H. B. 2370
(By Delegates Caputo and Paxton)
[Introduced February 13, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-18a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to
providing for increased
compensation for aides and paraprofessionals with large
numbers of pupils in kindergarten and grades
one through six.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-18a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18a. Maximum teacher-pupil ratio.
County boards of education shall provide, by the school year
1983-1984, and thereafter, sufficient personnel, equipment and
facilities as will ensure that each first and second grade
classroom, or classrooms having two or more grades that include
either the first or second grades shall not have more than
twenty-five for each teacher of the grade or grades and shall not have more than twenty pupils for each kindergarten teacher per
session, unless the State Superintendent has excepted a specific
classroom upon application therefor by a county board.
County boards shall provide by the school year 1984-1985, and
continue thereafter, sufficient personnel, equipment and facilities
as will ensure that each third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade
classroom, or classrooms having two or more grades that include one
or more of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, shall not
have more than twenty-five pupils for each teacher of the grade or
grades.
Beginning with the school year 1986-1987, and thereafter, no
county shall maintain a greater number of classrooms having two or
more grades that include one or more of the grade levels referred
to in this section than were in existence in said county as of
January 1, 1983:
Provided, That for the prior school years, and
only if there is insufficient classroom space available in the
school or county, a county may maintain 110% of such number of
classrooms.
During the school year 1984-1985, and thereafter, the state
superintendent is authorized, consistent with sound educational
policy: (a) To permit on a statewide basis, in grades four through
six, more than twenty-five pupils per teacher in a classroom for
the purposes of instruction in physical education; and (b) to
permit more than twenty pupils per teacher in a specific kindergarten classroom and twenty-five pupils per teacher in a
specific classroom in grades one through six during a school year
in the event of extraordinary circumstances as determined by the
state superintendent after application by a county board of
education.
The state board shall establish guidelines for the exceptions
authorized in this section, but in no event shall the
superintendent except classrooms having more than three pupils
above the pupil-teacher ratio as set forth in this section.
The requirement for approval of an exception to exceed the
twenty per kindergarten teacher per session limit or the
twenty-five pupils per teacher limit in grades one through six is
waived in schools where the schoolwide pupil-teacher ratio is
twenty-five or less in grades one through six:
Provided, That a
teacher shall not have more than three pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section. Any kindergarten
teacher who has more than twenty pupils per session and any
classroom teacher of grades one through six who has more than
twenty-five pupils shall be paid additional compensation based on
the affected classroom teacher's average daily salary divided by
twenty for kindergarten teachers or twenty-five for teachers of
grades one through six for every day times the number of additional
pupils enrolled up to the maximum pupils permitted in the teacher's
classroom.
Any kindergarten aide or paraprofessional who has more than twenty pupils per session, or any aide or paraprofessional in
grades one through six who has more than twenty-five pupils per
session, shall be paid additional compensation based on the
affected employee's average daily salary divided by twenty for
kindergarten aides or paraprofessionals, or the average daily
salary divided by twenty-five for aides or paraprofessionals in
grades one through six, for every day times the number of
additional pupils enrolled up to the maximum number of pupils
permitted in the classroom. All such additional compensation shall
be paid from county funds exclusively.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, commencing with the school year beginning on July 1,
1994, a teacher in grades one, two or three or classrooms having
two or more such grade levels, shall not have more than two pupils
above the teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section:
Provided, That commencing with the school year beginning on July 1,
1995, such teacher shall not have more than one pupil above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section:
Provided,
however, That commencing with the school year beginning on July 1,
1996, such teacher shall not have any pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section.
No provision of this section is intended to limit the number
of pupils per teacher in a classroom for the purpose of instruction
in choral, band or orchestra music.
Each school principal shall assign students equitably among
the classroom teachers, taking into consideration reasonable
differences due to subject areas and/or grade levels.
The state board shall collect from each county board of
education information on class size and the number of pupils per
teacher for all classes in grades seven through twelve. The state
board shall report such information to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability before January 1 of each
year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for increased
compensation for aides and paraprofessionals with large numbers of
pupils in kindergarten and grades one through six.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.