West Virginia Gov. Morrisey signed SB154 restricting school LGBTQ instruction and requiring staff to disclose students' gender identity to parents

On April 30, 2025, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 154 into law, restricting how public schools may address sexual orientation and gender identity and imposing new disclosure duties on school staff. The statute, codified at W.Va. Code 18-5-29 and effective July 11, 2025, prohibits public schools from providing instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity, with narrow carve-outs for student-initiated questions, historical context, discipline matters, and Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment courses.

Separately, the law requires any public school employee to report to school administration — which must in turn notify the student's parent, custodian, or guardian — any student request for an accommodation affirming a gender identity different from the student's biological sex, including a differing name or pronoun. The Attorney General is empowered to enforce compliance, and school personnel who violate the law may face discipline or dismissal.

Fairness West Virginia, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, said the measure forces teachers to disclose students' transgender status to parents regardless of whether doing so places the student at risk, describing it as life-threatening for transgender students in unsupportive households. The law parallels similar 2025 enactments in other states restricting classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics and mandating parental notification.