Latest news with #LexiBrowning
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New report: WV education outcomes still nearly last in country, fewer kids attending preschool
Inside a Kanawha County elementary classroom in West Virginia. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) West Virginia's ranking for child well-being has made slight improvements, but the state is still struggling with students meeting basic academic benchmarks. The new Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation said that in 2024, 75% of West Virginia's fourth graders were not proficient in reading, and 82% of the state's eighth graders were not proficient in math. The annual report assesses childhood well-being in every state. The data showed that, nationally, students are struggling with reading and math since the COVID-19 pandemic's interruptions to learning. Plus, chronic absenteeism has become a major challenge. West Virginia ranks 45th in education, according to the report that was released earlier this week. 'State lawmakers have spent the last few years focusing on really a small sliver of the population by passing policies related to private school and home school,' said Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, which is West Virginia's member of the Casey Foundation's Kids Count network. 'We're always going to see most of our kids [receive] their education through public schools. So if we really want to boost these outcomes in education, we have to focus our efforts on where kids are, in our public school system,' she continued. Additionally, the number of children attending early childhood education programs worsened. Around 70% of West Virginia children ages three and four are not enrolled in school pre-school or child care, which is the second-worst rate in the country. The state is woefully short in child care programs, which Allen said has played a part in the decline of students attending preschool. 'Whether it's Head Start or pre-K or child care — and those are areas where we have seen backsliding or lack of investment from the state level — and we know early childhood education is so formative for children's future,' she said, adding that the state is spending less on child care than it did before the pandemic. West Virginia moved to 41st in child well-being — up from 44th last year. In 2023, 20% of West Virginia's kids lived in poverty, an improvement over the previous year's rate of 25%. The state is third best in the country for health insurance coverage, and only 3% of kids are uninsured. Many West Virginia children use the state's Medicaid Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, but potential federal cuts and changes to Medicaid could threaten that coverage. 'Children with health insurance are more likely to have a regular source of health care they can access for preventive services, developmental screenings and treatment for physical or mental health needs,' the report said. However, nearly 10% of babies were low birth weight, placing the state at 45th in that category. Low birth weight is a leading cause of infant death in the United States, and these babies have a higher probability of developmental problems and disabilities. The share of U.S. infants with a low birth weight has steadily worsened for more than 30 years, the report said, and the rate remains higher than most other peer nations. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Morrisey approves $738K in emergency spending on out-of-state vendors to fix WV foster care
The West Virginia Department of Human Resources, located at One Davis Square in Charleston, (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) Under Gov. Patrick Morrisey, the state has spent more than $700,000 in emergency purchases in an effort to fix glaring issues in West Virginia's foster care crisis. The money was spent on out-of-state vendors to help with urgent needs that included licensing new foster families and delays in placing children in homes. The state— which is the fastest in the nation to remove children from homes — doesn't have enough traditional foster homes, leading to some children being sent to out-of-state facilities or sleeping in hotels. About half of the money was spent on a foster care 'listening tour,' where Chicago-based Guidehouse advisory firm facilitated meetings around the state that brought together foster families, Child Protective Services workers, biological parents and more to air grievances and offer solutions for a laundry list of issues in the child welfare system. 'Without immediate intervention, West Virginia risks further deterioration of its child welfare system, placing countless children at greater risk of harm. The crisis demands urgent attention from agencies and community stakeholders to ensure that every child in the state receives the protection and care they deserve,' the state Department of Human Services wrote in an emergency purchasing request earlier this year requesting $348,000 for the listening session facilitator. Emergency purchases permit state agencies to bypass the usual bidding process required in state government. DoHS said in its request that the traditional procurement process 'would take too long and not align with the urgency required to address the crisis.' 'The CPS crisis has escalated to a level that demands swift intervention,' the request continued. The listening tour wrapped up last month, and Guidehouse will produce a report this summer with its findings. Morrisey, through an executive order, is requiring his office to review any purchasing requests over $100,000 as he looks to reduce government spending and root out waste. Along with approving the funds for the listening tour, Morrisey also approved a $390,000 emergency purchase request in March from DoHS for a vendor 'to provide solutions-driven approach' to improve the state's foster care licensing and placement issue. 