COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2542
(By Delegates Marshall, Fleischauer, Beach,
Caputo and Shook)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[February 23, 2010]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3A-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to creating the "Jason Flatt Act of
2010"; providing routine education of all professional
educators and those school service personnel having direct
contact with students on suicide prevention by center for
professional development; providing for state board
guidelines; and providing for delivery options.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3A-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3A-2. Professional development project.
Subject to the provisions of section twenty-three-a, article
two, chapter eighteen of this code, through this project the center
shall:
(1) Identify, coordinate, arrange and otherwise assist in the
delivery of professional development programs and activities that help professional educators acquire the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, practices and other such pertinent complements deemed
essential for an individual to demonstrate appropriate performance
as a professional personnel in the public schools of West Virginia.
The basis for such performance shall be the laws, policies and
regulations adopted for the public schools of West Virginia, and
amendments thereto. The center also may permit and encourage
school personnel such as classroom aides, higher education teacher
education faculty and higher education faculty in programs such as
articulated tech prep associate degree and other programs to
participate in appropriate professional development programs and
activities with public school professional educators;
(2) Identify, coordinate, arrange and otherwise assist in the
delivery of professional development programs and activities that
help principals and administrators acquire knowledge, skills,
attitudes and practices in academic leadership and management
principles for principals and administrators and such other
pertinent complements deemed essential for principals and
administrators to demonstrate appropriate performance in the public
schools of West Virginia. The basis for such performance shall be
the laws, policies and regulations adopted for the public schools
of West Virginia, and amendments thereto;
(3) Serve in a coordinating capacity to assure that the
knowledge, skills, attitude and other pertinent complements of
appropriate professional performance which evolve over time in the
public school environment are appropriately reflected in the programs approved for the education of professional personnel,
including, but not limited to, advising the teacher education
programs of major statutory and policy changes in the public
schools which affect the job performance requirements of
professional educators, including principals and administrators;
(4) Provide for the routine updating of professional skills of
professional educators, including principals and administrators,
through in-service and other programs. Such routine updating may
be provided by the center through statewide or regional institutes
which may require a registration fee;
(5) Provide for the routine education of all professional
educators, including principals and administrators, and those
school service personnel having direct contact with students on
suicide prevention under guidelines established by the state board.
The education may be provided by the center through in-service
professional development, or as a part of statewide or regional
institutes, or other programs and may be accomplished through self-
review of suicide prevention materials and resources approved by
the state board. The provisions of this paragraph may be known and
cited as the "Jason Flatt Act of 2010";
(5) (6) Provide consultation and assistance to county staff
development councils established under the provisions of section
eight, article three of this chapter in planning, designing,
coordinating, arranging for and delivering professional development
programs to meet the needs of the professional educators of their
district. From legislative appropriations to the center for professional development, exclusive of such amounts required for
the expenses of the principals academy, the center shall, unless
otherwise directed by the Legislature, provide assistance in the
delivery of programs and activities to meet the expressed needs of
the school districts for professional development to help teachers,
principals and administrators demonstrate appropriate performance
based on the laws, policies and regulations adopted for the public
schools of West Virginia; and
(6) (7) Cooperate and coordinate with the institutions of
higher education to provide professional staff development programs
that satisfy some or all of the criteria necessary for currently
certified professional educators to meet the requirements for an
additional endorsement in an area of certification and for
certification to teach in the middle school grades.
If the center is not able to reach agreement with the
representatives of the institutions providing teacher education
programs on which courses will be approved for credit toward
additional endorsements, the state board may certify certain
professional staff development courses to meet criteria required by
the state board. This certification shall be done on a course by
course basis.