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Introduced Version House Bill 2711 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

FISCAL NOTEWEST virginia legislature

2017 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2711

By Mr. Speaker (Mr. Armstead) and Delegate Miley

(By Request of the Executive)

[Introduced February 27, 2017; Referred
to the Committee on Education then Finance.]

 

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2-5b, §18-2-24, §18-2-26 and §18-2-26a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §18-2E-5 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-5-13 and §18-5-45 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-9A-8a of said code; to amend and reenact §18-9D-16 of said code; to amend and reenact §18A-4-2 and §18A-4-14 of said code; and to amend and reenact §30-31-11 of said code, all relating generally to education; abolishing regional educational service agencies and providing for the transfer of property and records; establishing the County Superintendents’ Advisory Council; setting forth the council’s authority and responsibilities, including the formation of four geographic quadrants to carry out the work of the council; requiring reports; removing requirement of county boards within regional educational service agency areas (RESA) to meet to identify areas of shared services; removing the requirement of the West Virginia School Board Association submit annual reports on recommended county level shared services and functions to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Education Accountability; requiring state summative assessments in English Language Arts and Math to be administered in grades three through eight and once in grades nine through twelve; requiring state summative assessment in science to be administered once in grades three through eight, six through nine and ten through twelve; requiring the State Board of Education to review or develop and approve a college-and career readiness assessment to be administered in eleventh grade; eliminating the office of Education Performance Audits and transitioning to a process of continuous improvement and performance measures; amending school accreditation, accountability and school performance to include multiple measures; preventing the use of one measure for accreditation of schools and school systems; including student growth as a measure that may be used for school and school system accreditation; eliminating intervention at the school level; changing the county level intervention process by the State Board of Education; transferring coordination functions of (RESA) to county school systems; requiring the State Board of Education to set a minimum number of hours or minutes of instructional time per year to use to meet one hundred eighty separate days of instruction; providing up to five days in the school calendar that may be “reimagined” and used to meet the one hundred-eighty separate days of instruction requirement; reducing funding allowance for (RESA); removing “economies of scale” language from guidelines for the School Building Authority project proposals; providing for a pay raise for classroom teachers; requiring uninterrupted time for planning periods each week to be used for instructional planning; and removing the outdated requirement for the State Board of Education to conduct a study on planning periods and report findings to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Education Accountability.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


That §18-2-5b, §18-2-24, §18-2-26 and §18-2-26a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §18-2E-5 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18-5-13 and §18-5-45 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18-9A-8a of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18-9D-16 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18A-4-2 and §18A-4-14 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §30-31-11 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.


ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.


§18-2-5b. Medicaid eligible children; school health services advisory committee.

(a) The state board shall become a Medicaid provider and seek out Medicaid eligible students for the purpose of providing Medicaid and related services to students eligible under the Medicaid program and to maximize federal reimbursement for all services available under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, as it relates to Medicaid expansion and any future expansions in the Medicaid program for Medicaid and related services for which state dollars are or will be expended: Provided, That the state board may delegate this provider status and subsequent reimbursement to regional educational service agencies (RESA) and/or county boards: Provided, however, That annually the state board shall report to the Legislature the number and age of children eligible for Medicaid, the number and age of children with Medicaid coverage, the types of Medicaid eligible services provided, the frequency of services provided, the Medicaid dollars reimbursed; and the problems encountered in the implementation of this system and that this report shall be on a county by county basis and made available no later than January 1,1992, and annually thereafter.

(b) The state board shall appoint and convene a school health services advisory committee to advise the secretary of health and human resources and the state superintendent on ways to improve the ability of regional education service agencies local school boards, and Department of Health and Human Resources employees to provide Medicaid eligible children with all the school-based Medicaid services for which they are eligible and to ensure that the school-based Medicaid service providers bill for and receive all the Medicaid reimbursement to which they are entitled. The committee shall consist of at least the following individuals: The person within the Department of Education responsible for coordinating the provision of and billing for school-based Medicaid services in schools throughout the state, who shall provide secretarial, administrative and technical support to the advisory committee; the person within the Department of Health and Human Resources responsible for coordinating the enrollment of Medicaid eligible school children throughout the state; two representatives of regional education services agencies who are experienced with the process of billing Medicaid for school-based health services two Department of Health and Human Resources employees responsible for supervising employees, two persons jointly appointed by the secretary of health and human resources and the state superintendent; and one representative of the Governor's task force on school health.

The school health services advisory committee shall meet in the first instance at the direction of the state superintendent, select a chairperson from among its members, and meet thereafter at the direction of the chairperson. The committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the state board and Department of Health and Human Resources, which findings shall then be included in the report to the Legislature by the state board and Department of Health and Human Resources provided for in subsection (a) of this section.

All actual and necessary travel expenses of the members of the committee shall be reimbursed by the member's employing agency, for those members not employed by a state agency, the member's actual and necessary travel expenses shall be paid by the state board. All such expenses shall be reimbursed in the same manner as the expenses of state employees are reimbursed.


§18-2-24. Collaboration of state institutions of higher education having a teacher preparation program with the Center for Professional Development state board and the regional education service agencies and the State Board of Education.

(a) For the purposes of this section, "teacher preparation institution" means a state institution of higher education with a teacher preparation program.

(b) The intent of this section is to establish a structure to enhance collaboration between the teacher preparation institutions, the Center for Professional Development, state board and the regional education service agencies in providing professional development and the State Board of Education.

(c) The Legislature finds that:

(1) There is insufficient collaboration of the teacher preparation institutions with the Center for Professional Development, state board and each of the regional education service agencies;

(2) More collaboration would prevent duplication of services and result in higher quality professional development;

(3) Creating a structure and assigning responsibility would promote more effective collaboration;

(4) The state's research and doctoral degree-granting public institutions of higher education, West Virginia University and Marshall University, have the most capacity to be important sources of research and expertise on professional development;

(5) West Virginia University and Marshall University are the only institutions in the state that offer course work leading to a doctoral degree in education administration;

(6) As the largest state institutions of higher education, West Virginia University and Marshall University have more capacity than any other institution in the state to handle the additional responsibilities assigned in this section; and

(7) The coordination by West Virginia University and Marshall University of the efforts of other teacher preparation institutions to collaborate with the Center for Professional Development, and the state board and each of the regional education service agencies will provide points of accountability for the collaboration efforts of the other institutions; and

(8) The state board's authority over the regional education service agencies can be used to motivate the agencies to collaborate with the teacher preparation institutions in providing professional development and will serve as a point of accountability for the collaboration efforts of the agencies

(d) West Virginia University and Marshall University shall collaborate with the Center for Professional Development in performing the center's duties. This collaboration shall include at least the following:

(1) Including the teacher preparation institutions in the proposed professional staff development program goals required by section three, article two-i of this chapter to be included in the master plan for professional development;

(2) Providing any available research-based expertise that would be helpful in the design of the proposed professional staff development program goals;

(3) Providing any available research-based expertise that would be helpful in the implementation of professional development programs; and

(4) Arranging for other state institutions of higher education having a teacher preparation program to assist the center when that assistance would be helpful.

