Moving the school system from a 5 day work week into a 4 day work week.
Summary
HB2927 would amend the state education code to authorize the West Virginia State Board of Education to approve a two-year county pilot program that changes the school week from five eight-hour instructional days to four ten-hour instructional days. The bill frames this as an alternative school-operations model that must still satisfy the spirit and intent of existing education laws and be designed to optimize student learning.
The measure requires any participating county board to submit a comprehensive plan showing that the schedule preserves instructional time, supports teacher planning and collaboration, and is intended to improve student learning within a reasonable period. It also ties the pilot to the existing school calendar approval process in §18-5-45, including public meetings with parents, teachers, teacher organizations, businesses, and other interested parties. The bill specifically contemplates evaluating effects on student and staff absenteeism and fiscal savings.
Impact
If enacted, HB2927 would expand the State Board of Education’s authority under §18-2-5 to approve a limited county-level scheduling pilot that departs from the traditional five-day school week. It would not mandate a four-day week statewide, but it would create a statutory pathway for counties to seek approval for a compressed instructional schedule under board oversight and subject to local planning, faculty senate approval for certain school-level policies, and public input requirements. The bill would affect county boards, school administrators, teachers, students, and families in participating counties, while leaving the broader structure of state education law intact.
Sentiment
The bill’s framing suggests generally supportive sentiment toward local flexibility and experimentation in school scheduling, with an emphasis on improving student learning, teacher collaboration, and operational efficiency. The absence of recorded committee debate or votes means there is no documented opposition or support in the provided materials, but the bill text itself presents the proposal as a research-oriented pilot rather than a permanent statewide change. Its stated goals of analyzing absenteeism and fiscal savings indicate an interest in both educational and budgetary outcomes.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are the shift from a traditional five-day school week to a four-day schedule, the longer ten-hour school day, and whether such a change would truly improve learning or instead create burdens for students, families, and staff. Concerns may also arise over local control versus statewide consistency, the adequacy of instructional time, and whether the pilot could affect childcare, transportation, extracurricular activities, and employee working conditions. The bill attempts to address these issues by requiring public meetings, faculty senate involvement, and a plan focused on preserving planning time and instructional quality.
Expiring funds to the unappropriated surplus balance in the State Fund, General Revenue, from the Department Revenue, State Budget Office, PEIA Rainy Day Fund
Making a supplementary appropriation to the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Medical Services – Policy and Programming and State Board of Education – State Department of Education