H. B. 2811
(By Delegate Dalton and Kominar)
[Introduced March 28, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article five, chapter
eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authority of
teachers and other school personnel; exclusion of pupils
having infectious diseases; suspension or expulsion of
disorderly pupils; and authorizing the administration of
corporal punishment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article five, 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 5. AUTHORITY; RIGHTS; RESPONSIBILITY.
§18A-5-1. Authority of teachers and other school personnel; exclusion of pupils having infectious diseases; suspension or expulsion of disorderly pupils; corporal punishment.
(a) The teacher shall stand in the place of the parent(s),
guardian(s) or custodian(s) in exercising authority over the
school, and shall have control of all pupils enrolled in the
school from the time they reach the school until they have
returned to their respective homes, except that where
transportation of pupils is provided, the driver in charge of the
school bus or other mode of transportation shall exercise such
authority and control over the children while they are in transit
to and from the school.
(b) Subject to the rules of the state board of education,
the teacher shall exclude from the school any pupil or pupils
known to have or suspected of having any infectious disease, or
any pupil or pupils who have been exposed to such disease, and
shall immediately notify the proper health officer, or medical
inspector, of such exclusion. Any pupil so excluded shall may
not be readmitted to the school until such pupil has complied
with all the requirements of the rules governing such cases, or
has presented a certificate of health signed by the medical
inspector or other proper health officer.
(c) The teacher shall have authority to exclude from his or
her classroom or school bus, any pupil who is guilty of disorderly conduct; who in any manner interferes with an orderly
educational process; who threatens, abuses, or otherwise
intimidates or attempts to intimidate a school employee or a
pupil; or who willfully disobeys a school employee; or who uses
abusive or profane language directed at a school employee. Any
pupil excluded shall be placed under the control of the principal
of the school or a designee. The excluded pupil may be admitted
to the classroom or school bus only when the principal, or a
designee, provides written certification to the teacher that the
pupil may be readmitted and specifies the specific type of
disciplinary action, if any, which was taken. If the principal
finds that disciplinary action is warranted, he or she shall
provide written and, if possible, telephonic notice of such
action to the parent(s), guardian(s) or custodian(s). When a
teacher excludes the same pupil from his or her classroom or from
a school bus three times in one school year, and after exhausting
all reasonable methods of classroom discipline provided in the
school discipline plan, the pupil may be readmitted to the
teacher's classroom only after the principal, teacher and, if
possible, the parent(s), guardian(s) or custodian(s) of the pupil
have held a conference to discuss the pupil's disruptive behavior
patterns, and the teacher and the principal agree on a course of
discipline for the pupil and inform the parent(s), guardian(s) or
custodian(s) of the course of action. Thereafter, if the pupil's disruptive behavior persists, upon the teacher's request, the
principal may, to the extent feasible, transfer the pupil to
another setting.
(d) Corporal punishment of any pupil by a school employee is
prohibited. The principal has the authority to administer
moderate corporal punishment to students in grades kindergarten
through ninth, subject to the following restrictions:
(1) Pupils are informed of the rules that govern the school;
(2) The pupil is informed of the school rule allegedly
violated and is given an opportunity to explain his or her
behavior prior to administration of punishment;
(3) Punishment is administered without anger or malice. The
amount of physical force used is not wanton or in excess of the
offense, is suitable to the pupil's age and mental and physical
conditions and is applied without discrimination;
(4) Punishment is administered by the school principal or by
a specific designee authorized by the principal to administer
corporal punishment, and in either case in the presence of
another adult professional employee and not in the presence of
another pupil;
(5) Punishment is administered by the use of three licks of
a paddle to the buttocks;
(6) Punishment is administered no more than once per twenty- four-hour period; and
(7) The pupil's parent or guardian is notified prior to
administration of punishment.
(e) The West Virginia board of education and county boards
of education shall adopt policies consistent with the provisions
of this section encouraging the use of alternatives to corporal
punishment, providing for the training of school personnel in
alternatives to corporal punishment and for the involvement of
parent(s), guardian(s) or custodian(s) in the maintenance of
school discipline. The county boards of education shall provide
for the immediate incorporation and implementation in the schools
of a preventive discipline program, which may include the
responsible student program, and a student involvement program,
which may include the peer mediation program, devised by the West
Virginia board of education. Each board may modify such programs
to meet the particular needs of the county. The county boards
shall provide in-service training for teachers and principals
relating to assertive discipline procedures and conflict
resolution. The county boards of education may also establish
cooperatives with private entities to provide middle educational
programs, which may include programs focusing on developing
individual coping skills, conflict resolution, anger control,
self-esteem issues, stress management, and decision making for
students and any other program related to preventive discipline.
(f) For the purpose of this section: (1) "Pupil or student" shall include any child, youth or adult who is enrolled in any
instructional program or activity conducted under board
authorization and within the facilities of or in connection with
any program under public school direction: Provided, That in the
case of adults the pupil-teacher relationship shall terminate
when the pupil leaves the school or other place of instruction or
activity; (2) "teacher" shall mean all professional educators as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter and shall
include the driver of a school bus or other mode of
transportation.
(g) Teachers shall exercise such other authority and perform
such other duties as may be prescribed for them by law or by the
rules of the state board of education not inconsistent with the
provisions of this chapter and chapter eighteen of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
administration of corporal punishment in grades kindergarten
through ninth.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.