Senate Bill No. 738
(By Senators Plymale, Minard and Stollings)
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[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2-5f of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring higher education
institutions to use the unique West Virginia Educational
Information System student identifier assigned through the
student's enrollment in any West Virginia public school.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2-5f of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-5f. Use of student social security numbers.
(a)
Restrictions on use of student social security numbers. --
No public or private elementary or secondary school or college or
university shall display any student's social security number to
identify students for posting or public listing of grades, on class
rosters or other lists provided to teachers, on student identification cards, in student directories or similar listings,
or, unless specifically authorized or required by law, for any
public identification purpose
: Provided, That any student
identification cards, directories or similar listings produced
prior to July 1, 2002 shall not be subject to the provisions of
this section.
(b)
Use of social security numbers. -- Nothing in this section
shall be construed as prohibiting the Higher Education Policy
Commission, state institutions of higher education, State Board of
Education, county boards of education or the public or private
schools from using a student's social security number for internal
record keeping purposes or studies.
(c)
Social security number or alternative required for
enrollment or attendance in public school. --
(1) Effective on July 1, 2003, the appropriate county board
shall request the parent, guardian, or other responsible person to
furnish the social security number of each child who is currently
enrolled in a public school under the jurisdiction of the county
board.
(2) Prior to admitting a child to a public school in this
state, the appropriate county board shall request the parent,
guardian, or other responsible person to furnish the social
security number for each child who is to be enrolled after July 1,
2003.
(3) The county board shall inform the parent, guardian or
other responsible person that, if he or she declines to provide a
social security number for a child who is currently enrolled or for
a child to be enrolled, the county board shall assign to the child
a nine-digit number as designated by the state board.
(4) For any student who is attending a public school and for
whom a social security number has not been provided, the county
board shall make a request annually to the parent, guardian, or
other responsible person to furnish the social security number.
(d) For each student who graduates from or was enrolled in a
West Virginia public high school, any public or private college or
university in West Virginia shall use the unique West Virginia
Educational Information System student identifier assigned through
the students' enrollment in any West Virginia public school,
including prekindergarten programs, as an alternative to, or in
addition to, any other student identifier used at the college or
university.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
require higher education
institutions to use the unique West Virginia Educational
Information System student identifier assigned through the
student's enrollment in any West Virginia public school.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.