(e) All teacher preparation institutions shall collaborate with the regional education service agency of the service area in which the institution is located at least to:

(1) Prevent unnecessary duplication of services;

(2) Assist in the implementation of the professional development programs of the regional education service agency; and

(3) Assist the regional education service agency in obtaining any available grants for professional development or to apply for any available grant with the agency collaboratively.

(f) Since no teacher preparation institution exists in the service area of Regional Education Service Agency IV, Marshall University shall collaborate with that agency for the purposes set forth in subdivision (e) of this section

(g) (e) In addition to the collaboration required by subsections (e) and (f) of this section of all teacher preparation institutions, West Virginia University and Marshall University shall:

(1) Coordinate the collaboration of each of the other teacher preparation institutions in their designated coordination area with the appropriate regional education service agency. This coordination at least includes ensuring that each of the other institutions are collaborating with the appropriate regional education service agency areas; and

(2) Collaborate with each of the other teacher preparation institutions in their designated coordination area. This collaboration at least includes providing assistance to the other institutions in providing professional development. and in their collaboration with the appropriate regional education service agency.

(h) The designated coordination area of West Virginia University includes the service areas of Regional Education Service Agencies V, VI, VII and VIII. The designated coordination area of Marshall University includes the service areas of Regional Education Service Agencies I, II, III and IV.

(i) The state board shall ensure that each of the regional education service agencies is collaborating with the teacher preparation institution or institutions in its service area for the purposes set forth in subsection (e) of this section. Since Regional Education Service Agency IV does not have a teacher preparation institution in its service area, the state board shall ensure that it is collaborating with Marshall University for the purposes set forth in subsection (e) of this section.

(j) Before a regional education service agency, except for Regional Education Service Agency IV, obtains professional development related services or expertise from any teacher preparation institution outside of that agency's service area, the agency shall inform the state board. Before Regional Education Service Agency IV obtains professional development related services or expertise from any teacher preparation institution other than Marshall University, the agency shall inform the state board

(k) (f) The collaboration and coordination requirements of this section include collaborating and coordinating to provide professional development for at least teachers, principals and paraprofessionals.


§18-2-26. Establishment of multicounty regional educational service agencies; purpose; authority of state board; governance; annual performance standards. Abolishment and transition of regional education service agencies.

(a) Legislative intent. -- The intent of the Legislature in providing for establishment of regional education service agencies, hereinafter referred to in this section as agency or agencies, is to provide for high quality, cost effective education programs and services to students, schools and school systems.

Since the first enactment of this section in 1972, the focus of public education has shifted from a reliance on input models to determine if education programs and services are providing to students a thorough and efficient education to a performance based accountability model which relies on the following:

(1) Development and implementation of standards which set forth the things that students should know and be able to do as the result of a thorough and efficient education including measurable criteria to evaluate student performance and progress;

(2) Development and implementation of assessments to measure student performance and progress toward meeting the standards;

(3) Development and implementation of a system for holding schools and school systems accountable for student performance and progress toward obtaining a high quality education which is delivered in an efficient manner; and

(4) Development and implementation of a method for building the capacity and improving the efficiency of schools and school systems to improve student performance and progress.

(b) Purpose. -- In establishing the agencies the Legislature envisions certain areas of service in which the agencies can best assist the state board in implementing the standards based accountability model pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and, thereby, in providing high quality education programs. These areas of service include the following:

(1) Providing technical assistance to low performing schools and school systems;

(2) Providing high quality, targeted staff development designed to enhance the performance and progress of students in state public education;

(3) Facilitating coordination and cooperation among the county boards within their respective regions in such areas as cooperative purchasing; sharing of specialized personnel, communications and technology; curriculum development; and operation of specialized programs for exceptional children;

(4) Installing, maintaining and/or repairing education related technology equipment and software with special attention to the state level technology learning tools for public schools program;

(5) Receiving and administering grants under the provisions of federal and/or state law; and

(6) Developing and/or implementing any other programs or services as directed by law, the state board or the regional council.

(c) State board rule. -- The state board shall reexamine the powers and duties of the agencies in light of the changes in state level education policy that have occurred and shall establish multicounty regional education service agencies by rule, promulgated in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

The rule shall contain all information necessary for the effective administration and operation of the agencies. In developing the rule, the state board may not delegate its Constitutional authority for the general supervision of schools to the agencies, however, it may allow the agencies greater latitude in the development and implementation of programs in the service areas outlined in subsection (b) of this section with the exceptions of providing technical assistance to low performing schools and school systems and providing high quality, targeted staff development designed to enhance the performance and progress of students in state public education. These two areas constitute the most important responsibilities for the agencies.

The rule establishing the agencies shall be promulgated before November 1, 2015, and shall be consistent with the provisions of this section. It shall include, but is not limited to, the following procedures:

(1) Providing for a uniform governance structure for the agencies containing at least these elements:

(A) Selection by the state board of an executive director who shall be responsible for the administration of his or her respective agency. The rule shall provide for the state board to select the executive director only upon the nomination of one or more candidates by the regional council of the agency. In case the board refuses to select any of the candidates nominated, the regional council shall nominate others and submit them to the board. All candidates nominated must meet the qualifications for the position established by the state board. Nothing shall prohibit the timely employment of persons to perform necessary duties;

(B) Development of a job description and qualifications for the position of executive director, together with procedures for informing the public of position openings, for taking and evaluating applications, for making nominations for these positions, and for annually evaluating the performance of persons employed as executive director. The state board shall consult with the regional councils on the development of the job description, qualifications and procedures;

(C) Provisions for the annual performance evaluation of the executive director that provide for one half of the evaluation rating to be determined by the regional council;

(D) Provisions for the agencies to employ other staff, as necessary, with the approval of the state board and upon the recommendation of the executive director: Provided, That prior to July 1, 2003, no person who is an employee of an agency on the effective date of this section may be terminated or have his or her salary and benefit levels reduced as the sole result of the changes made to this section or by state board rule;

(E) Appointment by the county boards of a regional council in each agency area consisting of representatives of county boards and county superintendents from within that area for the purpose of advising, assisting and informing the executive director in carrying out his or her duties to achieve the purposes of this section and provide educational services to the county school systems within the region. The state board may provide for membership on the regional council for representatives from other agencies and institutions who have interest or expertise in the development or implementation of regional education programs; and

(F) Selection by the state superintendent of a representative from the state Department of Education to serve on each regional council. These representatives shall meet with their respective regional councils at least quarterly;

(2) Establishing statewide standards by the state board for service delivery by the agencies. These standards may be revised annually and shall include, but are not limited to, programs and services to fulfill the purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this section;

(3) Establishing procedures for developing and adopting an annual basic operating budget for each agency and for other budgeting and accounting procedures as the state board may require;

(4) Establishing procedures clarifying that agencies may acquire and hold real property;

(5) Dividing the state into appropriate, contiguous geographical areas and designating an agency to serve each area. The rule shall provide that each of the state's counties is contained within a single service area and that all counties located within the boundaries of each agency, as determined by the state board, shall be members of that agency; and

(6) Such other standards or procedures as the state board finds necessary or convenient.

(d) Regional services. -- In furtherance of the purposes provided for in this section, the state board and the regional council of each agency shall continually explore possibilities for the delivery of services on a regional basis which will facilitate equality in the education offerings among counties in its service area, permit the delivery of high quality education programs at a lower per student cost, strengthen the cost effectiveness of education funding resources, reduce administrative and/or operational costs, including the consolidation of administrative, coordinating and other county level functions into region level functions, and promote the efficient administration and operation of the public school systems generally.

Technical, operational, programmatic or professional services are among the types of services appropriate for delivery on a regional basis. Nothing in this section prohibits regional education service agencies from cooperating, sharing or combining services or programs with each other, at their discretion, to further the purposes of this section.

(e) Virtual education. -- The state board, in conjunction with the various agencies, shall develop an effective model for the regional delivery of instruction in subjects where there exists low student enrollment or a shortage of certified teachers or where the delivery method substantially improves the quality of an instructional program. The model shall incorporate an interactive electronic classroom approach to instruction. To the extent funds are appropriated or otherwise available, county boards or regional education service agencies may adopt and utilize the model for the delivery of the instruction.

(f) Computer information system. -- Each county board of education shall use the statewide electronic information system established by the state board for data collection and reporting to the state Department of Education.

(g) Reports and evaluations. -- Each agency shall submit to the state superintendent on such date and in such form as specified in the rules adopted by the state board a report and evaluation of the technical assistance and other services provided and utilized by the schools within each respective region and their effectiveness. Additionally, any school may submit an evaluation of the services provided by the agency to the state superintendent at any time. This report shall include an evaluation of the agency program, suggestions on methods to improve utilization and suggestions on the development of new programs and the enhancement of existing programs. The reports and evaluations submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be submitted to the state board and shall be made available upon request to the standing committees on education of the West Virginia Senate and House of Delegates and to the secretary of education and the arts.

(h) Funding sources. -- An agency may receive and disburse funds from the state and federal governments, from member counties, or from gifts and grants.

(i) Employee expenses. -- Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, employees of agencies shall be reimbursed for travel, meals and lodging at the same rate as state employees under the travel management office of the Department of Administration.

A county board member may not be an employee of an agency.

(j) Meetings and compensation. --

(1) Agencies shall hold at least one half of their regular meetings during hours other than those of a regular school day. The executive director of each agency shall attend at least one meeting of each of the member county boards of education each year to explain the agency's services, garner suggestions for program improvement and provide any other information as may be requested by the county board.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, county board members serving on regional councils may receive compensation at a rate not to exceed $100 per meeting attended, not to exceed fifteen meetings per year. County board members serving on regional councils may be reimbursed for travel at the same rate as state employees under the rules of the travel management office of the Department of Administration.

(a) The regional education service agencies, previously established by this section, are hereby abolished on or after July 1, 2017.

(b) On July 1, 2017, all property, equipment and records held by the regional education service agencies necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article shall be transferred to the state board or to other appropriate entities as provided by law.

(c) The rules of the state board pertaining to the operation of the regional education service agencies that are in effect immediately prior to July 1, 2017, shall remain in force and effect until new or additional rules are promulgated by the state board.

§18-2-26a. Regional meetings on shared services and functions; notice, solicitation of input and approval; Establish County Superintendents’ Advisory Council, purpose, reports.

(a) During the months of July and August, 2013, and thereafter biennially within two months following the organizational meetings of county boards required by section one-c, article five of this chapter, all county superintendents of schools and members of county boards belonging to the same regional educational service agency shall meet together to identify administrative, coordinating and other county level services and functions that may be shared between or among the county boards, especially when resignations, retirements, staffing realignments or similar events may occur. The meeting shall be a special meeting of each participating county board, to be called pursuant to section four, article five of this chapter solely for the purposes set forth in this section.

(b) As soon as each meeting is scheduled, the West Virginia School Board Association shall notify the State Superintendent in writing of the time, place and date of the meeting. The association shall conduct the meetings and for that purpose may consult with the regional educational service agencies. The format of the meetings shall be approved by the state board in advance.

(c) Prior to seeking the approval of the state board for the format of the meetings, the association shall solicit input from statewide organizations that have an interest in public education, including organizations representing the interests of parents, business and industry, public school administrators, teachers and service personnel.

(d) By October 1, following the meetings required by this section, the West Virginia School Board Association shall provide a report of the meetings to the state board and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability. The report shall include, but is not limited to, the following items:

(1) Identification of the administrative, coordinating and other county level services and functions that may be shared between or among the county boards;

(2) An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of sharing services in each instance; and

(3) A process for implementing recommended changes.

(e) Subject to state board approval, the county board member training standards review committee established by section one-a, article five of this chapter may determine that the attendance of a county board member at the meeting required by subsection (a) of this section shall be approved as training related to boardsmanship and governance effectiveness.

(f) Nothing in this section requires the elimination or consolidation of county school districts.

(a) The County Superintendents’ Advisory Council, (“the Council”) is hereby established. The purpose of the council is to promote collaboration among county districts and to provide input to the State Board of Education and state superintendent on issues facing school systems.

(b) After the effective date of this section, as amended and reenacted in the regular legislative session 2017, but no later than September 1, 2017, all fifty-five county superintendents shall convene to divide the state into four geographic quadrants for the purpose of carrying out the work of the council as described herein.

(c) County superintendents’ responsibilities –

(1) County superintendents belonging to the same geographic quadrant shall meet together to select a county superintendent to represent the geographic quadrant. Method of selection of the representative is at the discretion of each geographic quadrant. The representative of each geographic quadrant will represent the council at the state level.

(2) County superintendents of each geographic quadrant shall meet as necessary to identify coordination and cooperation in areas of service to reduce administrative and/or operational costs, including the consolidation of administrative, coordinating, and other county level functions into shared functions to promote the efficient administration and operation of the public school systems. Pursuant to section thirteen, article five, chapter eighteen of this code, these shared services and functions include, but are not limited to:

(i) Purchasing;

(ii) Operation of specialized programs for exceptional children;

(iii) Employment of any school personnel as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(iv) Professional development;

(v) Technology, including, but not limited to, WVEIS; and

(vi) Billing for school-based Medicaid services in schools throughout the state.

(3) Each cooperative agreement shall be in writing and agreed to by each county board participating in the cooperative agreement.

(4) Each cooperative employment agreement may be entered into on a case-by-case basis.

(5) Notwithstanding the geographic quadrants, school systems may enter into cooperative agreements with any school system in the state.

(d) The representative from each of the four geographic quadrants of the council shall identify issues facing their geographic quadrants and present them at the state level as follows:

(1) Meet at least monthly with the State Superintendent of Schools;

(2) Meet at least two times per year with the State Board of Education; and

(3) Provide an annual report to Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability and the Governor on or before June 30 of each year.


ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.


§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; education standards; statewide assessment program; accountability measures; Office of Education Performance Audits; school accreditation and school system approval; intervention to correct low performance.


(a) Legislative findings, purpose and intent. — The Legislature makes the following findings with respect to the process for improving education and its purpose and intent in the enactment of this section:

(1) The process for improving education includes four primary elements, these being:

(A) Standards which set forth the knowledge and skills that students should know and be able to perform as the result of a thorough and efficient education that prepares them for the twenty-first century, including measurable criteria to evaluate student performance and progress;

(B) Assessments of student performance and progress toward meeting the standards;

(C) A system of accountability for continuous improvement defined by high-quality standards for schools and school systems articulated by a rule promulgated by the state board and outlined in subsection (c) of this section that will build capacity in schools and districts to meet rigorous outcomes that assure student performance and progress toward obtaining the knowledge and skills intrinsic to a high-quality education rather than monitoring for compliance with specific laws and regulations that is based in multiple measures and meets the requirements of any federal law; and

(D) A method for building the capacity and improving the efficiency of schools and school systems to improve student performance and progress;

(2) As the constitutional body charged with the general supervision of schools as provided by general law, the state board has the authority and the responsibility to establish the standards, assess the performance and progress of students against the standards, hold schools and school systems accountable and assist schools and school systems to build capacity and improve efficiency so that the standards are met, including, when necessary, seeking additional resources in consultation with the Legislature and the Governor;

(3) As the constitutional body charged with providing for a thorough and efficient system of schools, the Legislature has the authority and the responsibility to establish and be engaged constructively in the determination of the knowledge and skills that students should know and be able to do as the result of a thorough and efficient education. This determination is made by using the process for improving education to determine when school improvement is needed by evaluating the results and the efficiency of the system of schools, by ensuring accountability and by providing for the necessary capacity and its efficient use;

(4) In consideration of these findings, the purpose of this section is to establish a process for improving education that includes the four primary elements as set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection to provide assurances that the high-quality standards are, at a minimum, being met and that a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided for all West Virginia public school students on an equal education opportunity basis; and

(5) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this section and section five-c of this article is to establish a process through which the Legislature, the Governor and the state board can work in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration intended in the process for improving education, to consult and examine the performance and progress of students, schools and school systems and, when necessary, to consider alternative measures to ensure that all students continue to receive the thorough and efficient education to which they are entitled. However, nothing in this section requires any specific level of funding by the Legislature.

(b) Electronic county and school strategic improvement plans. — The state board shall promulgate a rule consistent with the provisions of this section and in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing an electronic county strategic improvement plan for each county board and an electronic school strategic improvement plan for each public school in this state. Each respective plan shall be for a period of no more than five years and shall include the mission and goals of the school or school system to improve student, school or school system performance and progress, as applicable. The strategic plan shall be revised annually in each area in which the school or system is below the standard on the annual performance measures. The plan shall be revised when required pursuant to this section to include each annual performance measure upon which the school or school system fails to meet the standard for performance and progress, the action to be taken to meet each measure, a separate time line and a date certain for meeting each measure, a cost estimate and, when applicable, the assistance to be provided by the department and other education agencies to improve student, school or school system performance and progress to meet the annual performance measure.

The department shall make available to all public schools through its website or the West Virginia Education Information System an electronic school strategic improvement plan boilerplate designed for use by all schools to develop an electronic school strategic improvement plan which incorporates all required aspects and satisfies all improvement plan requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. federal law.

(c) High-quality education standards and efficiency standards. — In accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board shall adopt and periodically review and update high-quality education standards for student, school and school system performance and processes in the following areas:

(1) Curriculum;

(2) Workplace readiness skills;

(3) Finance;

(4) Transportation;

(5) Special education;

(6) Facilities;

(7) Administrative practices;

(8) Training of county board members and administrators;

(9) Personnel qualifications;

(10) Professional development and evaluation;

(11) Student performance, progress and attendance;

(12) Professional personnel, including principals and central office administrators, and service personnel attendance;

(13) School and school system performance and progress;

(14) A code of conduct for students and employees;

(15) Indicators of efficiency; and

(16) Any other areas determined by the state board.

(d) Comprehensive statewide student assessment program. — The state board shall establish a comprehensive statewide student assessment program to assess student performance and progress in grades three through twelve. The assessment program is subject to the following:

(1) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing the comprehensive statewide student assessment program;

(2) Prior to the 2014-2015 testing window of the 2017-2018 school year, the state board shall align the comprehensive statewide student assessment for all grade levels in which the test is given with the college-readiness standards adopted pursuant to section thirty-nine, article two of this chapter or develop other aligned tests to be required at each grade level so that in grades three through eight and administered at least once during the grade span of nine through twelve to assess progress toward college and career readiness in English/language arts and math. can be measured The assessment in science shall be administered at least once in grade spans three through five, six through nine, and ten through twelve;

(3) The state board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the ACT EXPLORE and the ACT PLAN assessments or other comparable assessments, which are approved by the state board and provided by future vendors;

(3) In accordance with articles two and two-e, chapter eighteen of this code, the state board shall review or develop, and adopt a college and career readiness assessment to be administered in grade eleven: Provided, That the adopted college and career readiness assessment administered in grade eleven counts toward the statewide student assessment;

(4) The state board may require that student proficiencies be measured through the West Virginia writing assessment at any grade levels determined by the state board to be appropriate; and

(5) The state board may provide, through the statewide assessment program, other optional testing or assessment instruments applicable to grade levels kindergarten through grade twelve which may be used by each school to promote student achievement. The state board annually shall publish and make available, electronically or otherwise, to school curriculum teams and teacher collaborative processes the optional testing and assessment instruments; and

(6) The comprehensive statewide student assessment shall be administered to students in accordance with the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act or subsequent federal law.

(e) State annual performance measures for school and school system accreditation. —

The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that establishes a system to assess and weigh annual performance measures for state accreditation of schools and school systems in a manner that gives credit or points such as an index to prevent any one measure alone from compromising a school or school system’s accreditation. The state board also may establish performance incentives for schools and school systems as part of the state accreditation system. On or before December 1, 2013 2018, the state board shall report to the Governor and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability the proposed rule for establishing the measures and incentives of accreditation and the estimated cost therefore, if any. Thereafter, the state board shall provide an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the impact and effectiveness of the accreditation system. The rule for school and school system accreditation proposed by the board may include, but is not limited to, the following measures:

(1) Student proficiency and growth in English and language arts, math, science and other subjects determined by the board;

(2) Graduation and attendance rate;

(3) Students taking and passing AP tests;

(4) Students completing a career and technical education class;

(5) Closing achievement gaps within subgroups of a school's student population; and

(6) Students scoring at or above average attainment on SAT or ACT tests.

(f) Indicators of efficiency. — In accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board shall adopt by rule and periodically review and update indicators of efficiency for use by the appropriate divisions within the department to ensure efficient management and use of resources in the public schools in the following areas:

(1) Curriculum delivery including, but not limited to, the use of distance learning;

(2) Transportation;

(3) Facilities;

(4) Administrative practices;

(5) Personnel; and

(6) Use of regional educational service agency programs and services, including programs and services that may be established by their assigned regional educational service agency or other regional services that may be initiated between and among participating county boards; and

(7) (6) Any other indicators as determined by the state board.

(g) Assessment and accountability of school and school system performance and processes. — In accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board shall establish by rule a system of education performance audits measures which measures evaluates the quality of education and the preparation of students based on the annual measures of student, school and school system performance and progress. The system of education performance audits measures shall provide information to the state board, the Legislature and the Governor, upon which they may determine whether a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided. The system of education performance audits measures shall include:

(1) The assessment of student, school and school system performance and progress based on the annual measures established pursuant to subsection (e) of this section;

(2) The evaluation of records, reports and other information collected by the Office of Education Performance Audits upon which to demonstrate the quality of education and compliance with statutes, policies and standards. may be determined;

(3) The review of school and school system electronic strategic improvement plans; and

(4) The on-site review of the processes in place in schools and school systems to enable school and school system performance and progress and compliance with the standards.

(h) Uses of school and school system assessment information. — The state board shall use information from the system of education performance audits measures to assist it in ensuring that a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided and to improve student, school and school system performance and progress. Information from the system of education performance audits measures further shall be used by the state board for these purposes, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Determining school accountability and accreditation for schools and school system approval status as required by federal law or federal regulations; and

(2) Holding schools and school systems accountable for the efficient use of existing resources to meet or exceed the standards; and

(3) (2) Targeting additional resources when necessary to improve performance and progress.

The state board shall make accreditation the performance measures information available to the Legislature, the Governor, the general public and to any individual who requests the information, subject to the provisions of any act or rule restricting the release of information.

(i) Early detection and intervention programs. — Based on the assessment of student, school and school system performance and progress, the state board shall establish early detection and intervention programs using the available resources of the Department of Education, the regional educational service agencies, the Center for Professional Development and the Principals Academy, or other resources as appropriate, to assist underachieving schools and school systems to improve performance before conditions become so grave as to warrant more substantive state intervention. Assistance shall include, but is not limited to, providing additional technical assistance and programmatic, professional staff development, providing monetary, staffing and other resources where appropriate.

(j) Office of Education Performance Audits. —

(1) To assist the state board in the operation of a system of education performance audits, the state board shall establish an Office of Education Performance Audits consistent with the provisions of this section. The Office of Education Performance Audits shall be operated under the direction of the state board independently of the functions and supervision of the State Department of Education and state superintendent. The Office of Education Performance Audits shall report directly to and be responsible to the state board in carrying out its duties under the provisions of this section.

(2) The office shall be headed by a director who shall be appointed by the state board and who serves at the will and pleasure of the state board. The annual salary of the director shall be set by the state board and may not exceed eighty percent of the salary of the State Superintendent of Schools.

(3) The state board shall organize and sufficiently staff the office to fulfill the duties assigned to it by law and by the state board. Employees of the State Department of Education who are transferred to the Office of Education Performance Audits shall retain their benefits and seniority status with the Department of Education.

(4) Under the direction of the state board, the Office of Education Performance Audits shall receive from the West Virginia education Information System staff research and analysis data on the performance and progress of students, schools and school systems, and shall receive assistance, as determined by the state board, from staff at the State Department of Education, the regional education service agencies, the Center for Professional Development, the Principals Academy and the School Building Authority to carry out the duties assigned to the office.

(5) In addition to other duties which may be assigned to it by the state board or by statute, the Office of Education Performance Audits also shall:

(A) Assure that all statewide assessments of student performance used as annual performance measures are secure as required in section one-a of this article;

(B) Administer all accountability measures as assigned by the state board, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Processes for the accreditation of schools and the approval of school systems; and

(ii) Recommendations to the state board on appropriate action, including, but not limited to, accreditation and approval action;

(C) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes, what capacity may be needed by schools and school systems to meet the standards established by the state board and recommend to the state board plans to establish those needed capacities;

(D) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes, whether statewide system deficiencies exist in the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the standards established by the state board, including the identification of trends and the need for continuing improvements in education, and report those deficiencies and trends to the state board;

(E) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes, staff development needs of schools and school systems to meet the standards established by the state board and make recommendations to the state board, the Center for Professional Development, the regional educational service agencies, the Higher Education Policy Commission and the county boards;

(F) Identify, in conjunction with the assessment and accountability processes, school systems and best practices that improve student, school and school system performance and communicate those to the state board for promoting the use of best practices. The state board shall provide information on best practices to county school systems; and

(G) Develop reporting formats, such as check lists, which shall be used by the appropriate administrative personnel in schools and school systems to document compliance with applicable laws, policies and process standards as considered appropriate and approved by the state board, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) The use of a policy for the evaluation of all school personnel that meets the requirements of sections twelve and twelve-a, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(ii) The participation of students in appropriate physical assessments as determined by the state board, which assessment may not be used as a part of the assessment and accountability system;

(iii) The appropriate licensure of school personnel; and

(iv) The appropriate provision of multicultural activities.

Information contained in the reporting formats is subject to examination during an on-site review to determine compliance with laws, policies and standards. Intentional and grossly negligent reporting of false information are grounds for dismissal of any employee.

(k) On-site reviews. —

(1) The system of education performance audits shall include on-site reviews of schools and school systems which shall be conducted only at the specific direction of the state board upon its determination that circumstances exist that warrant an on-site review. Any discussion by the state board of schools to be subject to an on-site review or dates for which on-site reviews will be conducted may be held in executive session and is not subject to the provisions of article nine-a, chapter six of this code relating to open governmental proceedings. An on-site review shall be conducted by the Office of Education Performance Audits of a school or school system for the purpose of making recommendations to the school and school system, as appropriate, and to the state board on such measures as it considers necessary. The investigation may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(A) Verifying data reported by the school or county board;

(B) Examining compliance with the laws and policies affecting student, school and school system performance and progress;

(C) Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation status of school and school system electronic strategic improvement plans;

(D) Investigating official complaints submitted to the state board that allege serious impairments in the quality of education in schools or school systems;

(E) Investigating official complaints submitted to the state board that allege that a school or county board is in violation of policies or laws under which schools and county boards operate; and

(F) Determining and reporting whether required reviews and inspections have been conducted by the appropriate agencies, including, but not limited to, the State Fire Marshal, the Health Department, the School Building Authority and the responsible divisions within the department of education, and whether noted deficiencies have been or are in the process of being corrected.

