Bill > SB122

This bill updates the school aid formula by establishing a minimum net enrollment of 1,200 students for each county, starting in the 2025-2026 school year. Specifically, the bill modifies the existing definition of "net enrollment" in West Virginia's education funding law to ensure that counties with fewer than 1,200 students will have their enrollment artificially increased to reach that threshold when calculating state education funding. To provide flexibility during the initial implementation, the bill includes a provision that counties will not be penalized for failing to meet certain professional staffing ratios in the 2025-2026 school year if the increased enrollment is a result of this new minimum requirement. The bill also allows for any increase in enrollment due to students being sent to jointly established schools in other counties to be added after applying the minimum enrollment calculation. This change aims to support smaller, potentially rural counties by ensuring they receive a baseline level of state education funding, even if their actual student population is below 1,200 students.