'Governor Morrisey is committed to reforming the Child Welfare System and supports creative solutions to the many longstanding, inherited challenges,' Morrisey's spokesperson told West Virginia Watch. The one-year contract was awarded to Change & Innovation Agency, according to DoHS. The agency is a Missouri-based consulting firm that specializes in child welfare, child care and more. The agency will be tasked with helping DoHS improve its process for licensing foster families as the state has a backlog of families who have applied to foster. They'll also work on ensuring the state is in compliance with state and federal foster care guidelines. 'DoHS looks forward to partnering with Change & Innovation Agency to address the time required to license new foster families, placement delays and administrative burdens while developing a sustainable framework for long-term system improvements,' said Angel Hightower, communications director for DoHS. During the recent legislative session, Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, called for an outside agency to audit the state's foster care system, which is serving more than 6,100 kids with an ongoing shortage of CPS workers, in-state homes and mental health services for children. The state spent nearly $70 million last fiscal year to house foster children in out-of-state facilities because the state doesn't have the capacity to keep children close to home. Stuart also wanted a group to make recommendations for how DoHS could improve its foster care system. DoHS Secretary Alex Mayer pushed back on Stuart's legislation, saying that he wanted to assess the problems himself after taking on the role at the beginning of the year. He also vowed changes to the troubled system. Mayer attended the listening tour sessions, saying that it was imperative he hear from people around the state about their experiences with the child welfare system. Stuart paused his bill mandating the outside audit, and DoHS requested the outside group to help with placements in March before the legislative session adjourned. 'The emergency procurement differs significantly in scope and intent,' Hightower said. 'While Sen. Stuart's bill proposed an external audit and study of the child welfare system, the department's request focused on streamlining and improving foster care licensing and placement.' On Monday, Stuart said bringing in an outside group to help with licensing foster families showed a serious approach under Morrisey in addressing the issues. 'I hope that my efforts have played a role in trying to fix a broken system. I applaud the governor's office's willingness to invest in our kids,' Stuart said. 'I don't care what form it comes in or who gets the credit, but I want to make sure and my focus is the child welfare system — making sure it works for our kids and our families.' He added, 'I think there are a lot of people to blame here — administration after administration that didn't pay proper attention to this issue.' Stuart added that he expected more funding requests to address foster care problems. Lawmakers recently allocated more than $300 million in the upcoming budget for child welfare services; Morrisey cut 75% of lawmakers' allocated funding to West Virginia's Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, a program that helps foster children in the court system, before signing the budget bill. Morrisey recently announced sweeping reforms to the state's child welfare system that he said would end 'years of bureaucratic stonewalling' from within the agency and begin a 'new era of transparency.' The Republican governor attributed some of the changes to the recently-concluded DoHS listening tour. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ACLU-WV sues Trump administration officials over Marshall student's revoked visa
Marshall University, located in Huntington, (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Marshall University graduate student whose visa was 'unlawfully' revoked as a part of an immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump's administration. More than 1,000 international students at 160 colleges and universities across the country have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since March, according to a report by the Associated Press. That includes students at colleges and universities in West Virginia. The Marshall student, identified in a Friday news release as S.V., was one month away from graduating when his visa was revoked, according to the ACLU-WV. The student received an email stating that his F-1 visa was being revoked and later learned that he was 'identified in a criminal records check,' the news release said. S.V., 28-year-old data science student originally from India, was sentenced to probation in 2020 in Indiana for operating a vehicle under the influence, a misdemeanor, according to the release. He left the United States and returned in 2023 to study at Marshall. ACLU-WV legal director Aubrey Sparks said that having been identified in a criminal record check is not legal ground for terminating a visa. 