Senate Bill No. 203
(By Senator Plymale)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-4-1 and §18-4-2 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §18-5-1a
of said code, all relating to including interim term of county
superintendents; appointment of interim county superintendent
in cases of medical incapacitation; and removal power of a
county board member if a member does not attend approved
training.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-4-1 and §18-4-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §18-5-1a of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
§18-4-1. Election and term; interim superintendent.
(a) The county superintendent shall be appointed by the board
upon a majority vote of the members thereof to serve for a term of not less than one, nor more than four years. At the expiration of
the term or terms for which he or she shall have been appointed,
each county superintendent shall be eligible for reappointment for
additional terms of not less than one, nor more than four years.
(1) At the expiration of his or her term or terms of service
the county superintendent may transfer to any teaching position in
the county for which he or she is qualified and has seniority,
unless dismissed for statutory reasons.
(2) The appointment of the county superintendent shall be made
between January 1 and June 1 for a term beginning on July 1
following the appointment.
(b) In the event of a vacancy in the superintendent's position
that results in an incomplete term, the board may appoint an
interim county superintendent:
(1) To serve until the following July 1 if the vacancy occurs
before March 1.
(2) To serve until July 1 of the next following year if the
vacancy occurs on or after March 1, unless a superintendent is
appointed sooner:
Provided, That the board may appoint an interim
county superintendent to serve for a period not to exceed two
hundred forty days from the occurrence of the vacancy.
(c) If the superintendent becomes incapacitated due to
accident or illness to an extent that may lead to prolonged
absence, the county board, by unanimous vote, may enter an order declaring that an incapacity exists in which case the county board
shall appoint an acting superintendent to serve until a majority of
the members of the board determine that the incapacity no longer
exists. An acting superintendent may not serve in that capacity
for more than one year, nor later than the expiration date of the
superintendent's term, whichever occurs sooner, unless he or she is
reappointed by the county board.
(d) Immediately following the appointment of a county
superintendent or an interim county superintendent, the president
of the county board shall certify the appointment to the state
superintendent. Immediately following the appointment of an acting
county superintendent or a vote by a majority of the members of the
county board that an incapacity no longer exists, the president of
the county board shall certify the appointment, reappointment or
appointment termination of the acting superintendent to the state
superintendent.
(e) During his or her term of appointment, the county
superintendent shall be a state resident and shall reside in the
county which he or she serves or in a contiguous county. The
county superintendent in office on the effective date of this
section shall continue in office until the expiration of his or her
term.
§18-4-2. Qualifications; health certificate; disability; acting
superintendent.
(a) Each county superintendent shall hold a professional
administrative certificate endorsed for superintendent, or a first
class permit endorsed for superintendent, subject to the following:
(1) A superintendent who holds a first class permit may be
appointed for one year only, and may be reappointed two times for
an additional year each upon an annual evaluation by the county
board and a determination of satisfactory performance and
reasonable progress toward completion of the requirements for a
professional administrative certificate endorsed for
superintendent;
(2) Any candidate for superintendent who possesses an earned
doctorate from an accredited institution of higher education and
either has completed three successful years of teaching in public
education or has the equivalent of three years of experience in
management or supervision as defined by state board rule, after
employment by the county board shall be granted a permanent
administrative certificate and shall be a licensed county
superintendent;
(3) The state board shall promulgate a legislative rule in
accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, to address those cases where a county board finds that course
work needed by the county superintendent who holds a first class
permit is not available or is not scheduled at state institutions
of higher education in a manner which will enable the county superintendent to complete normal requirements for a professional
administrative certificate within the three-year period allowed
under the permit; and
(4) Any person employed as assistant superintendent or
educational administrator prior to June 27, 1988, and who was
previously employed as superintendent is not required to hold the
professional administrative certificate endorsed for
superintendent.
(b) In addition to other requirements set forth in this
section, a county superintendent shall meet the following health-
related conditions of employment:
(1) Before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties,
file with the president of the county board a certificate from a
licensed physician certifying the following:
(A) A tuberculin skin test, of the type Mantoux test (PPD skin
test), approved by the Director of the
Department Division of
Health, has been made within four months prior to the beginning of
the term of the county superintendent; and
(B) The county superintendent does not have tuberculosis in a
communicable state based upon the test results and any further
study;
(2) After completion of the initial test, the county
superintendent shall have an approved tuberculin skin test once
every two years or more frequently if medically indicated. Positive reactors to the skin test are to be referred immediately
to a physician for evaluation and indicated treatment or further
studies;
(3) A county superintendent who is certified by a licensed
physician to have tuberculosis in a communicable stage shall have
his or her employment discontinued or suspended until the disease
has been arrested and is no longer communicable; and
(4) A county superintendent who fails to complete required
follow-up examinations as set forth in this subsection shall be
suspended from employment until a report of examination is
confirmed.
(c) If the superintendent, due to accident or illness, becomes
incapacitated to an extent that could lead to prolonged absence,
the board, upon unanimous vote, may enter an order declaring the
incapacity and it shall appoint an acting superintendent until such
time as a majority of the members of the board determine that the
incapacity no longer exists. However, an acting superintendent
shall not serve as such for more than one year, or later than the
expiration date of the superintendent's term, whichever is less,
without being reappointed by the board of education.
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-1a. Eligibility of members; training requirements.
