H. B. 4688
(By Delegate Amores)
[Introduced February 21, 2006; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-1-1 and §18A-3-2a of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to "volunteer
athletic assistants"
authorized, without pay, to supervise
the student members of an athletic team or athletic
organization created and operated by the public schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-1-1 and §18A-3-2a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§18A-1-1. Definitions.
The definitions contained in section one, article
one, chapter eighteen of this code apply to this chapter. In
addition, the following words used in this chapter and in any
proceedings pursuant to this chapter shall, unless the context
clearly indicates a different meaning, be construed as follows:
(a) "School personnel" means all personnel
employed by a county board whether employed on a regular full-time basis, an hourly basis or otherwise. School personnel shall
be comprised of two categories: Professional personnel and
service personnel;
(b) "Professional personnel" means persons who
meet the certification requirements of the state, licensing
requirements of the state or both and includes the professional
educator and other professional employees;
(c) "Professional educator" has the same meaning
as "teacher" as defined in section one, article one, chapter
eighteen of this code. Professional educators shall be
classified as:
(1) "Classroom teacher" means a professional
educator who has direct instructional or counseling relationship
with pupils, spending the majority of his or her time in this
capacity;
(2) "Principal" means a professional educator who,
as agent of the county board, has responsibility for the
supervision, management and control of a school or schools within
the guidelines established by the county board. The major area
of the responsibility shall be the general supervision of all the
schools and all school activities involving pupils, teachers and
other school personnel;
(3) "Supervisor" means a professional educator
who, whether by this or other appropriate title, is responsible
for working primarily in the field with professional and other personnel in instructional and other school improvement; and
(4) "Central office administrator" means a
superintendent, associate superintendent, assistant
superintendent and other professional educators, whether by these
or other appropriate titles, who are charged with the
administering and supervising of the whole or some assigned part
of the total program of the countywide school system;
(d) "Other professional employee" means that
person from another profession who is properly licensed and is
employed to serve the public schools and includes a registered
professional nurse, licensed by the West Virginia board of
examiners for registered professional nurses and employed by a
county board, who has completed either a two-year (sixty-four
semester hours) or a three-year (ninety-six semester hours)
nursing program;
(e) "Service personnel" means those who serve the
school or schools as a whole, in a nonprofessional capacity,
including such areas as secretarial, custodial, maintenance,
transportation, school lunch and as aides;
(f) "Principals academy" or "academy" means the
academy created pursuant to section two-b, article three-a of
this chapter;
(g) "Center for professional development" means
the center created pursuant to section one, article three-a of
this chapter;
(h) "Job-sharing arrangement" means a formal,
written agreement voluntarily entered into by a county board with
two or more of its employees who wish to divide between them the
duties and responsibilities of one authorized full-time position;
(I) "Prospective employable professional
personnel" means certified professional educators who:
(1) Have been recruited on a reserve list of a
county board;
(2) Have been recruited at a job fair or as a
result of contact made at a job fair;
(3) Have not obtained regular employee status
through the job posting process provided for in section seven-a,
article four of this chapter; and
(4) Have obtained a baccalaureate degree from an
accredited institution of higher education within the past year;
(j) "Dangerous student" means a pupil who is
substantially likely to cause serious bodily injury to himself,
herself or another individual within that pupil's educational
environment, which may include any alternative education
environment, as evidenced by a pattern or series of violent
behavior exhibited by the pupil, and documented in writing by the
school, with the documentation provided to the student and parent
or guardian at the time of any offense; and
(k) "Alternative education" means an authorized
departure from the regular school program designed to provide educational and social development for students whose disruptive
behavior places them at risk of not succeeding in the traditional
school structures and in adult life without positive
interventions.
(l) "Volunteer athletic assistant" means any
individual authorized, without pay, to supervise the student
members of an athletic team or athletic organization created and
operated by the public schools. Volunteer athletic assistants may
assist the coach or coaches of an athletic team or athletic
organization during, but not limited to, practices, training,
competitions, meets, games, tournaments or other athletic event
or engagement authorized by the public schools. Volunteer
athletic assistants are deemed to be authorized to supervise
student members of athletic teams or athletic organizations after
the potential volunteer athletic assistant candidate has been
requested to assist the athletic team or organization by the
athletic coach or coaches and has submitted to a criminal
background check.
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-2a. Authority of state superintendent to issue
certificates; kinds of certificates.
