H. B. 2518
(By Delegates Williams, Osborne,
Anderson and Manuel)
[Introduced March 12, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-nine, article five,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; relating to summer
school programs; authorizing county boards of education to
establish mandatory remedial summer school programs and to
compel attendance in such programs of students in need of
remediation as defined by specific criteria set out herein;
prohibiting county boards from charging tuition for such
mandatory summer programs; requiring and establishing the
method of hiring and rate of pay for teachers in these
summer programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-nine, article five, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-39. Establishment of summer school programs; tuition.
Inasmuch as the present county school facilities for the most
part lie dormant and unused during the summer months, and
inasmuch as there are many students who are in need of remedial
instruction and others who desire accelerated instruction, it is
the purpose of this section to provide for the establishment of
a summer school program, which is to be separate and apart from
the full school term as established by each county.
The board of any county shall have authority to may establish
a summer school program utilizing the public school facilities
and to charge tuition for students who attend the summer school.
The tuition may not exceed in any case the actual cost of
operation of the summer school program: Provided, That any
deserving pupil whose parents, in the judgment of the board, are
unable to pay the tuition, may attend the summer school program
at a reduced charge or without charge. The county board shall
have the authority to may determine the term and curriculum of
the summer schools based upon the particular needs of the
individual county. The curriculum may include, but is not
limited to, remedial instruction, accelerated instruction, and
the teaching of manual arts. The term of the summer school
program may not be established in such a manner as to interfere with the regular school term.
In addition to the foregoing, the board of education of any
county may establish a mandatory remedial summer school program.
Any county board of education which chooses to establish a
mandatory remedial summer school program may compel attendance in
that program by all students who have a grade point average below
one point five out of a four point scale and all students who
have been retained in the same grade level from one school year
to the next. Any county board of education that establishes a
mandatory remedial summer school program may compel the
attendance of students who meet the foregoing criteria according
to the provisions of article eight of this chapter, relating to
compulsory school attendance: Provided, That all exemptions set
forth in article eight of this chapter also apply to mandatory
summer school attendance. County boards of education may not
charge tuition to students required to attend a mandatory
remedial summer school program and the term of such program may
not be established in such a manner as to interfere with the
regular school term.
The county boards may employ any certified teacher as a
teacher for this any summer school program. Certified teachers
employed by the county board to teach in the any summer school
program shall be paid an amount to be determined by the county board and shall enter into a contract of employment in such form
as is prescribed by the county board: Provided, That teachers
who teach summer courses of instruction which are offered for
credit and which are taught during the regular school year or
courses which are part of a mandatory summer school program shall
be paid at the same daily rate they would receive if paid in
accordance with the then current minimum monthly salary in effect
for teachers in that county.
Any funds accruing from the tuitions shall be credited to and
expended within the existing framework of the general current
expense fund of the county board.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the board shall fill professional positions established
pursuant to the provisions of this section on the basis of
certification and length of time the professional has been
employed in the any county's summer school program. In the event
that no employee who has been previously employed in the any
summer school program holds a valid certification or licensure,
a board shall fill the position as a classroom teaching position
in accordance with section eight-b, article four, chapter
eighteen-a of this code.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, the county board is authorized to may employ school service personnel to perform any related duties outside the
regular school term as defined in section eight, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code, An employee who was employed in
any service personnel job or position during the previous summer
shall have the option of retaining the job or position if the job
or position exists during any succeeding summer. If the employee
is unavailable or if the position is newly created, the position
shall be filled pursuant to section eight-b, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code. When any summer employee who is
employed in a summer position is granted a leave of absence for
the summer months, the board shall give regular employment status
to the employee for that summer position which shall be filled
under the procedure set forth in section eight-b, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code. The summer employee on leave of
absence shall have the option of returning to that summer
position if the position exists the succeeding summer or whenever
the position is reestablished if it were abolished. The salary
of a summer employee shall be in accordance with the salary
schedule of persons regularly employed in the same position in
the county where employed and persons employed in those positions
are entitled to all rights, privileges and benefits provided in
sections five-b, eight, eight-a, ten and fourteen, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of this code: Provided, That those persons are not entitled to a minimum employment term of two hundred days
for their summer position.
If a county board reduces in force the number of employees to
be employed in a particular summer program or classification from
the number employed in that position in previous summers, the
reductions in force and priority in reemployment to that summer
position shall be based upon the length of service time in the
particular summer program or classification.
For the purpose of this section, summer employment for service
personnel includes, but is not limited to, filling jobs and
positions as defined in section eight, article four, chapter
eighteen-a of this code and especially established for, and which
are to be predominantly performed during, the summer months to
meet the needs of a county board.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to assist students who need
remedial instruction by authorizing county boards of education to
establish mandatory remedial summer school programs wherein such
students will receive remedial instruction.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law. Underscoring indicates language that would be
added.