(a) A person who is a candidate for membership on a county
board or who is a member or member-elect of a county board:
(1) Shall be a citizen and resident in the county in which he
or she serves or seeks to serve on the county board;
(2) May not be employed by the county board on which he or she
serves or seeks to serve, including employment as a teacher or
service person;
(3) May not engage in the following political activities:
(A) Become a candidate for or hold any other public office,
other than to succeed him or herself as a member of a county board
subject to the following:
(i) A candidate for a county board, who is not currently
serving on a county board, may hold another public office while a
candidate if he or she resigns from the other public office prior
to taking the oath of office as a county board member.
(ii) The term "public office" as used in this section does not
include service on any other board, elected or appointed, profit or
nonprofit, under the following conditions:
(I) The person does not receive compensation; and
(II) The primary scope of the board is not related to public
schools.
(B) Become a candidate for, or serve as, an elected member of
any political party executive committee;
(C) Become a candidate for, or serve as, a delegate, alternate
or proxy to a national political party convention;
(D) Solicit or receive political contributions to support the election of, or to retire the campaign debt of, any candidate for
partisan office;
(4) May engage in any or all of the following political
activities:
(A) Make campaign contributions to partisan or bipartisan
candidates;
(B) Attend political fund raisers for partisan or bipartisan
candidates;
(C) Serve as an unpaid volunteer on a partisan campaign;
(D) Politically endorse any candidate in a partisan or
bipartisan election; or
(E) Attend a county, state or national political party
convention.
(b) A member or member-elect of a county board, or a person
desiring to become a member of a county board, may make a written
request to the West Virginia Ethics Commission for an advisory
opinion to determine if another elected or appointed position held
or sought by the person is an office or public office which would
bar service on a county board pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section.
(1) Within thirty days of receipt of the request, the Ethics
Commission shall issue a written advisory opinion in response to
the request and also shall publish the opinion in a manner which,
to the fullest extent possible, does not reveal the identity of the person making the request.
(2) A county board member who relies in good faith upon an
advisory opinion issued by the West Virginia Ethics Commission to
the effect that holding a particular office or public office is not
a bar from membership on a county board and against whom
proceedings are subsequently brought for removal from the county
board on the basis of holding that office or offices is entitled to
reimbursement by the county board for reasonable attorney's fees
and court costs incurred by the member in defending against these
proceedings, regardless of the outcome of the proceedings.
(3) A vote cast by the member at a meeting of the county board
may not be invalidated due to a subsequent finding that holding the
particular office or public office is a bar to membership on the
county board.
(4) Good faith reliance on a written advisory opinion of the
West Virginia Ethics Commission that a particular office or public
office is not a bar to membership on a county board is an absolute
defense to any civil suit or criminal prosecution arising from any
proper action taken within the scope of membership on the county
board, becoming a member-elect of the county board or seeking
election to the county board.
(c) To be eligible for election or appointment as a member of
a county board on or after May 5, 1992, a person shall possess at
least a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED) diploma. This provision does not apply to members or
members-elect who have taken office prior to May 5, 1992, and who
serve continuously from that date forward.
(d) A person elected to a county board after July 1, 1990, may
not assume the duties of county board member unless he or she has
first attended and completed a course of orientation relating to
boardsmanship and governance effectiveness which shall be given
between the date of election and the beginning of the member's term
of office under the following conditions:
(1) A portion or portions of subsequent training such as that
offered in orientation may be provided to members after they have
commenced their term of office;
(2) Attendance at the session of orientation given between the
date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office
permits the member-elect to assume the duties of county board
member, as specified in this section;
(3) Members appointed to the county board shall attend and
complete the next such course offered following their appointment;
and
(4) The provisions of this subsection relating to orientation
do not apply to members who have taken office prior to July 1,
1988, and who serve continuously from that date forward.
(e) Annually, each member of a county board shall receive
seven clock hours of training in areas relating to boardsmanship, governance effectiveness, and school performance issues including,
but not limited to, pertinent state and federal statutes such as
the "Process for Improving Education" set forth in section five,
article two-e of this chapter and the "No Child Left Behind Act"
and their respective administrative rules.
(1) The orientation and training shall be approved by the
state board and conducted by the West Virginia School Board
Association or other organization or organizations approved by the
state board:
(A) The state board may exclude time spent in training on
school performance issues from the requisite seven hours herein
required; and
(B) If the state board elects to exclude time spent in
training on school performance issues from the requisite seven
hours, the state board shall limit the training to a feasible and
practicable amount of time.
(2) Failure to attend and complete the approved course of
orientation and training relating to boardsmanship and governance
effectiveness without good cause as determined by the state board
by duly promulgated legislative rules constitutes neglect of duty
under section seven, article six, chapter six of this code.
(g) (f) In the final year of any four-year term of office, a
member shall satisfy the annual training requirement before January
1. Failure to comply with the training requirements of this section without good cause as defined by the state board by duly
promulgated legislative rules constitutes neglect of duty under
section seven, article six, chapter six of this code.
(h) (g) The state board shall appoint a committee named the
"county board member training standards review committee" whose
members shall meet at least annually. Subject to state board
approval, the committee shall determine which particular trainings
and training organizations shall be approved and whether county
board members have satisfied the annual training requirement.
Members of the committee serve without compensation, but may be
reimbursed by their agencies or employers for all reasonable and
necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their
duties under this subsection.
(h) The state board shall petition the circuit court of
Kanawha County to remove any county board member who has failed to
or who refuses to attend and complete the approved course of
orientation and training. If the county board member fails to show
good cause for not attending the approved course of orientation and
training, the court shall remove the member from office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include interim term of
county superintendents and appointment of interim county
superintendent in cases of medical incapacitation. The bill also
provides for removal power of a county board if a member does not
attended approved training.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.