H. B. 2963
(By Delegates Marshall, Barill, Fleischauer,
Caputo, Stephens, Manchin, Iaquinta and Moore)
[Introduced March 19, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing educators released
time to serve on county commissions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-2-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-2. Employment of teachers; contracts; continuing contract
status; how terminated; dismissal for lack of need;
released time; failure of teacher to perform contract
or violation thereof; written notice bonus for
teachers and professional personnel.
(a) Before entering upon their duties, all teachers shall
execute a contract with their county boards, which shall state the
salary to be paid and shall be in the form prescribed by the State
Superintendent. Each contract shall be signed by the teacher and by the president and secretary of the county board and shall be
filed, together with the certificate of the teacher, by the
secretary of the office of the county board: Provided, That when
necessary to facilitate the employment of employable professional
personnel and prospective and recent graduates of teacher education
programs who have not yet attained certification, the contract may
be signed upon the condition that the certificate is issued to the
employee prior to the beginning of the employment term in which the
employee enters upon his or her duties.
(b) Each teacher's contract, under this section, shall be
designated as a probationary or continuing contract. A
probationary teacher's contract shall be for a term of not less
than one nor more than three years, one of which shall be for
completion of a beginning teacher internship pursuant to the
provisions of section two-b, article three of this chapter, if
applicable. If, after three years of such employment, the teacher
who holds a professional certificate, based on at least a
bachelor's degree, has met the qualifications for a bachelor's
degree and the county board enter into a new contract of
employment, it shall be a continuing contract, subject to the
following:
(1) Any teacher holding a valid certificate with less than a
bachelor's degree who is employed in a county beyond the three-year
probationary period shall upon qualifying for the professional certificate based upon a bachelor's degree, if reemployed, be
granted continuing contract status; and
(2) A teacher holding continuing contract status with one
county shall be granted continuing contract status with any other
county upon completion of one year of acceptable employment if the
employment is during the next succeeding school year or immediately
following an approved leave of absence extending no more than one
year.
(c) The continuing contract of any teacher shall remain in
full force and effect except as modified by mutual consent of the
school board and the teacher, unless and until terminated, subject
to the following:
(1) A continuing contract may not be terminated except:
(A) By a majority vote of the full membership of the county
board on or before March 1 of the then current year, after written
notice, served upon the teacher, return receipt requested, stating
cause or causes and an opportunity to be heard at a meeting of the
board prior to the board's action on the termination issue; or
(B) By written resignation of the teacher on or before March
1 to initiate termination of a continuing contract;
(2) The termination shall take effect at the close of the
school year in which the contract is terminated;
(3) The contract may be terminated at any time by mutual
consent of the school board and the teacher;
(4) This section does not affect the powers of the school
board to suspend or dismiss a principal or teacher pursuant to
section eight of this article;
(5) A continuing contract for any teacher holding a
certificate valid for more than one year and in full force and
effect during the school year 1984-1985 shall remain in full force
and effect;
(6) A continuing contract does not operate to prevent a
teacher's dismissal based upon the lack of need for the teacher's
services pursuant to the provisions of law relating to the
allocation to teachers and pupil-teacher ratios. The written
notification of teachers being considered for dismissal for lack of
need shall be limited to only those teachers whose consideration
for dismissal is based upon known or expected circumstances which
will require dismissal for lack of need. An employee who was not
provided notice and an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to this
subsection may not be included on the list. In case of dismissal
for lack of need, a dismissed teacher shall be placed upon a
preferred list in the order of their length of service with that
board. No teacher may be employed by the board until each
qualified teacher upon the preferred list, in order, has been
offered the opportunity for reemployment in a position for which he
or she is qualified, not including a teacher who has accepted a
teaching position elsewhere. The reemployment shall be upon a teacher's preexisting continuing contract and has the same effect
as though the contract had been suspended during the time the
teacher was not employed.
(d) In the assignment of position or duties of a teacher under
a continuing contract, the board may provide for released time of
a teacher for any special professional or governmental assignment
without jeopardizing the contractual rights of the teacher or any
other rights, privileges or benefits under the provisions of this
chapter. Released time shall be provided for any professional
educator while serving as a member of a county commission or as a
member of the Legislature during any duly constituted session of
that body and its interim and statutory committees and commissions
without jeopardizing his or her contractual rights or any other
rights, privileges, benefits or accrual of experience for placement
on the state minimum salary schedule in the following school year
under the provisions of this chapter, board policy and law.
(e) Any teacher who fails to fulfill his or her contract with
the board, unless prevented from doing so by personal illness or
other just cause or unless released from his or her contract by the
board, or who violates any lawful provision of the contract, is
disqualified to teach in any other public school in the state for
a period of the next ensuing school year and the State Department
of Education or board may hold all papers and credentials of the
teacher on file for a period of one year for the violation: Provided, That marriage of a teacher is not considered a failure to
fulfill, or violation of, the contract.
(f) Any classroom teacher, as defined in section one, article
one of this chapter, who desires to resign employment with a county
board or request a leave of absence, the resignation or leave of
absence to become effective on or before July 15 of the same year
and after completion of the employment term, may do so at any time
during the school year by written notification of the resignation
or leave of absence and any notification received by a county board
shall automatically extend the teacher's public employee insurance
coverage until August 31 of the same year.
(g) (1) A classroom teacher who gives written notice to the
county board on or before January 15 of the school year of his or
her retirement from employment with the board at the conclusion of
the school year shall be paid $500 from the Early Notification of
Retirement line item established for the department of education
for this purpose, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. If
the appropriations to the department of education for this purpose
are insufficient to compensate all applicable teachers, the
department of education shall request a supplemental appropriation
in an amount sufficient to compensate all such teachers.
Additionally, if funds are still insufficient to compensate all
applicable teachers, the priority of payment is for teachers who
give written notice the earliest. This payment shall not be counted as part of the final average salary for the purpose of
calculating retirement.
(2) The position of a classroom teacher providing written
notice of retirement pursuant to this subsection may be considered
vacant and the county board may immediately post the position as an
opening to be filled at the conclusion of the school year. If a
teacher has been hired to fill the position of a retiring classroom
teacher prior to the start of the next school year, the retiring
classroom teacher is disqualified from continuing his or her
employment in that position. However, the retiring classroom
teacher may be permitted to continue his or her employment in that
position and forfeit the early retirement notification payment if,
after giving notice of retirement in accordance with this
subsection, he or she becomes subject to a significant unforeseen
financial hardship, including a hardship caused by the death or
illness of an immediate family member or loss of employment of a
spouse. Other significant unforeseen financial hardships shall be
determined by the county superintendent on a case-by-case basis.
This subsection does not prohibit a county school board from
eliminating the position of a retiring classroom teacher.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require school boards to
permit professional educators to serve on county commissions and
attend meetings during school hours, if necessary, without
jeopardizing contract rights.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.