SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 24
(By Senator White)
[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported February 22, 1995.]
Recommending that all schools and school districts in West
Virginia utilize the Strategic Planning Guide for Faculty
Senates developed by the West Virginia department of
education in their strategic planning process.
Whereas, During the first extraordinary session of the
Legislature of one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, Senate Bill
No. 1000 provided a new responsibility for faculty senates which
addressed the development of a strategic plan to assist in
planning and managing the appropriate placement of students with
exceptional needs; and
Whereas, The provisions set forth in Senate Bill No. 1000
are now part of section five, article five-a, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia; and
Whereas, Legislators have recently received requests from
school committees to extend the deadline of the first day of
March, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, for each school's
faculty senate to submit the strategic plan to the county superintendent to permit the faculty senates additional time to
consider the complex issues related to the appropriate placement
of exceptional students; and
Whereas, This extension will also grant county boards of
education and the West Virginia board of education sufficient
time to assemble the statewide information into a state strategic
plan; and
Whereas, The Strategic Planning Guide for Faculty Senates
provides guidance to faculty senates regarding each required
component of the strategic plan; and
Whereas, The guide clearly emphasizes that the federal and
state law have not changed regarding the consideration of
educational placement for students with exceptionalities. The
decision of placement, including the amount of participation in
regular education, as appropriate, remains the responsibility of
the students' individualized education program (IEP) committee;
and
Whereas, Inclusion does not mean that all exceptional needs
students must be educated totally in the regular classroom. As
placement is determined on an individual basis, a full array or
continuum or alternative placements of instruction in regular
classes, special classes, special schools, home instruction or instruction in hospitals and institutions must be available if
needed; and
Whereas, State and federal laws, as well as policy, dictate
that final decisions regarding the placement of exceptional
students continue to be made individually through the IEP
process; and
Whereas, Prior to the final decision of the IEP committee,
the process for a student suspected of having an exceptionality
to be considered eligible for special education is as follows:
The student is referred for assessment; a multidisciplinary
evaluation is conducted by a team; eligibility for special
education and related services is determined; an IEP committee is
formed; the IEP committee considers the student's evaluation data
and instructional and related service needs and develops goals
and objectives based upon the needs; and the IEP committee
determines the least restrictive placement or setting for the
student to receive instruction; and
Whereas, The faculty of each school in West Virginia,
through the development of a strategic plan, must carefully
determine the direction and pace of the appropriate placement of
students with exceptional needs in its school; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the all schools and school districts in West Virginia
are hereby directed to utilize the Strategic Planning Guide for
Faculty Senates developed by the West Virginia department of
education in their strategic planning process; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby
requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the state
superintendent of schools.