Randolph County Board of Education says teachers can't discuss how life began
ELKINS, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Randolph County Board of Education met Tuesday night, where it voted through several changes to its policy. Superintendent Shawn Dilly said that a majority of the changes were simply to update the code and make it compliant with West Virginia law, but one change in particular stood out.
One of the changes amended Section 16 of the county's Policy Manual, specifically the section that mentions controversial issues. Under the highlighted changes to the policy, which were written by independent policy service provider Neola, was one that said:
'The Board, Superintendent, or principal may prohibit a public school classroom teacher from responding to student inquiries or answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.'
Transgender athlete qualifies for West Virginia State Track Meet
At the bottom of that document, the policy cites Section §18-5-41a of the West Virginia Code as the reason behind the change. The code also outlines how teachers should handle the discussion of certain scientific theories and stems from Senate Bill 280 in 2024, which was passed into law. However, that bill and the code it created state the exact opposite of what Randolph County's new policy does, saying:
'No public school board, school superintendent, or school principal may prohibit a public school classroom teacher from responding to student inquiries or answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.'
Other changes put through Tuesday night included ones that outlined proper teacher-student ratios in classrooms, suicide prevention, self-harm and eating disorder prevention and a plan for if a student goes into cardiac arrest.
12 News has reached out to Superintendent Shawn Dilly about this issue and will update this story when we hear back.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
NIOSH division in charge of screening for miner lung diseases restored
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — Several jobs at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown have been officially restored following certification earlier this week that Reductions in Force (RIF) at the institution would not happen. So what's next? On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent out a court document certifying that the RIFs have been rescinded, a move that fully restores the Respiratory Health Division (RHD). This move is in compliance with a court injunction ordered in mid-May as part of a larger case against the cuts. The plaintiff's original suit sought the restoration of RHD, saying that RHD facilitates federally mandated coal miner lung screening programs and job transfer rights. The plaintiff's legal counsel, Samuel Petsonk, told 12 News that even despite this restoration, he is still concerned that NIOSH still doesn't have the ability to perform all of its federally mandated services as well as it did before the RIFs. He added that his office and client are weighing their options. Elderly and disabled residents trapped without functioning elevator in Clarksburg apartment building The rescinded RIFs for RHD accounted for 51 RHD employees, while hundreds of other NIOSH employees were originally impacted. The President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3430 Cathy Tinney-Zara, which represents the Morgantown NIOSH office, told 12 News that they were pleased with this rescinding of the RIFs, but that there are components of NIOSH still missing, such as the Health Effects Laboratory Division, which does research focused on evaluating, controlling, and preventing workplace safety and health hazards. Tinney-Zara added that AFGE is waiting for the Supreme Court decision on the broader legality of the federal downsizing. In the statement to 12 News, she said: 'While we await the court's decision, we are ready to return to work and continue our mission of protecting the health and safety of America's workers. We firmly believe that the value we provide to the government, to workers, and to their families will be recognized.' Tinney-Zara added that NIOSH's efforts 'significantly' reduce financial burdens on the federal government by lowering Social Security payments, workers' compensation claims and healthcare expenses. She said that 'by keeping the workforce safer and healthier, we not only save money but also safeguard lives.' You can read the full document certifying the restoration of RHD below. show_multidocsDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Community Focus: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley talks tax increases
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Providence Mayor Brett Smiley thinks he has the votes in the Rhode Island Senate to raise property taxes in the city past the current 4% cap. Smiley joined 12 News at 4 to talk more about the potential tax increase as well as the future of Providence Place and PVD Fest. Community Focus: RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Woman at center of Matos signature scandal avoids prison time after changing plea
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The woman at the center of the signature scandal that derailed Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos' congressional campaign in 2023 was spared prison time after changing her plea to no contest at Providence Superior Court on Monday. Holly McClaren had initially pleaded not guilty last year to two felony counts of violating nomination papers and two misdemeanor counts of giving false documents to an agent, employee or public official last year after she was indicted by a grand jury. On Monday, McClaren changed her plea to nolo contendere, or no contest, meaning she accepts the conviction as though a guilty plea has been entered but does not admit guilt. She was sentenced to three years unsupervised probation without any prison time, and she's allowed to relocate to Virginia. 'She signed papers or signatures that she didn't actually go out and secure,' McClaren's attorney, John Grasso, told reporters outside court. 'She thought that by signing those papers she was just confirming that somebody else had secured those signatures, not realizing that she was attesting to the authenticity of those signatures.' McClaren declined to comment following the hearing. The Matos campaign hired McClaren and her firm in 2023 to collect signatures on behalf of the campaign to get Matos' name on the ballot. It was then revealed several signatures were flagged as potentially fraudulent. Target 12 tracked down several people in Newport, Barrington, East Providence and Cranston who said their names were forged on the paperwork. The scandal launched a criminal investigation and McClaren was subsequently accused of knowingly falsifying nomination papers and submitting them to local canvassing boards. Target 12: 'That's not my signature': Newport residents dispute more Matos nomination papers The scandal caused political damage to Matos, who was widely considered a frontrunner in the race. She ended up finishing fourth in the Democratic primary election, losing to Gabe Amo, who went on to win the general election and holds the seat today. Matos has never been accused of involvement in the scheme. Last month, Matos told 12 News there were moments during the scandal when she thought she would step down from everything, calling it a 'rough time.' 'This whole process was very traumatic and there were moments in which I thought maybe I was going to quit everything and quit the race for congress then have to quit lieutenant governor.' Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. Eli Sherman (esherman@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook. Tim White contributed to this report Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
