Senate Bill No. 720
(By Senators Plymale and Edgell)
____________
[Introduced March 21, 2005; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to repeal §18-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to amend and reenact §18-2-7a of said code; to amend
and reenact §18-8A-1 of said code; and to amend and reenact
§18A-3-1a and §18A-3-3a, all relating to public education;
repealing the required integration of character education into
all aspects of school culture, school functions and existing
curriculum; the State Board Physical Fitness Program;
expanding the definition of a homeless child as the term
applies to the right to attend school; alternative teacher
certificates; alternative teacher education programs;
authorizing the State Board to adopt rules for the approval
and operation of teacher education programs which are an
alternative to the regular college or university programs for
the education of special education teachers; and disbursements
for tuition reimbursements for courses completed toward certification renewal and for courses completed toward an
additional endorsement in an area of critical need and
shortage.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §18-2-7a of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §18-8A-1 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18A-3-1a
and §18A-3-3a of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-7a. Program in physical fitness.
The State Board of education shall prescribe a program within
the existing health and physical education program which
incorporates the fitness testing, reporting, awards recognition,
fitness events and incentive programs designed under the auspices
of the president's council on physical fitness and sports and which
requires the participation through in grade grades four through
eight and the required high school course. nine of each student
and of each school in the state in both the challenge program and
the state champion program of the council The program shall be
selected from nationally accepted fitness testing programs designed
for school-aged children that test cardiovascular fitness, muscular
strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. The program shall include the modified test for exceptional students.
Each school in the state shall participate in national physical
fitness and sports month in May of each year and shall make every
effort to involve the community it serves in the related events.
ARTICLE 8A. ATTENDANCE OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.
§18-8A-1. Legislative findings; definition of homeless child.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that because of
the growing number of children and families who are homeless in
West Virginia there is a need to ensure that all homeless children
receive a proper education. It is the intent of the Legislature
that no child shall be denied the benefits of a free education in
the public schools because the child is homeless.
The Legislature further finds that programs and materials must
be made available to homeless and at-risk children to assure
opportunities for an equal education. Programs shall include, but
not be limited to, incorporating the ideas of academic achievement,
career exploration, self-esteem enhancement, behavior modification
and other programs relating to student development.
(b) As used in this article, unless the context otherwise
requires, "homeless child" means:
(1) A child who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime
residence; or
(2) A child who has a primary nighttime residence which is:
(i) A supervised, publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations, including
welfare hotels, congregate shelters and transitional housing for
the mentally ill;
(ii) An institution that provides a temporary residence for
individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
(iii) A public or private place not designed for, nor
ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings; and
(3) Any other individual that meets the current or future
definition of "homeless children and youths" set forth in 42 U.S.C.
11434a.
(c) "Homeless child" does not include any individual
imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to an act of Congress or
a state law.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-1a. Alternative programs for the education of teachers.
(a) By the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one, The State Board, of education after consultation with
the Secretary of Education and the Arts, shall adopt rules in
accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of
teacher education programs which are an alternative to the regular college or university programs for the education of teachers. To
participate in an approved alternative teacher education program,
the candidate must hold an alternative program teacher certificate
issued by the superintendent and endorsed for the instructional
field in which the candidate seeks certification. An alternative
program teacher certificate is a temporary certificate issued for
one year to a candidate who does not meet the standard educational
requirements for certification. This certificate may be renewed no
more than two times. No individual may hold an alternative teacher
certificate for a period exceeding three years. The alternative
teacher certificate shall be considered a professional teaching
certificate for the purpose of the issuance of a continuing
contract. To be eligible for such a an alternative teacher
certificate, an applicant shall:
(1) Possess at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited
institution of higher education in a discipline taught in the
public schools except that the rules established by the Board may
exempt candidates in selected vocational and technical areas who
have at least ten years' experience in the subject field from this
requirement;
(2) Pass an appropriate State Board approved basic skills and
subject matter test or complete three years of successful
experience within the last seven years in the area for which
licensure is being sought;
(3) Be a citizen of the United States, be of good moral
character and physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to
perform the duties of a teacher, and have attained the age of
eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the year in
which the alternative program teacher certificate is issued; and
(4) Have been offered employment in a school included in an
alternative teacher education plan approved by the board to offer
an alternative teacher education program by a West Virginia county
school district in a shortage area as defined by State Board rule
pursuant to section three-a, article three of this chapter; and
(5) Complete a West Virginia State Police and Federal Bureau
of Investigation background check.
