Senate Bill No. 48
(By Senator Facemyer)
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[Introduced February 9, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2b, relating
to nationally recognized professional certification of
professional personnel; creating the equitable compensation
act; and establishing a state minimum salary supplement for
professional personnel holding a nationally recognized
professional certification.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2b, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-2b. State minimum salary supplement for professional
personnel with recognized national certification.
(a)
The Legislature finds that achieving a nationally recognized professional certification involves a rigorous process
and results in the development of highly trained and capable
employees who provide needed services to students. The Legislature
further finds that national professional certification is a
valuable professional credential for both public and private
employment. The purpose of this section is to provide an
additional statewide supplement to professional personnel employed
in the public schools who hold a nationally recognized professional
certification to encourage others to attain a certification and to
help school systems to employ and retain professional personnel
with these certifications.
(b) This section shall be known as "The Equitable Compensation
Act."
(c) In addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable
state minimum salary schedule, every professional employee who
holds a nationally recognized board certification in their
educational discipline from a nationally accredited board shall be
paid annually the same salary bonus on the same basis as is paid to
classroom teachers with national board certification as provided in
section two-a of this article.
(d) The state board shall promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to
implement the provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Equitable
Compensation Act. It establishes a state minimum salary supplement
for professional personnel holding a nationally recognized
professional certification.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.