(2) The Director of the Office of Education Performance Audits shall notify the county superintendent of schools five school days prior to commencing an on-site review of the county school system and shall notify both the county superintendent and the principal five school days before commencing an on-site review of an individual school: Provided, That the state board may direct the Office of Education Performance Audits to conduct an unannounced on-site review of a school or school system if the state board believes circumstances warrant an unannounced on-site review.

(3) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall conduct on-site reviews which are limited in scope to specific areas in which performance and progress are persistently below standard as determined by the state board unless specifically directed by the state board to conduct a review which covers additional areas.

(4) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall reimburse a county board for the costs of substitutes required to replace county board employees who serve on a review team.

(5) At the conclusion of an on-site review of a school system, the director and team leaders shall hold an exit conference with the superintendent and shall provide an opportunity for principals to be present for at least the portion of the conference pertaining to their respective schools. In the case of an on-site review of a school, the exit conference shall be held with the principal and curriculum team of the school and the superintendent shall be provided the opportunity to be present. The purpose of the exit conference is to review the initial findings of the on-site review, clarify and correct any inaccuracies and allow the opportunity for dialogue between the reviewers and the school or school system to promote a better understanding of the findings.

(6) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall report the findings of an on-site review to the county superintendent and the principals whose schools were reviewed within thirty days following the conclusion of the on-site review. The Office of Education Performance Audits shall report the findings of the on-site review to the state board within forty-five days after the conclusion of the on-site review. A school or county that believes one or more findings of a review are clearly inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, misrepresent or fail to reflect the true quality of education in the school or county or address issues unrelated to the health, safety and welfare of students and the quality of education, may appeal to the state board for removal of the findings. The state board shall establish a process for it to receive, review and act upon the appeals.

(7) The Legislature finds that the accountability and oversight of some activities and programmatic areas in the public schools are controlled through other mechanisms and agencies and that additional accountability and oversight may be unnecessary, counterproductive and impair necessary resources for teaching and learning. Therefore, the Office of Education Performance Audits may rely on other agencies and mechanisms in its review of schools and school systems

(j) The state board may employ individuals, who serve at the will and pleasure of the state board, to coordinate on site and school system improvement efforts with staff at the State Department of Education to support schools and school systems in improving education performance measures.

(l) (k) School accreditation. —

(1) The state board shall establish levels of accreditation to be assigned to schools. The establishment of levels of accreditation and the levels shall be subject to the following:

(A) The levels will be designed to demonstrate school performance in all the areas outlined in this section and also those multiple measures as established by the state board in rule in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;

(B) The state board shall promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish the performance and standards required for a school to be assigned a particular level of accreditation; and

(C) (B) The state board will establish the levels of accreditation in such a manner as to minimize the number of systems of school recognition, both state and federal, that are employed to recognize and accredit schools determine accreditation in accordance with federal law.

(2) The state board annually shall review the information from the system of education performance audits measures submitted for each school and shall issue to every school a level of accreditation as designated and determined by the state board. accredit each school as designated in the rule.

(3) The state board, in its exercise of general supervision of the schools and school systems of West Virginia, may exercise any or all of the following powers and actions:

(A) To require a school to revise its electronic strategic plan;

(B) To define extraordinary circumstances under which the state board may intervene directly or indirectly in the operation of a school;

(C) To appoint monitors to work with the principal and staff of a school where extraordinary circumstances are found to exist and to appoint monitors to assist the school principal after intervention in the operation of a school is completed;

(D) To direct a county board to target resources to assist a school where extraordinary circumstances are found to exist;

(E) To intervene directly in the operation of a school and declare the position of principal vacant and assign a principal for the school who will serve at the will and pleasure of the state board. If the principal who was removed elects not to remain an employee of the county board, then the principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by the county board. If the principal who was removed elects to remain an employee of the county board, then the following procedure applies:

(i) The principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by the state board until the next school term, at which time the principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by the county board;

(ii) The principal who was removed is eligible for all positions in the county, including teaching positions, for which the principal is certified, by either being placed on the transfer list in accordance with section seven, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code, or by being placed on the preferred recall list in accordance with section seven-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code; and

(iii) The principal who was removed shall be paid by the county board and may be assigned to administrative duties, without the county board being required to post that position until the end of the school term; and

(F) Other powers and actions the state board determines necessary to fulfill its duties of general supervision of the schools and school systems of West Virginia.

(4) The county board may take no action nor refuse any action if the effect would be to impair further the school in which the state board has intervened.

(m) (l) School system approval. — The state board annually shall review the information submitted for each school system from the system of education performance audits measures and issue one of the following approval levels to each county board Full approval, temporary approval, conditional approval or nonapproval in compliance with federal law and established by state board rule.

(1) Full approval shall be given to a county board whose schools have all been given full, temporary or conditional accreditation status and which does not have any deficiencies which would endanger student health or safety or other extraordinary circumstances as defined by the state board. A fully approved school system in which other deficiencies are discovered shall remain on full accreditation status for the remainder of the approval period and shall have an opportunity to correct those deficiencies, notwithstanding other provisions of this subsection.

(2) Temporary approval shall be given to a county board whose education system is below the level required for full approval. Whenever a county board is given temporary approval status, the county board shall revise its electronic county strategic improvement plan in accordance with subsection (b) of this section to increase the performance and progress of the school system to a full approval status level. The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for approval.

(3) Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose education system is below the level required for full approval, but whose electronic county strategic improvement plan meets the following criteria:

(A) The plan has been revised in accordance with subsection (b) of this section;

(B) The plan has been approved by the state board; and

(C) The county board is meeting the objectives and time line specified in the revised plan.

(4) Nonapproval status shall be given to a county board which fails to submit and gain approval for its electronic county strategic improvement plan or revised electronic county strategic improvement plan within a reasonable time period as defined by the state board or which fails to meet the objectives and time line of its revised electronic county strategic improvement plan or fails to achieve full approval by the date specified in the revised plan.

(m) Nonapproval for extraordinary circumstances.

(A) (1) The state board shall establish and adopt additional standards to identify school systems in which the program may be nonapproved and the state board may issue nonapproval status whenever extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.

(B) Whenever a county board has more than a casual deficit, as defined in section one, article one of this chapter, the county board shall submit a plan to the state board specifying the county board's strategy for eliminating the casual deficit. The state board either shall approve or reject the plan. If the plan is rejected, the state board shall communicate to the county board the reason or reasons for the rejection of the plan. The county board may resubmit the plan any number of times. However, any county board that fails to submit a plan and gain approval for the plan from the state board before the end of the fiscal year after a deficit greater than a casual deficit occurred or any county board which, in the opinion of the state board, fails to comply with an approved plan may be designated as having nonapproval status.

(C) (2) Whenever nonapproval status is given to a school system, When extraordinary circumstances exist, but do not rise to the level of immediate intervention as described in subsection (n) of this section, the state board shall may declare a state of emergency in the school system and shall appoint a team of improvement consultants to make direct designees to provide recommendations within sixty days of appointment for correcting the emergency extraordinary circumstances. When the state board approves the recommendations, they shall be communicated to the county board. If progress in correcting the emergency extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the state board, is not made within six months from the time the county board receives the recommendations, the state board shall intervene in the operation of the school system to cause improvements to be made that will provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system of schools will be provided. This intervention may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) (A) Limiting the authority of the county superintendent and county board as to the expenditure of funds, the employment and dismissal of personnel, the establishment and operation of the school calendar, the establishment of instructional programs and rules and any other areas in areas that compromise the delivery of a thorough and efficient education its students as designated by the state board by rule, which may include delegating decision-making authority regarding these matters to the state superintendent who may:

(ii) (B) Declaring Declare that the office of the county superintendent is vacant;

(iii) (C) Declaring Declare that the positions of personnel who serve at the will and pleasure of the county superintendent as provided in section one, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code, are vacant, subject to application and reemployment;

(D) Fill the declared vacancies during the period of intervention; and

(iv) Delegating to the state superintendent both the authority to conduct hearings on personnel matters and school closure or consolidation matters and, subsequently, to render the resulting decisions and the authority to appoint a designee for the limited purpose of conducting hearings while reserving to the state superintendent the authority to render the resulting decisions;

(v) Functioning in lieu of the county board of education in a transfer, sale, purchase or other transaction regarding real property; and

(vi) Taking (E) Take any direct action necessary to correct the emergency including, but not limited to, the following extraordinary circumstance.

(I) Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to replace administrators and principals in low performing schools and to transfer them into alternate professional positions within the county at his or her discretion; and

(II) Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to fill positions of administrators and principals with individuals determined by the state superintendent to be the most qualified for the positions. Any authority related to intervention in the operation of a county board granted under this paragraph is not subject to the provisions of article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code.

(n) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the state board may intervene immediately in the operation of the county school system with all the powers, duties and responsibilities contained in subsection (m) of this section, if the state board finds any of the following:

(1) A county board fails to act on a statutory obligation which would interrupt the day-to- day operations of the school system;

(1) (2) That the conditions precedent to intervention exist as provided in this section; and that delaying intervention for any period of time would not be in the best interests of the students of the county school system; or

(2) (3) That the conditions precedent to intervention exist as provided in this section and that the state board had previously intervened in the operation of the same school system and had concluded that intervention within the preceding five years.

(o) Capacity. — The process for improving education includes a process for targeting resources strategically to improve the teaching and learning process. Development of electronic school and school system strategic improvement plans, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, is intended, in part, to provide mechanisms to target resources strategically to the teaching and learning process to improve student, school and school system performance. When deficiencies are detected through the assessment and accountability processes, the revision and approval of school and school system electronic strategic improvement plans shall ensure that schools and school systems are efficiently using existing resources to correct the deficiencies. When the state board determines that schools and school systems do not have the capacity to correct deficiencies, the state board shall take one or more of the following actions:

(1) Work with the county board to develop or secure the resources necessary to increase the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the standards and, when necessary, seek additional resources in consultation with the Legislature and the Governor;

(2) Recommend to the appropriate body including, but not limited to, the Legislature, county boards, schools and communities methods for targeting resources strategically to eliminate deficiencies identified in the assessment and accountability processes. When making determinations on recommendations, the state board shall include, but is not limited to, the following methods The state board, or its designee, the West Virginia Department of Education, and county school systems, shall work collaboratively in:

(A) (1) Examining reports and electronic strategic improvement plans regarding the performance and progress of students, schools and school systems relative to the standards and identifying the areas in which improvement is needed;

(B) (2) Determining the areas of weakness and of ineffectiveness that appear to have contributed to the substandard performance and progress of students or the deficiencies of the school or school system; and requiring the school or school system to work collaboratively with the West Virginia Department of Education State System of Support to correct the deficiencies;

(C) (3) Determining the areas of strength that appear to have contributed to exceptional student, school and school system performance and progress and promoting their emulation throughout the system;

(D) (4) Requesting technical assistance from the School Building Authority in assessing or designing comprehensive educational facilities plans;

(E) (5) Recommending priority funding from the School Building Authority based on identified needs;

(F) (6) Requesting special staff development programs from the Center for Professional Development, the Principals Academy, higher education, regional educational service agencies and county boards based on identified needs;

(G) (7) Submitting requests to the Legislature for appropriations to meet the identified needs for improving education;

(H) Directing county boards to target their (8) Allocating funds strategically toward alleviating deficiencies;

(I) (9) Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with increased enrollment are appropriately reflected and recommended for funding;

(J) (10) Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held accountable for eliminating deficiencies; and

(K) (11) Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the state and local level to assist the school or school system in achieving the standards and alleviating the deficiencies.

(p) Building leadership capacity — To help build the governance and leadership capacity of a county board during an intervention in the operation of its school system by the state board, and to help assure sustained success following return of control to the county board, the state board shall require the county board to shall establish goals and action plans, subject to approval of the state board superintendent, to improve performance sufficiently to end the intervention within a period of not more than five years. The state superintendent shall maintain oversight and provide assistance and feedback to the county board on development and implementation of the goals and action plans. At a minimum, the goals and action plans shall include:

(A) (1) An analysis of the training and development activities needed by the county board and leadership of the school system and schools for effective governance and school improvement;

(B) (2) Support for the training and development activities identified which may include those made available through the state superintendent, regional education service agencies, Center for Professional Development, West Virginia School Board Association, Office of Education Performance Audits, West Virginia Education Information System and other sources identified in the goals and action plans; Attendance at these activities included in the goals and action plans is mandatory as specified in the goals and action plans; and

(C) (3) Active involvement by the county board in the improvement process, working in tandem with the county superintendent to gather, analyze and interpret data, write time-specific goals to correct deficiencies, prepare and implement action plans and allocate or request from the State Board Department of Education the resources, including board development training and coaching, necessary to achieve approved goals and action plans and sustain system and school improvement.

At least once each year during the period of intervention, the Office of Education Performance Audits shall state board shall appoint a designee to assess the readiness of the county board to accept the return of control of the system or school from the state board and sustain the improvements, and shall make a report and recommendations to the state board supported by documented evidence of the progress made on the goals and action plans. The state board may end the intervention or return any portion of control of the operations of the school system or school that was previously removed at its sole determination or end the intervention in its entirety by a majority vote. If the state board determines at the fifth annual assessment that the county board is still not ready to accept return of control by the state board and sustain the improvements, the state board shall hold a public hearing in the affected county at which the attendance by all members of the county board is requested so that the reasons for continued intervention and the concerns of the citizens of the county may be heard. The state board may continue the intervention only after it holds the public hearing and may require revision of the goals and action plans. The state board must thereafter hold a public hearing after each annual assessment beyond the fifth year. If a school system is in intervention status on the effective date of this provision, the total years of intervention shall be calculated from the date of initial intervention.

