Requiring vocational education agriculture programs be offered to all students
SB 1077 (West Virginia Senate Bill 1077) prevents county school boards from reducing funding for vocational agriculture programs during the 2027 fiscal year below what they spent in the current fiscal year. It directly affects county boards of education across West Virginia by requiring them to maintain existing funding levels for these programs. The bill’s key provision, added as §18-5-55 to the state code, aims to protect these programs from budget cuts during fiscal year 2027. It does not create new programs or require universal student enrollment, but rather safeguards existing vocational agriculture funding. This is a procedural funding protection measure, not a new educational mandate.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 23, 2026
Last action Mar 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
Committee Substitute
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to significantly strengthen protections for vocational agriculture programs. The original version only prohibited cutting funding for these programs, while the new version mandates that these programs must be offered to all students. It also establishes strict criteria for terminating such programs, allowing it only if enrollment is the lowest among all vocational programs, and requires a formal report explaining the decision to be submitted to the state oversight commission.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from a financial protection measure to a mandatory program availability requirement with specific termination safeguards.
REQUIREMENT
Changed the requirement from merely protecting funding levels to mandating that programs be offered to all students.
Added a specific condition that programs can only be terminated if they have the lowest enrollment of all vocational education programs.
ENFORCEMENT
Added a new requirement for school districts to submit a detailed report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability if they terminate a program.
SCOPE
Added findings stating the benefits of agriculture, including food security and economic contributions.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 2, 2026
How they voted
31–0
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 33
Mar 2, 2026
D
Democratic2
100% Yea
R
Republican31
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
16
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Mar 3, 2026
Committee
To House Education
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Committee
To Education
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (Roll No. 290)
upper
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee substitute reported
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Committee
To Education
upper
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Randy Smith
RRepublican
Co
Bill Hamilton
RRepublican
Co
Jay Taylor
RRepublican
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