West Virginia’s Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could redefine who has final authority over statewide public-school rules: the elected Legislature or the constitutionally created state Board of Education.
The dispute centers on arguments heard Sept. 22 over House Bill 2755, a 2025 law requiring newly adopted board rules to pass through legislative review. The state board contends that the law intrudes on its constitutional power to supervise free schools. Lawyers defending the statute say lawmakers retain authority to approve, amend or reject the rules used to carry out education policy.
The enrolled law requires the board to submit new rules to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The Legislature then has 15 months to approve, amend or reject a rule; if it takes no action, the rule becomes effective as the board adopted it. Emergency rules can take effect immediately but face filing deadlines and a 15-month limit.
That procedure matters well beyond administrative paperwork. Board rules translate broad statutes into operating standards for every county school system, covering subjects that can include curriculum, accreditation, student services and employee requirements. A ruling upholding the law would give lawmakers a formal checkpoint over future statewide rules. A ruling for the board would preserve a more independent rulemaking structure and could invalidate the new review process.
Both sides rely on the same constitutional text. Article XII says the Legislature must provide for a “thorough and efficient” system of free schools. It also places “general supervision” of those schools in the state board, which must perform duties prescribed by law. The official state Constitution therefore assigns responsibilities to both institutions without expressly spelling out how conflicts over detailed rules should be resolved.
The board points to the Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in West Virginia Board of Education v. Hechler. In that case, the court said the board’s constitutional rulemaking authority could not be impaired by a statutory filing requirement. During Tuesday’s argument, justices questioned whether that precedent controls HB 2755 or whether the Legislature’s lawmaking role permits the more limited review created by the statute.
The Legislature’s official history shows HB 2755 completed legislative action in April 2025 and became law without the governor’s signature, taking effect that July. The law declares that the Legislature holds ultimate authority over education rules, while still allowing the board to draft them.
No decision was issued from the bench Tuesday. Until the court rules, the central question remains institutional rather than ideological: whether legislative review is a permissible check on education policy or an unconstitutional transfer of the board’s supervisory power. The answer will shape how statewide school rules are made across all 55 counties long after the current dispute ends.
