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WEST virginia legislature
2025 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 470
By Senators Rose and Thorne
[Introduced February 14, 2025; referred
to the Committee on Education]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §18-2-25f, relating to allowing students, coaching staff, and athletic trainers to participate in non-school athletic activities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
The Legislature hereby finds that:
(1) While participation in school-sponsored extracurricular sports is a voluntary opportunity, no student-athlete, coach, or athletic trainer should be deprived of additional opportunities to advance or showcase their skills purely because they are associated with a school sports team;
(2) Prohibiting a student-athlete, coach, or athletic trainer from participating in nonschool-sponsored events or activities as a condition for association with a school-sponsored team is unlawfully arbitrary and is not rationally related to a state purpose; and
(3) A county board of education and the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission may not restrict nor prohibit a student, coach, or athletic trainer from competing in nonschool-sponsored events or participating on nonschool-sponsored competitive teams as a condition of being associated with a school-sponsored extracurricular activity or sport.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow students, coaching staff, and athletic trainers to participate in non-school athletic activities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