Persons who pass the appropriate test as set forth in
subdivision (2) above satisfy the requirements set forth in (1)
through (5) shall be granted a formal document which will enable
them to seek employment as an alternative program teacher in a
public school approved to offer an alternative teacher education
program work in a public school in West Virginia.
(b) The rules adopted by the Board shall include provisions
for the approval of alternative teacher education programs which
may be offered by schools, school districts, consortia of schools
or regional educational service agency and for the setting of
tuition charges to offset the program costs. An approved
alternative teacher education program shall be in effect for a school, school district, consortium of schools or regional
educational service agency before an alternative program teacher
may be employed in that school, school district, consortium of
schools or regional educational service agency. Approximately two
hundred hours of formal instruction shall be provided in all of the
three following phases combined. An approved alternative program
shall provide essential knowledge and skills to alternative program
teachers through the following instruction and phases of training:
(1) A full-time seminar/practicum of no less than twenty and
no more than thirty days duration which is accomplished before the
alternative program teacher has full responsibility for a
classroom. The seminar/practicum shall provide formal instruction
in the essential areas for professional study which shall emphasize
the topics of student assessment, development and learning,
curriculum, classroom management, and the use of educational
computers and other technology and shall introduce basic teaching
skills through supervised teaching experiences with students. The
seminar and practicum components shall be integrated and shall
include an orientation to the policies, organization and curriculum
of the employing district;
(2) A period of intensive on-the-job supervision beginning the
first day on which the alternative program teacher assumes full
responsibility for a classroom and continuing for a period of at
least ten weeks. During this time, the alternative program teacher shall be visited and critiqued no less than one time per week by
members of a professional support team and shall be observed and
formally evaluated at the end of five weeks and at the end of ten
weeks by the appropriately certified members of the team. During
the same period, formal instruction shall be continued in the
essential areas for professional study which shall emphasize the
topics of teaching skills, student assessment, development and
learning, curriculum, classroom management, and the use of
educational computers and other technology. At the end of the
ten-week period, the alternative program teacher shall receive a
formal written progress report from the chairperson of the support
team; and
(3) An additional period of continued supervision and
evaluation of no less than twenty weeks duration. During this
period, the alternative program teacher shall be visited and
critiqued at least twice per month and shall be observed formally
and evaluated at least twice. No more than two months shall pass
without a formal evaluation. Formal instruction shall continue in
the essential areas for professional study. Opportunities shall be
provided for the alternative program teacher to observe the
teaching of experienced colleagues.
(1) Instruction -- The alternative preparation program shall
provide a minimum of eighteen semester hours of instruction in the
areas of student assessment; development and learning; curriculum; classroom management; the use of educational computers and other
technology; and special education, diversity or both. All programs
shall contain a minimum of three semester hours of instruction in
special education, diversity or both out of the minimum eighteen
required semester hours.
(2) Phase I -- Phase I shall consist of a period of intensive
on-the-job supervision by an assigned mentor and the school
administrator for a period of not less than two weeks and no more
than four weeks. During this time, the teacher shall be observed
daily. This phase shall include an orientation to the policies,
organization and curriculum of the employing district. The
alternative program teacher shall begin to receive formal
instruction in those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of
this subsection.
