April 24 (UPI) — West Virginia plans to appeal a recent ruling against the state’s transgender athlete ban to the U.S. Supreme Court, the state attorney general announced Wednesday.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is running for governor of West Virginia, told reporters Wednesday at the state Capitol in Charleston that he will ask the high court to consider BPJ vs. West Virginia State Board of Education after it declined to take the case last year.
“We will be filing, over the next month, and we’re going to make sure we time our filing to maximize the chance this case is going to be heard, and most importantly, that we will win,” Morrisey said.
“This is a significant case to bring to the Supreme Court, and it will potentially set precedent for the entire country.”
Last week, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked West Virginia’s 2021 ban on transgender students participating on sports teams that match their gender identity, because it violates federal law.
Appeals Judge Toby Heytens said the ban violated Title IX, after the American Civil Liberties Union brought the suit on behalf of eighth-grade trans teen Becky Pepper-Jackson.
“West Virginia’s transgender sports ban’s sole purpose — and its sole effect — is to prevent transgender girls from playing on girls teams,” Heytens wrote in his opinion on April 16. “Offering BPJ a ‘choice’ between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all.”
“Somehow, defying logic, the 4th Circuit majority still concluded that this law was targeted at transgender students. They are wrong,” Morrisey responded.
West Virginia became the seventh state in 2021 to pass a law, banning transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams under the Save Women’s Sports Act. It requires public schools and colleges to base sports participation on biological sex rather than gender identity. There are currently 24 states that have similar laws in place.
Fairness West Virginia said Wednesday that Morrisey’s statements about transgender youth create a hostile environment, allowing for more bullying and discrimination.
“Transgender women are women, period,” said Jack Jarvis, communications director for Fairness in West Virginia. “If you want to support women, you need to support all women.”
Lake Butler (Fla.) Union County 2025 cornerback Gavin Jenkins received a scholarship offer from West Virginia in early April and made his way to campus for the Gold-Blue game.
Jenkins, 6-foot-2, 175-pounds, was able to meet with secondary coach ShaDon Brown after he offered him a scholarship which allowed him to learn even more about the program.
“He personally told me that I’m glad you’re here and some great talent has come from your area,” he said.
The Mountaineers are targeting Jenkins as a nickel cornerback and it’s a spot where the program needs some help which makes him an intriguing fit in the 2025 recruiting class.
Brown made it clear that Jenkins brings a lot of things to the table that West Virginia wants at that position.
“He told me that he loved my film and thinks I have great versatility, great length,” he said.
And after watching the spring game, Jenkins felt that he could definitely see himself in the scheme. He also was able to sit in with some meetings and get an idea about the defense as well.
“I feel like I could come here and have a good chance of starting and the environment was great,” he said.
West Virginia cemented a spot in his top eight along with UCF, South Florida, Memphis, Toledo, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and Western Michigan. He already has official visits set to Coastal Carolina and Toledo but is looking into setting up a visit to Morgantown as well.
“I would most definitely come back,” he said. “It definitely met my expectations.”
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – Governor Jim Justice and Moore Capito hosted a town hall in the Parkersburg Council Chambers along with a meet & greet with the residents of Wood County to listen to their needs and concerns.
Capito expressed good things are happening in West Virginia right now and we need to continue that momentum.
Many people in West Virginia have expressed they are still struggling, and Capito wants to make sure that the momentum reaches everyone within the state.
“Making sure that we have the safest communities in the country. I have been to Wood County and Parkersburg probably dozens of times on this campaign trail over the last 17 months, and we know that public safety is critically important; that means getting the drugs off of our streets here, making sure that our kids can go to school safely and people can get to work safely. Education is absolutely critical for the future of our children” said Capito
Governor Justice also made a visit to Emerson Elementary School to present the School Building Authority award.
We will have more from Governor Justice this weekend.
Copyright 2024 WTAP. All rights reserved.
On Tuesday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) declared a state of emergency over persistent issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The financial aid form, which is required for any college students seeking federal grants or loans—not to mention financial aid at most colleges—has been plagued with technical bugs since its rollout in December.
As part of the state of emergency, Justice has lifted the state’s requirement that students submit the FAFSA form in order to receive major state grants.
“I don’t believe any other state in the nation has gone this far, but I simply cannot and will not stand by as money sits on the table that could be helping our students continue their education,” Justice said in a press release. “There’s only so much outreach you can do when students can’t complete the form due to issues only the federal government can control. We have been left with no choice but to suspend the FAFSA requirement for our state financial aid programs.”
As part of the 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Education Department was directed to create a streamlined version of the FAFSA form. On December 31, 2023, the department finally released the new form—more than two months later than FAFSA’s usual release date and without extending the deadline for completion. While the updated form was much shorter than previous versions, it was also inundated with technical bugs.
FAFSA’s own website details dozens of errors in the form since its release date—some that persisted for months, preventing students from completing the form at all. In March, the Education Department even announced that around 200,000 complete forms had been miscalculated, leading colleges and the government to offer students more financial aid than they were eligible for.
In a typical year, around 17 million students fill out the FAFSA form, but as of mid-April successful form completions are down 29 percent. That means millions of students who would typically complete the form are likely to miss out on financial aid for college.
How is West Virginia going to know who is eligible for state grants without FAFSA? According to Tuesday’s press release, students can show they’re eligible for the need-based Higher Education Grant by providing their school with a letter showing they qualify for one of several state welfare programs (like Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Students who previously received the grant don’t have to prove eligibility again.
The governor’s executive order also lifts the FAFSA requirement for a handful of other state educational grants, though it isn’t clear if students will need to complete additional steps in place of FAFSA to receive funding.
Justice’s executive order highlights just how disastrous this year’s FAFSA rollout has become—and sends a powerful signal that, if the federal government can’t make good on its promises, individual states can take matters into their own hands.
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