications: Provides counties with the option to localize CTE offerings within their high schools, potentially reducing reliance on multicounty facilities for certain CTE programs.
2) Comprehensive vocational facilities planning (Article 9D, §18-9D-19)
- The bill keeps a strong role for the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) in coordinating facilities when a comprehensive vocational facility is planned alongside a high school.
- Key elements retained or clarified:
- Funding: The state School Building Authority would fund comprehensive vocational facilities on the same site as the high school, when feasible, and may fund facilities for community/technical college education in cooperation with HEPC.
- Planning and governance: The county board remains the fiscal agent; planning, design, bidding, and construction are governed by authority guidelines under supervision of the authority.
- Auxiliary gymnasium: Authority funding for at least one auxiliary gymnasium on high school projects.
- Evaluation criteria for funding: Distance from existing facilities, travel time, local funding capability, size of high schools, demand for vocational courses, age/condition of facilities, and other criteria the authority deems appropriate.
- For existing multicounty centers: If a county elects to construct a comprehensive vocational facility, the multicounty center director and board must be included in planning for programs that complement the multicounty center, and facilities may include career education, secondary offerings, and community/technical college education. Programs at the new vocational facility may not replace center programs without the center board’s consent.
- Authority to eliminate offerings: A county with an existing comprehensive vocational center can eliminate vocational offerings from a new comprehensive high school after completing a curriculum study and obtaining the authority’s approval.
Affected parties
- County boards of education participating in multicounty vocational centers (potential withdrawal option).
- Local high schools that may adopt a state-approved or locally created CTE program as part of the high school.
- Students and families in counties choosing to integrate CTE into the high school (potentially broader access to CTE without traveling to a multicounty center).
- County fiscal agents and school construction authorities overseeing vocational facilities, in coordination with HEPC and the School Building Authority.
- Multicounty vocational center boards and directors (coordination considerations if a new comprehensive facility is planned).
Procedural/timeline notes
- Introduced January 28, 2026; referred to the House Education Committee.
- The bill outlines procedural changes without specifying a fixed implementation date; if enacted, the changes would apply to future decisions about participation in multicounty centers and future high school/CV facility planning as the authority approves funding and plans.
Notes
- The bill includes strike-throughs and new language indicating intended changes to existing statute, emphasizing flexibility for counties to tailor CTE delivery to local needs while preserving state oversight for facilities.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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