Public Comments

This is a no brainer, of course girls wrestling should be a sanctioned sport in WV High Schools! Girls wrestling is the fastest growing girls sport in the US since 2021.

West Virginia’s current licensure reciprocity structure for school psychologists seeking to practice independently creates unnecessary barriers that ultimately limit student access to essential mental health and evaluation services. While licensure standards are intended to protect the public, the existing process is often overly restrictive compared to neighboring states and does not reflect the realities of today’s school psychology workforce.

School psychologists across the United States are trained under nationally aligned standards through NASP-approved programs, accredited university preparation, supervised internships, and standardized credentialing processes such as the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential. These benchmarks already ensure high-quality preparation. Yet experienced, fully licensed school psychologists in other states frequently face duplicative hurdles when attempting to serve West Virginia students in private or independent practice settings.

This has several serious consequences:

1. Reduced Access to Services for Children and Families
West Virginia continues to face shortages in child mental health providers, especially in rural regions. School psychologists in private practice help fill critical gaps by providing psychoeducational evaluations, risk assessments, counseling, and consultation services that schools often lack capacity to deliver in a timely manner. Lengthy or uncertain reciprocity processes delay or prevent qualified professionals from serving children who are already waiting months for evaluations and supports.

2. Outdated Barriers in a Modern Service Delivery Era
The profession has evolved. Telehealth, remote assessment models, and cross-state consultation are now standard practice. Many surrounding states have adapted licensure pathways to reflect workforce mobility and the need for interstate collaboration. West Virginia risks falling behind if its policies do not align with contemporary service models and regional workforce patterns.

3. Duplication of Already-Verified Competency
Professionals seeking reciprocity are often already licensed as independent school psychologists or psychologists elsewhere, have years of experience, carry malpractice coverage, and may hold national credentials such as NCSP. Requiring redundant documentation, additional examinations, or prolonged approval timelines does not meaningfully enhance public safety — it simply restricts workforce supply.

4. Impact on Schools and Special Education Compliance
Schools depend on timely evaluations to meet IDEA timelines and provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). When external evaluators are scarce, districts struggle with compliance, and students experience delays in identification, intervention, and services. Expanding access to qualified reciprocal providers directly supports school systems in meeting federal mandates.

Recommended Modernizations

West Virginia could maintain strong professional standards while improving access through:

• Streamlined reciprocity for professionals licensed in states with comparable standards

• Recognition of NCSP as evidence of meeting training and competency requirements

• Reduced duplicative documentation where credentials are already verified

• Temporary or provisional licensure pathways while full review is completed

• Alignment with interstate licensure mobility efforts seen in other health professions

Bottom Line

Modernizing reciprocity is not about lowering standards — it is about removing unnecessary barriers that prevent qualified professionals from serving children. West Virginia’s students, families, and schools benefit when licensure systems are rigorous and responsive to workforce realities. Updating reciprocity policies would strengthen service access, reduce evaluation backlogs, and support the state’s commitment to child mental health and educational equity.

I support the sanctioning of a women's wrestling division in which only biological, XX, females participate.

Please make girls wrestling a sanction sport.

This is the fastest growing girls sport and WV is falling behind. Yes, my granddaughter wrestles and I'm very proud of her. Please pass House Bill 4834. Sincerely, Donna Lori Shaffer

I can't put into words how stupid this is, but I'll try. How do we test if they have "immunity" from their exposure? Have you heard of Typhoid Mary, who was technically immune to Typhus but able to transfer it? Who is lobbying you to remove vaccine requirements? West Virginian lives are not for sale.

This bill seems to be a dramatic cut to school boards (no more than 27). In many cases, schools must compete for attention, funding, and staff even within their own county. In addition to this, I can't imagine the affect this may have on personal matters, especially in relation to Reduction in Force (RIF). I fear this is another attack in the decades long battle on public education.

Why are you trying to dictate if municipalities can have non-partisan elections for mayor and city council.  That should be up to the people that live there.  We have enough division in tvhis state and country because of parties.  Let's not take it to the local level too.

1. I'm a tax payer, land owner and registered voter. I fully support HB4371. It's time WV! Mountaineers are always free.

Been needed to happen catch our girls up to the rest of the nation 💯

Sanctioning women’s wrestling would be a huge move for our state!! My daughter has wrestled for 5 years and we’ve seen it grow more and more each year. She currently starts varsity at Hurricane Middle school, was also varsity last year and has multiple state championships. We’ve hoped since she started that she would have better opportunities once she got to high school. Please make this an opportunity!!