CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has issued its full ruling saying the state can fund the Hope Scholarship.
The court dissolved an injunction in the case last month but released its reasoning in a court opinion issued Nov. 17authored by Justice Tim Armstead.
Justice Bill Wooton concurred. Chief Justice John Hutchison dissented and authored a dissenting opinion.
Armstead
"We emphasize that it is not the judiciary’s role to question the public policy merits of the Hope Scholarship Act," Armstead wrote. "Our policy preferences are not relevant. Our only role in this matter is to assess the constitutionality of the Hope Scholarship Act."
Armstead wrote that they found that the West Virginia Constitution does not prohibit the Legislature from enacting the Hope Scholarship Act in addition to providing for a thorough and efficient system of free schools, as the Constitution allows the Legislature to do both of these things.
"Therefore, we find that the circuit court abused its discretion by permanently enjoining the State from implementing the Hope Scholarship Act," Armstead wrote. "We reverse the circuit court’s July 22, 2022, order and dissolve the permanent injunction it entered."
Armstead wrote that because the Hope Scholarship Act operates uniformly on all families who voluntarily choose to participate, it must be considered a general law and the circuit court abused its discretion by ruling it a special law.
"Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, we find that the circuit court erred by finding the Act unconstitutional, and abused its discretion by permanently enjoining the State from implementing the Act," Armstead wrote. "We, therefore, reverse the circuit court’s July 22, 2022, order and dissolve the permanent injunction it entered. We remand this matter to the circuit court with directions for it to enter judgment in Petitioners’ favor."
In his dissenting opinion, Hutchison wrote that the act constitutes an infringement on free public education because if a student leaves a public school and the school loses that student's funding, the school will suffer.
"Because the Court’s opinion finding the Hope Scholarship Act constitutional is contrary to the mandates of the West Virginia Constitution and the decisions of this Court which have jealously guarded the right to a free public education, I must respectfully dissent," he wrote.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 22-616