'Our client was not convicted of a crime of violence, nor was he convicted of a crime for which the potential sentence is more than one year, meaning that he categorically is not subject to termination of his F-1 status on those grounds,' Sparks said. According to the ACLU, S.V. disclosed the previous charge when re-applying, satisfied all requirements, and was permitted to re-enter the country under the new visa. The student was in the process of applying for post-graduate work in the United States when he received the email ending his visa. The situation caused chaos for his education and career plans, he said. 'I desperately want to complete my graduate degree and pursue work in the United States,' he said in the news release. 'It is clear this wasn't a decision based on my circumstance or experience — this was a predetermined outcome and they just said whatever needed to be said to justify it, even when it didn't apply to me.' The ACLU-WV filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The complaint names Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Across the country, lawsuits have been filed and rallies held in response to the student visas being revoked. Government officials have not specified the reasons the administration has canceled visas, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that participating in protests against Israel's war in Gaza will not be tolerated. 'They're here to go to class. They're not here to lead activist movements that are disruptive and undermine our universities. I think it's lunacy to continue to allow that,' Rubio said. In the news release, ACLU-WV executive director Eli Baumwell said international students and scholars are a vital part of the nation's universities, economy and communities. 'Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that the Trump administration is simply taking the law into its own hands in its crusade against noncitizens,' he said. 'Never before has a president taken such sweeping actions to revoke student visas, and that's why we need the courts to step in and protect their rights to due process under the Constitution.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WV lawmakers must fulfill constitutional mandate to provide thorough system of free schools
Lockers in a Kanawha County school in West Virginia. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) As an educator and parent, I have seen firsthand the power of public schools to help our students achieve brighter futures and bring our communities together. But I have also watched the underfunding and politicization of public education in West Virginia over the past decade and the consequences for our state's students. While it is certainly true that schools and funding must adapt to meet the changing needs of students and communities, I've never seen any program improve by starving it of funding. Unless policymakers and the public take action now to re-envision school funding and protect community schools, more closures will be on the horizon. The vast majority of children in West Virginia receive and will continue to receive their education through the public school system, which needs to be equipped and well-resourced to serve them well. School staff work hard every day to meet their students' needs, but the diversion of public taxpayer dollars to school vouchers (Hope Scholarship), the expansion of charter schools, population decline and deep revenue losses from tax cuts are exacerbating long-existing challenges. Nowhere is this situation more dire than in rural and low-income areas, where county school boards and communities are having to make impossible decisions with limited funding increasingly across the state. According to KIDS COUNT data, in West Virginia one in five children are food insecure and 25% live in poverty. In the counties I've taught in, like Mingo and Roane, those percentages rise to 37% of kids living in poverty and one in three being food insecure. Our schools are not just teaching reading and math — they are providing essential services to these kids like breakfast and lunch, and some even offer health clinics. Public schools offer a gathering place for athletic events, dance recitals, and more. And notably, they are often among the largest employers and economic drivers within their communities. That means the result of a school closure is not just long bus rides for students—it is also the loss of the heart of the community and one of the most important factors families look at when considering moving to this state. Legislators and the public must consider whether the expansion of the Hope Scholarship vouchers program is fiscally responsible at a time when our public schools are already under-resourced. Should we spend public tax money on a program that has practically no reporting requirements and that allows parents of any income level the option to purchase private music lessons or Clay Center memberships as public schools across the state are closing their doors, reducing extracurricular options, and laying off arts and music teachers, counselors, nurses, and custodians? Should students be forced to sit on buses for over 3 hours a day to simply access their education? If we do have the capacity to increase funding for education, wouldn't it be better spent supporting the public school districts that are struggling to keep their community schools staffed and open — public schools that almost 90% of the families in West Virginia have selected as their school choice? This is a critical moment for state lawmakers to fulfill their constitutional mandate: 'the Legislature shall provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools.' To me and to most West Virginia families, that means investing in community schools and giving all students the opportunity to receive a quality education — especially those who live in rural areas with poor internet, have special education needs, live in poverty