HB 3452 West Virginia House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Transferring administration of Advanced Career Education (ACE) classes and programs from county boards of education to community and technical colleges.

HB 3452 transfers administration of Advanced Career Education (ACE) programs - from high school courses preparing students for specific careers - from county school boards to community and technical colleges. The bill amends education code to end current county board oversight (repealing §18-5-19b) and establishes community colleges as the new administrators for ACE programs, including approval of curricula and credentials. This directly affects high school students enrolled in ACE pathways, county schools currently managing these programs, and community colleges taking on this responsibility. The change aims to align career education with college-level technical training structures, though it does not alter program content or funding mechanisms.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 17, 2025 Last action Mar 27, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill transfers administration of Advanced Career Education (ACE) classes from county school boards to community and technical colleges, shifting control of vocational training programs from local education districts to higher education institutions. The change aims to streamline vocational education delivery and align it with college-level career training programs. It establishes a two-year transition period with detailed requirements for personnel transfers, facility usage, and equipment distribution between the two entities.

Scope change

The bill significantly expands the scope of community and technical colleges by giving them administrative control over ACE programs previously managed by county boards of education, while county boards retain oversight of regular high school vocational programs.

TIMELINE

Establishes a two-year transition period (July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2026) for transferring ACE program administration from county boards to community and technical colleges.

REQUIREMENT

Requires memorandums of agreement between county boards and colleges covering facility use, equipment transfer, personnel compensation, and retirement benefits.

FISCAL

Creates specific provisions for handling employee transfers including salary protection, leave transfer limits (maximum 112.5 hours for non-teachers), and retirement plan options.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes dispute resolution mechanism between State Superintendent of Schools and Chancellor of Community and Technical College Education for unresolved transfer issues.

SCOPE

Repeals existing statutory language that gave county boards authority to administer ACE classes and programs.

DEFINITION

Adds new section defining ACE program transfer procedures and mutual agreement requirements between education entities.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

By substitute, do pass

lower

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

To House Education

lower

Mar 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

To Education

lower

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors