West Virginia law prohibits any person from possessing any firearm on any school bus, or in or on a public primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds, including a vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds where secondary vocational education programs are conducted, or at a school-sponsored function.

Firearms are also prohibited in or on a private primary or secondary education building, structure or facility unless the private school has adopted written policies allowing for possession of firearms on or in the institution’s buildings, structures or facilities.¹

Exceptions to the prohibition on possessing firearms on school premises include:

• Possession of an unloaded firearm in a motor vehicle;

• Leaving an unloaded firearm in a locked motor vehicle; and

• Programs or raffles conducted with the approval of the county board of education or school which include the display of unloaded firearms.²

A principal shall suspend a pupil from school or from transportation to or from the school on any school bus if it is determined that a pupil brought a firearm onto a school bus or school premises.³ The principal then must recommend to the county board that the student be expelled.⁴

In 2023, West Virginia enacted a law effective July 1, 2024 that will allow people with concealed carry licenses to carry concealed handguns on the campus’s of state colleges and universities.⁵ The areas of campus where licensees may carry are the areas and buildings under the custodial possession of the state institution of higher education and does not include areas rented, leased, or under an exclusive agreement for the full-time occupancy and use of a private entity.

Nevertheless, state institutions of higher education may prohibit concealed carry:⁶

• At an organized event taking place at a stadium or arena with a capacity of more than 1,000 spectators;
• At a daycare facility located on the property of the state institution of higher education;
• In the secure area of any building used by a law-enforcement agency on the property of the state institution for higher education;
• In an area of the property of the state institution of higher education that has adequate security measures in place to ensure that handguns are not carried by the public into the area. As used in this section, “adequate security measures” means the use of electronic equipment and armed personnel at public entrances to detect and restrict the carrying of any pistols or revolvers into the area, including, but not limited to, metal detectors, metal detector wands, or any other equipment used for similar purposes to ensure that pistols or revolvers are not carried in those areas by members of the public;
• In an on-campus room or rooms in which a student or employee disciplinary proceeding is being held;
• In sole occupancy offices on the campus and in the buildings of the state institution of higher education;
• At a primary or secondary education school-sponsored function being held in a specific location on the property of the state institution of higher education that is rented, leased, or under the exclusive use of the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, a county school board, or local public school for the actual period of time the function is occurring;
• At a private function that is being held in a specific location on the property of the state institution of higher education that is rented, leased, or under the exclusive use of an entity that is not affiliated with the state institution of higher education for the actual period of time the function is occurring;
• In any area on the property of the state institution of higher education where possession of a firearm is prohibited by state or federal law;
• In specifically designated areas in which patient-care or mental health counseling is being provided;
• In certain high hazardous and animal laboratories; and
• In on-campus residence halls, except common areas such as lounges, dining areas, and study areas.

Institutions of higher education must provide either: (1) A secure location for the storage of a handgun in at least one of the institution’s on-campus residence halls; or (2) make available an appropriate safe that may be installed in a resident’s room in any of the institution’s on-campus residence halls.⁷

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1. W. Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b)(1).[↩]
2. W. Va. Code § 61-7-11a(b)(2).[↩]
3. W. Va. Code § 18A-5-1a.[↩]
4. Id.[↩]
5. W. Va. Code § §18B-4-5b(a).[↩]
6. Id. at (b).[↩]
7. Id. at (d).[↩]