WVa Supreme Court OKs non-public school scholarship program

By LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A program that incentivizes West Virginia families to pull their children out of K-12 public schools by offering them state-funded scholarships can resume. The state Supreme Court issued an order on Thursday reversing a lower court’s ruling. The Hope Scholarship Program was scheduled to commence this school year and is one of the most far-reaching school choice programs in the country. It was blocked by a Charleston-area judge in July after she ruled that the program violates the state’s constitutional mandate to provide “a thorough and efficient system of free schools.” The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals justices did not provide their reasoning for their decision but said a more detailed opinion would follow.