CHARLESTON — The West Virginia House of Delegates, taking a page from the state Senate’s playbook, passed its own massive bill Wednesday aimed at multiple education reforms, including creating the state’s first public charter school system.

House Bill 206, coming in at 144 pages, passed the House 51-47 after being amended Wednesday. The bill is the House’s answer to Senate Bill 1039, the 142-page Student Success Act, which passed the Senate June 3.

HB 206 includes several of the items in the Student Success Act that have wide support. These include a 5 percent pay raise for teachers and school service personnel, $24 million for increased mental health services in schools, and provisions to increase more funding for county school systems and give them more flexibility from state rules and regulations.

Just like the previous Senate bill, HB 206 increases pay for math teachers and frees counties to pay more to fill high-need teaching positions. It expands the West Virginia National Guard Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy, creates a project for digital literacy, allows for open enrollment between counties, calls for a study of class size and school overcrowding, tightens school attendance regulations, and scholarships for teachers in math and special needs as long as they work in the state for two years.

Provisions in the originals Senate bill to discourage work stoppages and strikes were removed in the House omnibus bill. It also incentivizes teachers to with a bonus for using less than four days of leave and gives them a $200 increase for teachers and librarians for classroom supplies.

Even with several pro-teacher provisions in the bill, educators remain united against the bill due to provisions changing reduction in force decisions currently based solely on seniority and the inclusion of a public charter school program. Charters would allow parents to team up with non-profit organizations to apply to start a school free from various education rules and regulations.

During the Wednesday floor session, delegates considered 22 amendments to HB 206 and adopted 15 of those amendments.

The House also passed 11 supplemental appropriations Wednesday. All 21 bills will now go to the state Senate which will return to resume the special session at a later date.

The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, a conservative think tank, supported the passage of HB 206. The legislation, including the permissive introduction of charter schools and guaranteed open enrollment, “represents the first step in a new era of education in the Mountain State,” the institute said.

“It is important to recognize the effort made by the West Virginia House of Delegates to bring new options to families in the Mountain State,” said Garrett Ballengee, executive director of the Cardinal Institute. “As we applaud this extremely important first step, we will continue to work diligently on education reform so that all of West Virginia’s children, regardless of income or ZIP code, will have access to the education that best suits their needs, aptitudes, and ambitions.”