SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 23

(By Senators Grady, Clements, Azinger, Bartlett, Deeds, Fuller, Garcia, Morris, Roberts, and Taylor)

[Originating in the Committee on Education; reported March 31, 2025]

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to study the mission of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission; how effective it is in achieving that mission; improving the commission’s efficiency; whether the commission is sufficiently transparent; whether the commission has sufficient accountability; and whether a performance evaluation would be appropriate.

Whereas, The commission’s budget is about $2.5 million per year; its funding is derived from ticket revenue and corporate sponsors; no tax dollars are used to fund the commission; and county boards have not paid dues to the commission for decades; and

Whereas, West Virginia Code §18-2-25 requires that the county boards of education exercise the control, supervision, and regulation of all interscholastic athletic events and other extracurricular activities of the students in public secondary schools; that the county boards can delegate that control, supervision, and regulation to the commission; and that the commission is composed of the principals, or their representatives, of those secondary schools whose county boards have elected to delegate that control, supervision, and regulation to the commission;

Whereas, The West Virginia Supreme Court has held that West Virginia Code §18-2-25 is constitutional since it’s clear that the Legislature only intended to permit county boards and the commission to supervise and regulate extracurricular activities subject to the West Virginia Board of Education’s constitutional duty to generally supervise schools in this state which also implies that these extracurricular activities are a part of the system of free schools that the Legislature is to provide for; and

Whereas, While the commission isn’t funded by any tax dollars, it does perform functions that are the responsibility of the county boards of education and are delegated to it by those county boards which are funded by state and local tax revenues and are a key instrument of the Legislature in fulfilling its constitutional duty to provide, by general law, for a thorough and efficient system of free schools, which includes the extracurricular activities of the students attending those schools; and

Whereas, The policies and decisions made by the commission are personal to every family that includes a student athlete participating in a commission governed activity and those families are reaching out to their legislative representatives regarding the commission; and

Whereas, The fact that Senate Bill 804, introduced during the 2025 regular legislative session to reform the commission, acquired over 20 sponsors indicates that there are issues with the commission that the Legislature needs to review; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the mission of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission; how effective it is in achieving that mission; improving the commission’s efficiency; whether the commission is sufficiently transparent; whether the commission has sufficient accountability; and whether a performance evaluation would be appropriate; and, be it

Further Resolved, That this study include input from various sources including, but not limited to, coaches, parents, and athletes; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2026, on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report, and to draft legislation be paid for legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.