ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 192
(By Senators Wagner, Bailey, Bowman, Miller, White,
Wiedebusch and Yoder)
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[Passed March 8, 1995; to take effect July 1, 1995.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section one, article three-a,
chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
continuation of the center for professional development.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article three-a, 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 3A. CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3A-1. Center for professional development continued;
intent; advisory council.
(a) Teaching is a profession that directly correlates to
the social and economic well-being of a society and its
citizens. Superior teaching is essential to a well educated and
productive populace. The intent of this article is to recognize
the value of professional involvement by experienced educators in building and maintaining a superior teaching force and to
establish avenues for applying such involvement.
In furtherance of this intent, the center for professional
development is continued and reestablished. The general mission
of the center is to study matters relating to the quality of
teaching and management in the schools of West Virginia and to
promote the implementation of programs and practices to assure
the highest quality in such teaching and management. The center
shall also perform such duties as are assigned to it by law.
The center shall consist of nine persons as members: The
secretary of education and the arts, ex officio; the state
superintendent of schools, ex officio; one member of the state
board of education, elected by the state board; two experienced
educators, of whom one shall be a working classroom teacher,
appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate; and four citizens of the state who are knowledgeable
in matters relevant to the issues addressed by the center
appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate. No two appointees shall be residents within the
same region. The state superintendent of schools shall convene
the first meeting of the center to elect a chair, vice chair and
secretary.
The election and appointment of members shall be made as
soon as possible after the effective date of this section. Of
the initial appointed members, three shall be appointed for two-year terms and four shall be appointed for four-year terms.
All successive appointments shall be for four-year terms.
The center for professional development shall meet at least
quarterly and the appointed members shall be paid for reasonable
and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of
their official duties from funds appropriated or otherwise made
available for such purposes upon submission of an itemized
statement therefor.
The center may employ and fix the compensation of an
executive director and such other persons as may be necessary to
carry out the mission and duties of the center. When practical,
personnel employed by state higher education agencies and state,
regional and county public education agencies shall be made
available to the center to assist in the operation of projects
of limited duration.
The center shall contract with existing agencies or
agencies created after the effective date of this section or
others to provide training programs in the most efficient
manner. Existing programs currently based in agencies of the
state shall be continued in the agency of their origin unless
the center establishes a compelling need to transfer or cancel
the existing program. The center shall recommend to the
governor the transfer of funds to the providing agency, if
needed, to provide programs approved by the center.
(b) To assist the center for professional development in the performance of its duties related to teacher education and
professional development, there is continued an advisory council
on professional development which shall consist of eleven
persons as follows: An employee of the center who shall chair
the advisory council; two shall be professors or associate or
assistant professors of teacher education, one from a public
institution and one from a private institution of higher
education in this state offering programs leading to
certification to teach in the public schools of this state; two
county school superintendents, one of whom shall be from a
district with a student enrollment above the statewide average
and one of whom shall be from a district with a student
enrollment below such average; two school principals, one of
whom shall be from a school including elementary grade levels
and one of whom shall be from a school including secondary grade
levels; and four professional instructional personnel, two of
whom shall be from a school including elementary grade levels
and two of whom shall be from a school including secondary grade
levels. To the extent possible, the principals and
instructional personnel shall be appointed from the members of
county staff development councils. Except for the employee of
the center, the members shall be appointed jointly by the
secretary of education and the arts and the state superintendent
for two-year terms which overlap so that one member from each of
the classes shall be appointed in each successive year, except that two members from the professional instructional personnel
class shall be appointed in each successive year. No two
members of the council shall be from the same college or
university or school district. Members of the council shall be
granted release time from their employment for attending
meetings of the council.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the center for professional development and advisory
council shall continue to exist until the first day of July, two
thousand one.