(3) Phase II -- Phase II shall consist of a period of
intensive on-the-job supervision beginning the first day following
the completion of Phase I and continuing for a period of at least
ten weeks. During Phase II, the alternative program teacher shall
be visited and critiqued no less than one time per week by members
of a professional support team, set forth in subsection (c) of this
section, and shall be observed and formally evaluated at the end of
five weeks and at the end of ten weeks by the appropriately
certified members of the team. At the end of the ten-week period,
the alternative program teacher shall receive a formal written progress report from the chairperson of the support team. The
alternative program teacher shall continue to receive formal
instruction in those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of
this subsection.
(4) Phase III -- Phase III shall consist of an additional
period of continued supervision and evaluation of no less than
twenty weeks' duration. The professional support team shall
determine the requirements of this phase with at least one formal
evaluation being conducted at the completion of the phase. The
alternative program teacher shall continue to receive formal
instruction in those areas listed in subdivision (1) of this
subsection and receive opportunities to observe the teaching of
experienced colleagues.
(c) Training and supervision of alternative program teachers
shall be provided by a professional support team comprised of a
school principal, an experienced classroom teacher, a college or
university education faculty member and a curriculum supervisor.
Districts or schools which do not employ curriculum supervisors or
have been unable to establish a relationship with a college or
university shall provide for comparable expertise on the team. The
school principal shall serve as chairperson of the team.
(d) The training efforts of the districts shall be coordinated
by the Center for Professional Development and the Center shall
provide an orientation and training program for professional support team members.
(e) A school, school district, consortium of schools or
regional educational service agency seeking to employ an
alternative program teacher must submit a plan to the State Board
of education and receive approval in accordance with the same
procedures used for approval of collegiate preparation programs.
Each plan shall describe how the proposed training program will
accomplish the key elements of an alternative program for the
education of teachers as set forth in this section. Each school,
school district, consortium of schools or regional educational
service agency shall show evidence in its plan of having sought
joint sponsorship of their training program with institutions of
higher education.
(f) The State Board may adopt rules pursuant to article
three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and
operation of teacher education programs which are an alternative to
the regular college or university programs for the education of
special education teachers.
§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 pursuant to article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code 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" shall be defined by State Board policy to
indicate the subject areas for which an insufficient number of
teachers are available.
(3) "Certification" and "certificate" mean means 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 as provided in
section three of this article.
(5) "Requirements for additional endorsement" are those
requirements of the State Department of Education 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.
(e) A course is eligible for reimbursement if it meets the
requirements for:
(1) An additional endorsement in a shortage area; 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 reimbursement for courses completed toward certification
renewal and reimbursement for courses completed toward an
additional endorsement in an area of critical need and shortage
renewal and endorsement in the same proportion that the number of
applications for each was made toward the total number of
applications received, subject to the following:
(1) except that Reimbursement toward either may not exceed
seventy-five percent of total funds appropriated; and
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, the
seventy-five percent limit does not apply if that limit causes
tuition reimbursement funds to remain unexpended during the final
application processing date of a fiscal year.
(g) Reimbursement for both the courses completed toward
certification renewal and the courses completed toward an
additional endorsement in an area of critical need and shortage
shall be limited to six semester hours per applicant per
application period.
(g) (h) 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) (i) Reimbursement for courses completed toward
certification renewal is limited to fifteen semester hours of
courses for the lifetime of any teacher.
(i) (j) 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) (k) 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 purpose of this bill is to
repeal the section
requiring integration of character education into all aspects of
school culture, school functions and existing curriculum. The bill
also: (1) Amends requirements applicable to the State Board
physical fitness program; (2) expands the definition of a homeless
child as the term applies to the right to attend school; (3) amends
provisions relating to alternative teacher certificates;(4) amends
provisions relating to alternative teacher education programs; (5)
authorizes the State Board to adopt rules for the approval and
operation of teacher education programs which are an alternative to
the regular college and university programs for the education of
special education teachers; and (6) amends provisions relating to
the disbursement of appropriations for tuition reimbursement for
courses completed toward certification renewal and for courses
completed toward an additional endorsement in an area of critical
need and shortage.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