or that have other circumstances that make public school their only viable 'choice.' I hope that our legislators will halt any plans to expand the Hope Scholarship voucher program, which is expected to balloon to over $100 million in costs this coming year and then up to $300 million the following year. I urge them to strengthen reporting requirements for this program so taxpayers can see who is benefitting, as well as direct available funding into the public school system that so many students and families in the Mountain State rely upon. Not adequately funding public schools is simply shirking responsibility and giving away $5,000 coupons does not abdicate West Virginia from its constitutional responsibility. We are approaching a point of no return — if state legislators do nothing, there will be an even greater wave of school closures over the next one to two years. And once a school closes, it rarely reopens. I fear what that means for the future of our state's students. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Instead of helping West Virginians, some GOP lawmakers seem intent on passing bills to harm
The Lincoln Walks at Midnight Statue sits in front of the West Virginia state Capitol building in Charleston, (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) We're almost at the halfway point of the legislative session, so let's take a little look at what our legislators have been doing. Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, is proposing with Senate Bill 109 to incentivize residents to report drug activity to police by offering reward money. The money from the Narc on Your Neighbor for Money Act — whoops, I mean the Neighborhood Assistance and Rejuvenation Compact Act — would come from a new excise tax on naloxone and drug testing strips. Tarr has said the state could market the program by posting mugshots of people convicted of drug crimes to billboards in areas with high drug activity. He said his inspiration came after watching the news and seeing 'bodies hanging off of bridges' in a report on cartels in Mexico. Please don't let this guy watch 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Taxing products designed to prevent people from dying does not seem like the answer here. Narcan, one of the brand names for naloxone, is already prohibitively expensive for some people. And while there are groups that provide both naloxone and drug testing strips for free, why would we want to make it more expensive for them to help people? Instead of shaming people convicted of drug crimes and asking their neighbors to spy and tattle on them, maybe the state should consider not banning harm reduction programs? Helping people instead of shaming seems like the more humane option. Another bill that seems designed to make life harder for West Virginians is House Bill 3016. The state passed a voter ID law in 2016 and when it went into effect two years later, residents could prove who they were with more than a dozen different forms of identification other than a driver's license, including a hunting or fishing license, a utility bill or their Social Security card. HB 3016 would do away with most of those forms of identification and whittles it down to six — all of which require a photo: driver's license, state ID, passport, employee ID, student ID and military ID. The lead sponsor on this bill is Del. Erica Moore, R-Roane. The bill also adds text that a valid voter registration card 'that includes the voter's photograph issued by a county clerk in the State of West Virginia or the Secretary of State' will work. Of course, lawmakers also said during a meeting that this isn't required, and would be up to each county clerk if they wanted to create and issue voter registration cards with photos. This will just add another layer to confusion to voting. Am I registered? Where is my polling place? Is my registration active? What ID do I need? What kind of voter registration card does my county have? Absentee ballots aren't safe either. House Bill 2117 would make it illegal for anyone — including an election official — to mail or deliver absentee ballot applications unless it's been specifically requested by the voter or their family/caregiver. Six Republicans thought this was such a great idea, they sponsored the bill: Doug Smith (Mercer), Mike Hornby (Berkeley), Geno Chiarelli (Monongalia), Chris Phillips (Barbour), Michael Hite (Berkeley) and Kathie Hess Crouse (Putnam). Why is an application for an absentee ballot something that should require consent? Do they not want us to vote? Another head scratcher comes from Sen. Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha. His bill would reinstate the death penalty in West Virginia for people convicted of killing a law-enforcement officer or first responder. It has a price tag of $26 million to implement. In the last 45 years, only 21 people would have been eligible for the death penalty. It's odd to me that Stuart, who says he is 'unapologetically pro-life' wants the state to spend about $1.2 million per state-sanctioned killing. But at least, he knows the monetary cost of his bill. That's more than we can say for House Bill 2515, which would require counties to create alternative learning centers for chronically disruptive students. The bill from lead sponsor Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, has advanced to the Senate, but it has no proposed funding to build the centers or staff them. Details, details. Today is day 28 of 60. Will the Legislature do better during the second half of the session? For West Virginians' sake, I hope so. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
