H. B. 2296
(By Delegates Walters, G. Martin and Henderson)
[Introduced January 31, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article three, chapter
eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to school
personnel; training, certification, licensing and
development; and providing for certain student teachers to
serve as substitute teachers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article three, chapter eighteen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-1. Teacher preparation programs; program approval and
standards; authority to issue teaching
certificates.
(a) The education of professional educators in the state
shall be under the general direction and control of the state
board of education after consultation with the secretary of
education and the arts, who shall represent the board of
directors of the state college system and the board of trustees
of the university of West Virginia system. The education of
professional educators in the state includes all programs leading
to certification to teach or serve in the public schools
including: (1) Those programs in all institutions of higher
education, including student teaching in the public schools; (2)
beginning teacher internship programs; (3) the granting of West
Virginia certification to persons who received their preparation
to teach outside the boundaries of this state; (4) any
alternative preparation programs in this state leading to
certification, including programs established pursuant to the provisions of section one-a of this article and programs which
are in effect on the effective date of this section; and (5) any
continuing professional education, professional development and
in-service training programs for professional educators employed
in the public schools in the state; and (6) programs that shall
permit prospective teachers who are in their senior year to serve
as substitute teachers for basic education teachers who are ill.
The state board of education, after consultation with the
secretary of education and the arts, who shall represent the
board of directors of the state college system and the board of
trustees of the university of West Virginia system, shall adopt
standards for the education of professional educators in the
state and for the awarding of certificates valid in the public
schools of this state.
The standards approved by the board for teacher preparation
shall include a provision for the study of multicultural
education. As used in this section, multicultural education
means the study of the pluralistic nature of American society including its values, institutions, organizations, groups, status
positions and social roles.
Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, the standards approved by the board shall
also include a provision for the study of classroom management
techniques and shall include methods of effective management of
disruptive behavior which shall include societal factors and
their impact on student behavior.
(b) To give prospective teachers the teaching experience
needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to
certification, the state board of education may enter into an
agreement with county boards of education for the use of the
public schools. Such agreement shall recognize student teaching
as a joint responsibility of the teacher preparation institution
and the cooperating public schools and shall include: (1) The
minimum qualifications for the employment of public school
teachers selected as supervising teachers; (2) the remuneration
to be paid public school teachers by the state board, in addition to their contractual salaries, for supervising student teachers;
and (3) minimum standards to guarantee the adequacy of the
facilities and program of the public school selected for student
teaching. The student teacher, under the direction and
supervision of the supervising teacher, shall exercise the
authority of a substitute teacher.
(c) The state superintendent of schools may issue
certificates to graduates of teacher education programs and
alternative teacher education programs approved by the state
board of education and in accordance with rules adopted by the
state board after consultation with the secretary of education
and the arts, who shall represent the board of directors of the
state college system and the board of trustees of the university
of West Virginia system. A certificate to teach shall not be
granted to any person who is not a citizen of the United States,
is not of good moral character and physically, mentally and
emotionally qualified to perform the duties of a teacher and who
has not attained the age of eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the year in which his certificate is issued;
except that an exchange teacher from a foreign country, or an
alien person who meets the requirements to teach, may be granted
a permit to teach within the public schools of the state.
(d) In consultation with the secretary of education and the
arts, who shall represent the board of directors of the state
college system and the board of trustees of the university of
West Virginia system, institutions of higher education approved
for teacher preparation may cooperate with each other, with the
center for professional development and with one or more county
boards of education in the organization and operation of centers
to provide selected phases of the teacher preparation program
such as student teaching, beginning teacher internship programs,
instruction in methodology and seminar programs for college
students, teachers with provisional certification, professional
support team members and supervising teachers.
Such institutions of higher education, the center and county
boards of education may by mutual agreement budget and expend funds for the operation of such centers through payments to the
appropriate fiscal office of the participating institutions, the
center and the county boards.
The provisions of this section shall not be construed to
require the discontinuation of an existing student teacher
training center or school which meets the standards of the state
board of education.
All institutions of higher education approved for teacher
preparation in the school year of one thousand nine hundred
sixty-two--sixty-three shall continue to hold that distinction so
long as they meet the minimum standards for teacher preparation.
Nothing contained herein shall infringe upon the rights granted
to any institution by charter given according to law previous to
the adoption of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit prospective
teachers who are in their senior year of college to act as a
substitute teacher for a basic education teacher who is ill.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.