In accordance with state board of education rules for the
education of professional educators adopted after consultation
with the secretary of education and the arts, the state superintendent of schools may issue certificates valid in the
public schools of the state: Provided, That a certificate shall
not be issued to any person who is not a citizen of the United
States, is not of good moral character and physically, mentally
and emotionally qualified to perform the duties for which the
certification would be granted and who has not attained the age
of eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the
year in which the certificate is issued: Provided, however, That
an exchange teacher from a foreign country or an alien person who
meets the requirements to teach may be granted a permit to teach
within the public schools of the state.
Certificates authorized to be issued include:
(1) Professional teaching certificates. -- A professional
teaching certificate for teaching in the public schools may be
issued to a person who:
(A) Has at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited
institution of higher education in this state, has completed a
program for the education of teachers which meets the
requirements approved by the state board of education or has met
equivalent standards at institutions in other states and has
passed appropriate state board approved basic skills and subject
matter tests or has completed three years of successful
experience within the last seven years in the area for which
licensure is being sought; or
(B) Has at least a bachelor's degree in a discipline taught in the public schools from an accredited institution of higher
education, has passed appropriate state board approved basic
skills and subject matter tests or has completed three years of
successful experience within the last seven years in the area for
which licensure is being sought, has completed an alternative
program for teacher education approved by the state board and is
recommended for a certificate by the chairperson of the
professional support team of the person's alternative program or
the state superintendent based on documentation submitted.
The certificate shall be endorsed to indicate the grade
level or levels or areas of specialization in which the person is
certified to teach or to serve in the public schools. The
initial professional certificate shall be issued provisionally
for a period of three years from the date of issuance and may be
converted to a professional certificate valid for five years
subject to successful completion of a beginning teacher
internship, if applicable, or renewed subject to rules adopted by
the state board.
(2) Professional administrative certificate. -- A
professional administrative certificate, endorsed for serving in
the public schools, with specific endorsement as a principal,
vocational administrator, supervisor of instructions or
superintendent, may be issued to a person who has completed
requirements all to be approved by the state board as follows:
For a master's degree from an institution of higher education accredited to offer a master's degree, has successfully completed
an approved program for administrative certification, developed
by the state board of education in cooperation with the governing
boards of the university of West Virginia system and the state
college system, has successfully completed education and training
in evaluation skills through the center for professional
development, or equivalent education and training in evaluation
skills, and three years of management level experience:
Provided, That anyone having received a certificate during the
period from the thirtieth day of August, one thousand nine
hundred ninety, until the effective date of this bill without
having met the above requirements shall complete those
requirements within five years after the effective date of this
bill: Provided, however, That any person serving in the position
of dean of students on the effective date of this section shall
not be required to hold a professional administrative
certificate. Beginning the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-two, the initial professional administrative
certificate shall be issued provisionally for a period of five
years. This certificate may be converted to a professional
administrative certificate valid for five years or renewed,
subject to the regulations of the state board.
(3) Paraprofessional certificate. -- A paraprofessional
certificate may be issued to a person who has completed thirty-
six semester hours of post-secondary education or its equivalent in subjects directly related to performance of the job, all
approved by the state board, and can demonstrate the
proficiencies to perform duties as required of a paraprofessional
as defined in section eight, article four of this chapter.
(4) Other certificates; permits. -- Other certificates and
permits may be issued, subject to the approval of the state
board, to persons who do not qualify for the professional or
paraprofessional certificate. Such certificates or permits shall
not be given permanent status and persons holding such shall meet
renewal requirements provided by law and by regulation, unless
the state board declares certain of these certificates to be the
equivalent of the professional certificate.
Within the category of other certificates and permits, the
state superintendent may issue certificates for persons to serve
in the public schools as athletic coaches or other
extracurricular activities coaches whose duties may include the
supervision of students, subject to the following limitations:
(A) Such person shall be employed under a contract with the
county board of education which specifies the duties to be
performed, which specifies a rate of pay equivalent to the rate
of pay for professional educators in the district who accept
similar duties as extra duty assignments and which provides for
liability insurance associated with the activity: Provided, That
such persons shall not be considered employees of the board for
salary and benefit purposes other than as specified in the contract;
(B) a currently employed certified professional educator has
not applied for the position; and
(C) such person completes an orientation program designed
and approved in accordance with state board rules which shall be
adopted no later than the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one.
Any individual serving as a "volunteer athletic assistant",
as defined in §18A-1-1 of this code, is not subject to the
certificate requirements of this section.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to create the unpaid
position of "volunteer athletic assistant" for athletic teams and
athletic organizations in the public schools.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.