Senate Bill No. 192
(By Senators Wagner, Bailey, Bowman, Miller, White,
Wiedebusch and Yoder)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported January 26, 1995.]
____________
A BILL 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, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, to allow for the completion
of a preliminary performance review by the joint committee on
government operations.