W. Va. Code § 18-2-7
This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 18-2-7, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§18-2-7. Courses of study; language of instruction.
Official statutory text
The state Board of Education shall prescribe minimum standards in the courses of study to be offered in elementary schools, high schools, vocational schools and in all other kinds, grades and classes of schools or departments thereof, which may now or hereafter be maintained in the state, in whole or in part, from any state fund or funds: Provided, That the courses of study in the public schools in the state shall be prepared by the faculties, teachers or other constituted authority thereof, and shall, before going into effect, be submitted to the state Board of Education for its approval. The basic language of instruction in all schools, public, private and parochial, shall be the English language only. The state board shall not adopt any policies or rules which set out time requirements within the instructional day for instruction in kindergarten through fourth grade.
The state Board of Education shall accept American sign language as a credited course of study in a foreign language in elementary schools, high schools, vocational schools and in all other kinds, grades and classes of schools or departments thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to require the provision of instruction in American sign language that is not otherwise required by state or federal statute or regulation: Provided, however, That on or before January 6, 1995, the state board shall provide to the Governor and to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates a plan for teaching American sign language in public schools, which plan shall include the form and manner proposed by the state board for implementation of the teaching of American sign language in the schools, the time frame for implementation and the projected cost of the implementation.
The state Board of Education shall accept American sign language as a credited course of study in a foreign language in elementary schools, high schools, vocational schools and in all other kinds, grades and classes of schools or departments thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to require the provision of instruction in American sign language that is not otherwise required by state or federal statute or regulation: Provided, however, That on or before January 6, 1995, the state board shall provide to the Governor and to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates a plan for teaching American sign language in public schools, which plan shall include the form and manner proposed by the state board for implementation of the teaching of American sign language in the schools, the time frame for implementation and the projected cost of the implementation.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in West Virginia?
Find a West Virginia lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.