Both the West Virginia House of Delegates and the State Senate came to order around noon today to begin passing Gov. Joe Manchin‘s education reform initiatives.

The House kicked off first, moving introduced legislation to the appropriate committees. The bulk of the legislation will go first to the House Education Committee then to the House Finance Committee. The House Education Committee, chaired by Del. Mary Poling (D-Barbour), will meet today at 2 p.m. to discuss charter schools. The House will reconvene today at 4 p.m.

The State Senate is looking at 13 pieces of legislation. Besides the education reform issues both chambers will be looking at the following:

• Renaming conservation officers and calling them “Natural Resources Police Officers.”
• Relating to criminal offenses and penalties regarding firearms and ammunition sales.
• Replacing “mentally retarded” with “intellectually disabled.”
• Implementing a temporary high-risk pool program to provide certain health insurance coverage.
• Creating a behavioral mental health service fund.

The chair of the Senate Education Committee is Sen. Robert Plymale (D-Wayne). The Senate Education Committee will meet at 4 p.m. and the Senate will reconvene at 5 p.m.

While the session is going on, here is a summary of all the bills being presented:

West Virginia Special Session Education Reform Bill Summaries