West Virginia House Bill HB4905

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/26
• Refer: 1/29/26

Caption

Removing fees teachers have to pay in order to obtain any teaching license, certification, or additional continuing education credit hours (reporting fee) to the state Board of Education

Summary

HB4905 would require the West Virginia Department of Education to eliminate all fees associated with teacher licensure, certification, and the registration of continuing education credit hours by January 30, 2027. The bill amends the state code section governing payment of tuition, registration, and other fees for teachers, but its central change is to move from a reimbursement-based framework to a fee-elimination mandate for the department’s licensure and certification processes. The bill still preserves the existing reimbursement structure for certain coursework-related costs tied to certification renewal and additional endorsements in shortage areas. It keeps the current eligibility rules, including limits on reimbursable semester hours, priority for shortage-area needs when funds are limited, and the ability of the department to seek outside funding sources such as workforce investment funds. The measure also states that it does not require a specific appropriation or obligate the department to use other funds already appropriated for different purposes.

Impact

HB4905 would directly affect West Virginia Code §18A-3-3a by adding a requirement that the Department of Education remove fees for teacher licensure, certification, and continuing education credit-hour registration. In practice, this would reduce or eliminate out-of-pocket costs for teachers and prospective teachers interacting with the state licensing system, while leaving intact the department’s authority to reimburse coursework expenses under existing conditions. The bill could also shift administrative and fiscal responsibility to the state, though it expressly disclaims any mandate for a specific appropriation.

Sentiment

Based on the available context, the bill appears to have a generally supportive policy intent centered on reducing financial barriers for teachers. The caption and bill text frame the measure as a relief from fees that teachers must pay to obtain or maintain credentials, which suggests a pro-education, pro-teacher sentiment. No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no documented opposition or recorded debate in the provided materials.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is fiscal: eliminating licensure, certification, and continuing-education registration fees would reduce revenue to the Department of Education and could require the state to absorb those costs through other funding sources. The bill anticipates this issue by directing the department to seek non-general-revenue funding and by stating that no specific appropriation is required, but that language may not fully resolve concerns about implementation or lost fee revenue. Another possible issue is whether the department can operationally remove all fees by the stated deadline while still administering certification and renewal programs.