Introduced Version
House Bill 2388 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2388
(By Delegate Caputo)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-16 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to granting the State
Superintendent of Schools, under certain circumstances, the
authority to designate a geographical area as a school choice
zone and permitting a student residing in that zone to
transfer from the sending county to the receiving county.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-16 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-16. Student transfers; legislative findings; appeals;
calculating net enrollment; fees for transfer.
(a) County districts and school attendance. -- The county
board may divide the county into such districts as are necessary to determine the schools the students of its county shall attend.
Upon the written request of any parent or guardian, or person
legally responsible for any student, or for reasons affecting the
best interests of the schools, the superintendent may transfer
students from one school to another within the county. Any
aggrieved person may appeal the decision of the county
superintendent to the county board, and the decision of the county
board shall be final.
(b) Transfers between counties; legislative findings. --
(1) Transfers of students from one county to another may be
made by the county board of the county in which the student
desiring to be transferred resides. The transfer shall be subject
to the approval of both the board of the county in which the
student resides and the board to which the student wishes to be
transferred.
(2) Legislative findings. -- Over the past several years,
counties have been forced to close a number of schools because of
declining student enrollment. School officials predict that an
additional eighteen percent loss in enrollment may occur between
2002 and 2012. This continued decrease in the number of students
enrolled in the public schools of the state may result in more
instances of consolidation which will increase the problem of long
bus rides for students if they remain in a school in their county
of residence.
Therefore, the Legislature makes the following findings:
(A) County lines may impede the effective and efficient
delivery of education services;
(B) Students often must endure long bus rides to a school
within their county of residence when a school in an adjacent
county is a fraction of the distance away;
(C) The wishes of parents or guardians to have their children
transferred to a county other than their county of residence should
be considered by the county boards; and
(D) Where counties cannot agree, it is necessary to establish
a process to determine when transfers are appropriate.
(3) The state board shall establish a process whereby a parent
or guardian of a student may appeal the refusal of a county board
to enter into an agreement to transfer or accept the transfer of
the student.
(A) The process shall designate the state superintendent to
hear the appeal. In determining whether to overturn a decision of
a county board, the state superintendent shall consider such
factors as the following:
(i) Travel time for the student;
(ii) Impact on levies or bonds;
(iii) Other financial impact on the county of residence; and
(iv) Such other factors as the state superintendent may
determine.
(B) If, during the appeal process, the state superintendent
discovers that the education and the welfare of students in the
transferring county could be enhanced, the state superintendent may
direct that students may be permitted to attend a school in another
county.
(C) If multiple appeals are received from the same
geographical area of a county, the state superintendent may impose
on the receiving county restrictions including, but not limited to,
requiring the receiving county to accept all students in that
geographical area of the sending county who wish to transfer to the
receiving county designate that geographical area a school choice
zone, and any student residing in the school choice zone may
transfer from the sending county to the receiving county if the
student wishes.
(D) If a student is transferred on either a full-time or a
part-time basis without the agreement of both boards by official
action as reflected in the minutes of their respective meetings and
if the student's parent or guardian fails to appeal or loses the
appeal under the process established in subdivision (3) of this
subsection, the student shall be counted only in the net enrollment
of the county in which the student resides. If a student transfers
to a receiving county after his or her area of residence has been
designated a school choice zone, the student shall be counted in
the net enrollment of the receiving county.
(4) If, after two county boards have agreed to a transfer
arrangement for a student or after a student transferred pursuant
to a school choice zone designation, that student chooses to return
to a school in his or her county of residence after the second
month of any school year, the following applies:
(A) The county of residence may issue an invoice to the county
from which the student transferred for the amount, determined on a
pro rata basis, that the county of residence otherwise would have
received under the state basic foundation program established in
article nine-a of this chapter; and
(B) The county from which the student transferred shall
reimburse the county of residence for the amount of the invoice.
(c) Transfers between high schools. -- In any county where a
high school is maintained, but topography, impassable roads, long
bus rides or other conditions prevent the practicable
transportation of any students to such high school, the board may
transfer them to a high school in an adjoining county. In any such
case, the county boards may enter into an agreement providing for
the payment of the cost of transportation, if any, of the students.
(d) Transfers between states. -- Transfer of students from
this state to another state shall be upon such terms as shall be
mutually agreed upon by the board of the transferring county and
the authorities of the school to which the transfer is made.
(e) No A parent, guardian or person acting as parent or guardian shall may not be required to pay for the transfer of a
student or for the tuition of the student after the transfer when
such transfer is carried out under the terms of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit, under specific
conditions, the State Superintendent of Schools to designate
certain geographical areas as a School Choice Zone which would
enable students residing in the designated area to attend school in
a neighboring county if they wish.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.