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Introduced Version House Bill 170 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

WEST virginia legislature

2019 FIRST EXTRAORDINARY session

Introduced

House Bill 170

By Delegate Hanshaw (Mr. Speaker)
[By Request of the Executive]

[Introduced June 17, 2019; Referred
to the Select Committee on Education Reform B
]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-16 and §18-5-16a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to student transfers; requiring county boards to establish attendance zones; addressing the transfer and enrollment policies for students in public schools; establishing open enrollment policy that may be adopted by county boards; applicability of eligibility requirements following student transfer for participation in extra-curricular activities established by the Secondary Schools Activities Commission; and expiring provisions related to agreed transfers of individual pupils.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.


§18-5-16. Student transfers; legislative findings definitions; appeals; calculating net enrollment; fees for transfer.

(a) County districts and school attendance. Establishment of attendance zones within counties. — The county board may divide shall establish attendance zones within the county into such districts as are necessary to determine to designate the schools the that its resident students of its county shall attend. Upon the written request of any parent or guardian, or person legally responsible for any student, or for reasons affecting the best interests of the schools, the superintendent may transfer students from one school to another within the county. Any aggrieved person may appeal the decision of the county superintendent to the county board, and the decision of the county board shall be final.

(b) Transfers between counties; legislative findings. --

(1) Transfers of students from one county to another may be made by the county board of the county in which the student desiring to be transferred resides. The transfer shall be subject to the approval of both the board of the county in which the student resides and the board to which the student wishes to be transferred.

(2) Legislative findings. -- Over the past several years, counties have been forced to close a number of schools because of declining student enrollment. School officials predict that an additional eighteen percent loss in enrollment may occur between 2002 and 2012. This continued decrease in the number of students enrolled in the public schools of the state may result in more instances of consolidation which will increase the problem of long bus rides for students if they remain in a school in their county of residence.

Therefore the Legislature makes the following findings:

(A) County lines may impede the effective and efficient delivery of education services;

(B) Students often must endure long bus rides to a school within their county of residence when a school in an adjacent county is a fraction of the distance away;

(C) The wishes of parents or guardians to have their children transferred to a county other than their county of residence should be considered by the county boards; and

(D) Where counties cannot agree, it is necessary to establish a process to determine when transfers are appropriate.

(3) The state board shall establish a process whereby a parent or guardian of a student may appeal the refusal of a county board to enter into an agreement to transfer or accept the transfer of the student.

(A) The process shall designate the state superintendent to hear the appeal. In determining whether to overturn a decision of a county board, the state superintendent shall consider such factors as the following:

(i) Travel time for the student;

(ii) Impact on levies or bonds;

(iii) Other financial impact on the county of residence; and

(iv) Such other factors as the state superintendent may determine.

(B) If, during the appeal process, the state superintendent discovers that the education and the welfare of students in the transferring county could be enhanced, the state superintendent may direct that students may be permitted to attend a school in another county.

(C) If multiple appeals are received from the same geographical area of a county, the state superintendent may impose on the receiving county restrictions including, but not limited to, requiring the receiving county to accept all students in that geographical area of the sending county who wish to transfer to the receiving county.

(D) If a student is transferred on either a full-time or a part-time basis without the agreement of both boards by official action as reflected in the minutes of their respective meetings and if the student's parent or guardian fails to appeal or loses the appeal under the process established in subdivision (3) of this subsection, the student shall be counted only in the net enrollment of the county in which the student resides.

(4) If, after two county boards have agreed to a transfer arrangement for a student, that student chooses to return to a school in his or her county of residence after the second month of any school year, the following shall apply:

(A) The county of residence may issue an invoice to the county from which the student transferred for the amount, determined on a pro rata basis, that the county of residence otherwise would have received under the state basic foundation program established in article nine-a of this chapter; and

(B) The county from which the student transferred shall reimburse the county of residence for the amount of the invoice.

(c) Transfers between high schools. -- In any county where a high school is maintained, but topography, impassable roads, long bus rides or other conditions prevent the practicable transportation of any students to such high school, the board may transfer them to a high school in an adjoining county. In any such case, the county boards may enter into an agreement providing for the payment of the cost of transportation, if any, of the students

(b) Definitions. – For the purposes of this section, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

“Nonresident student” means a student who resides in this state and who is enrolled in or is seeking enrollment in a county school district other than the county school district in which the student resides.

“Open enrollment” means a policy adopted and implemented by a county board to allow nonresident students to enroll in any school within the district. Open enrollment is distinct from a mutual agreement of two county boards regarding mass transfer of students, as contemplated in §18-5-13(f)(1)(C) of this code.

