H. B. 2603
(By Delegates Campbell, Williams, Perry and Beach)
[Introduced February 23, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to reimbursement of tuition,
registration and other required fees for course work completed
by teachers; correcting references to rule making authority;
removing obsolete language; and allowing reimbursement to
qualified applicants from funds remaining available for that
purpose after certain conditions are met.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-3a. Payment of tuition, registration and other fees for
teachers; maximum payment per teacher.
(a) The
West Virginia department of education State Board shall promulgate rules to administer the reimbursement of tuition,
registration and other required fees for coursework completed by
teachers in accordance with the provisions of this section. The
rules shall provide for reimbursement for courses completed toward
both certification renewal, and additional endorsement in a
shortage area.
(b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
have the meanings ascribed to them:
(1) "Teacher" has the meaning provided in section one, article
one, chapter eighteen of this code.
(2)
"Shortage area" "Area of critical need and shortage" shall
be defined by State Board policy to indicate the
subject areas
of
certification or endorsement for which an insufficient number of
teachers are available.
(3) "Certification" and "certificate" mean a valid West
Virginia:
(A) Professional teaching, service or administrative
certificate, or its equivalent; or
(B) Provisional professional teaching, service or
administrative certificate, or its equivalent.
(4) "Requirements for certification renewal" are those
requirements of the State
department of education Board as provided
in section three of this article.
(5) "Requirements for additional endorsement" are those requirements of the State
department of education Board as provided
in section three of this article.
(6) "State institution of higher education" has the meaning
provided in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this
code.
(c) To the extent of funds appropriated for the purposes
specified in this section, payment shall be made to any teacher
who:
(1) Holds either a valid West Virginia:
(A) Certificate; or
(B) First class permit for full-time employment; and
(2) Is seeking:
(A) An additional endorsement in a shortage area, and either
resides in the state or is employed regularly for instructional
purposes in a public school in the state; or
(B) Certification renewal, and has a continuing contract with
a county board.
(d) The payment shall be made as reimbursement for the
tuition, registration and other required fees for any course
completed at:
(1) Any college or university within the state; or
(2) A college or university outside the state if prior
approval is granted
by the department in accordance with State
Board rules.
(e) A course is eligible for reimbursement if it meets the
requirements for:
(1) An additional endorsement in
a shortage area an area of
critical need and shortage; or
(2) Certification renewal.
(f)
In the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two
thousand two, Funds appropriated for the purposes specified in this
section shall be
disbursed evenly between courses completed toward
certification renewal and courses completed toward additional
endorsement in a shortage area. Thereafter, funds shall be divided
between
renewal and endorsement courses completed toward
certification renewal and courses completed toward an additional
endorsement in an area of critical need and shortage in the same
proportion that the number of applications for each was made toward
the total number of applications received, except that
reimbursement toward either may not exceed seventy-five percent of
total funds appropriated:
Provided, That if during the final
processing of applications for the fiscal year, appropriations
would remain unexpended after application of the seventy-five
percent limit and additional qualified applicants remain, then
reimbursement may be made to the remaining qualified applicants to
the extent funds are available notwithstanding the seventy-five
percent limit.
(g) Payment made for any single fee may not exceed the amount of the highest corresponding fee charged at a state institution of
higher education.
(h) Reimbursement for courses completed toward certification
renewal is limited to fifteen semester hours of courses for any
teacher.
(i) The West Virginia Department of Education shall seek
funding from sources other than general revenue appropriation,
including, but not limited to, workforce investment funds.
(j) No provision of this section may be construed to require
any appropriation or any specific amount of appropriation for the
purposes specified in this section, or to require the Department to
expend funds for those purposes from any other amounts appropriated
for expenditure by the Department.
NOTE: The current statute divides the appropriation for the
reimbursement for tuition, registration and other required fees to
teachers who qualify into two categories, courses completed toward
certification renewal and courses completed toward an additional
endorsement in an area of critical need and shortage. The
reimbursement for any one category is limited to 75% of the
appropriation. The purpose of the bill is to allow reimbursement
above the 75% limit if during the final processing of applications
for the fiscal year, the 75% limits results in funds left over and
qualified applicants not being reimbursed.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.