WV Proposes Promise Scholarship Holders Can Take Religious Service Leave

Reacting to a lawsuit filed against it in July, West Virginia's Higher Education Policy Commission on Friday issued proposed amendments to change the state's Promise Scholarship leave of absence policy. In the suit, a Mormon student at the University of West Virginia charged the Promise scholarship board with religious discrimination because it refused to allow him to take a leave to serve a two-year church mission without losing his scholarship. (See prior posting.) The Charleston (WV) Saturday Gazette-Mail reports that under the new proposals, students will be permitted to take a leave of absence for military duty, programs related to the student’s study, service, study abroad, volunteerism, extreme financial hardships and extraordinary circumstances beyond the student’s control. After a 30-day public comment period, the proposed rule amendments go to the legislature for final approval.