(c) Enrollment policies. – County boards may establish and implement an open enrollment policy without charging tuition and without obtaining approval from the board of the county in which a student resides and transfers. These policies shall clearly articulate any admission criteria, application procedures, transportation provisions, timelines for open enrollment periods, and restrictions on transfers due to building capacity constraints. Enrollment policies are subject to the following:

(1) A county board may give enrollment preference to:

(A) Siblings of students already enrolled through the open enrollment policy;

(B) Secondary students who have completed 10th grade and, due to family relocation, become nonresident students, but express the desire to remain in a specific school to complete their education;

(C) Students who are children, grandchildren, or legal wards of employees;

(D) Students whose legal residences, though geographically within another county, are more proximate to a school within the receiving county, whether calculated by miles or transportation time; and

(E) Students who reside in a portion of a county where topography, impassable roads, long bus rides, or other conditions prevent the practicable transportation of the student to a school within the county, and a school within a contiguous county is more easily accessible.

(2) A county must comply with all enrollment requirements for children who are in foster care or who meet the definition of unaccompanied youth prescribed in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(6).

(3) The county board for the county educating the nonresident student may provide an adequate means of transportation to nonresident students when students have complied with the procedure for obtaining authorization to attend school outside their county of residence, subject to the following:

(A) County boards of education are not required to uniformly provide nonresident student transportation, and may consider whether a nonresident student meets the eligibility criteria for free or reduced price lunches and milk established within the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1758; and

(B) The county board for the county educating the nonresident student shall provide transportation to and from the school of attendance, or to and from an agreed pickup point on a regular transportation route, or for the total miles traveled each day for the nonresident student to reach the school of enrollment if the nonresident student with disabilities has an individualized education program that specifies that transportation is necessary for fulfillment of the program.

(d) Appeal. – The state board of education shall establish a process whereby a parent or guardian of a student may appeal the refusal of a county board to accept the transfer of the student. If during the appeal process, the state superintendent discovers that the education and the welfare of the student could be enhanced, the state superintendent may direct that the student may be permitted to attend a school in the receiving county.

(e) Net enrollment. – For purposes of net enrollment as defined in §18-9A-2 of this code, whenever a student is transferred on a full-time basis from one school district to another district pursuant to the provisions of this section, the county to which the student is transferred shall include the student in its net enrollment, subject to the following:

(1) If, after transferring to another county, a student chooses to return to a school in his or her county of residence after the second month of any school year, the following applies:

(A) The county of residence may issue an invoice to the county from which the student transferred for the amount, determined on a pro rata basis, that the county of residence otherwise would have received under the state basic foundation program established in §18-9A-1 et seq. of this code; and

(B) The county from which the student transferred shall reimburse the county of residence for the amount of the invoice.

(d) (f) Transfers between states. -- Transfer of students from this state to another state shall be upon such terms, including payment of tuition, as shall be mutually agreed upon by the board of the transferring receiving county and the authorities board of the school to or district from which the transfer is made.

(e) (g) No parent, guardian or person acting as parent or guardian shall be required to pay for the transfer of a student or for the tuition of the student after the transfer when such the transfer is carried out under the terms of this section.

(h) Nothing in this section supersedes the eligibility requirements for participation in extra-curricular activities established by the Secondary Schools Activities Commission.

(i) The amendments to this section during the 2019 first extraordinary session of the Legislature shall be effective for school years beginning on or after July 1, 2019,  and the provisions of this section existing immediately prior to the  2019 regular session of the Legislature remain in effect for school years beginning prior to  July 1, 2019.

§18-5-16a. Authorization to transfer pupils from one district to another; mandatory transfer; payment of tuition; net enrollment.


(a) The provisions of this section expire effective July 1, 2019: Provided, That any agreements made pursuant to this section prior to July 1, 2019, shall remain in effect.

(b) Whenever, in the opinion of the board of education of any county, the education and welfare of a pupil will be enhanced, the board of education of such county shall have the authority to transfer any such pupil or pupils on a part-time or full-time basis from one school district to another school district within the state: Provided, That the boards of education of both the transferor and the transferee districts agree to the same by official action of both boards as reflected in the minutes of their respective meetings.

(c) Any pupil attending a school in a district of this state adjacent to the district of residence during the school year 1984-1985, is authorized to continue such attendance in the adjacent district, and, upon written request therefor by the parent or guardian, any person who is entitled to attend the public schools of this state and who resides in the same household and is a member of the immediate family of such pupil is authorized to enroll in such adjacent district. The transferor and transferee school districts shall effectuate any transfer herein authorized in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(d) Whenever a pupil is transferred from one school district to another district on a full-time or part-time basis, the board of education of the school district in which the pupil is a bona fide resident shall pay to the board of education of the school district to which the pupil is transferred a tuition that is agreed upon by both such boards. Tuition for each full-time pupil shall not exceed the difference between the state aid per pupil received by the county to which the pupil is transferred and the county cost per pupil in the county to which said pupil is transferred.

(e) For purposes of net enrollment as defined in §18-9A-2 of this code: (1) Whenever a pupil is transferred on a full-time basis from one school district to another district pursuant to the provisions of this section, the county to which the pupil is transferred shall include such pupil in its net enrollment; and (2) whenever a pupil is transferred on a part-time basis from one school district to another school district pursuant to the provisions of this section, the county in which the student is a bona fide resident shall count the pupil in its net enrollment.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define new policies and criteria for the transfer of students from one school district to another.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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