Following the termination of an intervention in the operation of a school system and return of full control by the state board, the support for governance education and development shall continue as needed for up to three years. If at any time within this three years, the state board determines that intervention in the operation of the school system is again necessary, the state board shall again hold a public hearing in the affected county so that the reasons for the intervention and the concerns of the citizens of the county may be heard prior to intervening.

ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.


§18-5-13. Authority of boards generally.

Subject to the provisions of this chapter and the rules of the state board, each county board may:

(a) Control and manage all of the schools and school interests for all school activities and upon all school property owned or leased by the county, including:

(1) Requiring schools to keep records regarding funds connected with the school or school interests, including all receipts and disbursements of all funds collected or received by:

(A) Any principal, teacher, student or other person in connection with the schools and school interests;

(B) Any program, activity or other endeavor of any nature operated or conducted by or in the name of the school; and

(C) Any organization or body directly connected with the school;

(2) Allowing schools to expend funds for student, parent, teacher and community recognition programs. A school may use only funds it generates through a fund-raising or donation-soliciting activity. Prior to commencing the activity, the school shall:

(A) Publicize the activity as intended for this purpose; and

(B) Designate for this purpose the funds generated;

(3) Auditing the records and conserving the funds, including securing surety bonds by expending board moneys. The funds described in this subsection are quasipublic funds, which means the moneys were received for the benefit of the school system as a result of curricular or noncurricular activities;

(b) Establish:

(1) Schools, from preschool through high school;

(2) Vocational schools; and

(3) Schools and programs for post-high school instruction, subject to approval of the state board;

(c) Close any school:

(1) Which is unnecessary and assign the students to other schools. The closing shall occur pursuant to official action of the county board. Except in emergency situations when the timing and manner of notification are subject to approval by the state superintendent, the county board shall notify the affected teachers and service personnel of the county board action not later than the first Monday in April. The board shall provide notice in the same manner as set forth in section four of this article; or

(2) Pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section;

(d) Consolidate schools;

(e) Close any elementary school whose average daily attendance falls below twenty students for two consecutive months. The county board may assign the students to other schools in the district or to schools in adjoining districts. If the teachers in the closed school are not transferred or reassigned to other schools, they shall receive one month's salary;

(f) Provide transportation according to rules established by the county board, as follows:

(1) To provide at public expense adequate means of transportation:

(A) For all children of school age who live more than two miles distance from school by the nearest available road;

(B) For school children participating in county board-approved curricular and extracurricular activities;

(C) Across county lines for students transferred from one district to another by mutual agreement of both county boards. The agreement shall be recorded in the meeting minutes of each participating county board and is subject to the provisions of subsection (h) of this section; and

(D) Within available revenues, for students within two miles distance of the school; and

(2) To provide transportation for participants in projects operated, financed, sponsored or approved by the Bureau of Senior Services. This transportation shall be provided at no cost to the county board. All costs and expenses incident in any way to this transportation shall be borne by the bureau or the local or county affiliate of the bureau;

(3) Any school bus owned by the county board may be operated only by a bus operator regularly employed by the county board, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section;

(4) Pursuant to rules established by the state board, the county board may provide for professional employees to be certified to drive county board-owned vehicles that have a seating capacity of fewer than ten passengers. These employees may use the vehicles to transport students for school-sponsored activities, but may not use the vehicles to transport students between school and home. Not more than one of these vehicles may be used for any school-sponsored activity;

(5) Students may not be transported to a school-sponsored activity in any county-owned or leased vehicle that does not meet school bus or public transit ratings. This section does not prohibit a parent from transporting ten or fewer students in a privately-owned vehicle;

(6) Students may be transported to a school-sponsored activity in a vehicle that has a seating capacity of sixteen or more passengers which is not owned and operated by the county board only as follows:

(A) The state board shall promulgate a rule to establish requirements for:

(i) Automobile insurance coverage;

(ii) Vehicle safety specifications;

(iii) School bus or public transit ratings; and

(iv) Driver training, certification and criminal history record check; and

(B) The vehicle owner shall provide to the county board proof that the vehicle and driver satisfy the requirements of the state board rule; and

(7) Buses shall be used for extracurricular activities as provided in this section only when the insurance coverage required by this section is in effect;

(g) Lease school buses pursuant to rules established by the county board.

(1) Leased buses may be operated only by bus operators regularly employed by the county board, except that these buses may be operated by bus operators regularly employed by another county board in this state if bus operators from the owning county are unavailable.

(2) The lessee shall bear all costs and expenses incurred by, or incidental to the use of, the bus.

(3) The county board may lease buses to:

(A) Public and private nonprofit organizations and private corporations to transport school-age children for camps or educational activities;

(B) Any college, university or officially recognized campus organization for transporting students, faculty and staff to and from the college or university. Only college and university students, faculty and staff may be transported pursuant to this paragraph. The lease shall include provisions for:

(i) Compensation for bus operators;

(ii) Consideration for insurance coverage, repairs and other costs of service; and

(iii) Any rules concerning student behavior;

(C) Public and private nonprofit organizations, including education employee organizations, for transportation associated with fairs, festivals and other educational and cultural events. The county board may charge fees in addition to those charges otherwise required by this subsection;

(h) To provide at public expense for insurance coverage against negligence of the drivers of school buses, trucks or other vehicles operated by the county board. Any contractual agreement for transportation of students shall require the vehicle owner to maintain insurance coverage against negligence in an amount specified by the county board;

(i) Provide for the full cost or any portion thereof for group plan insurance benefits not provided or available under the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Act. Any of these benefits shall be provided:

(1) Solely from county board funds; and

(2) For all regular full-time employees of the county board;

(j) Employ teacher aides; to provide in-service training for the aides pursuant to rules established by the state board; and, prior to assignment, to provide a four-clock-hour program of training for a service person assigned duties as a teacher aide in an exceptional children program. The four-clock-hour program shall consist of training in areas specifically related to the education of exceptional children;

(k) Establish and operate a self-supporting dormitory for:

(1) Students attending a high school or participating in a post high school program; and

(2) Persons employed to teach in the high school or post high school program;

(l) At the county board's discretion, employ, contract with or otherwise engage legal counsel in lieu of using the services of the prosecuting attorney to advise, attend to, bring, prosecute or defend, as the case may be, any matters, actions, suits and proceedings in which the county board is interested;

(m) Provide appropriate uniforms for school service personnel;

(n) Provide at public expense for payment of traveling expenses incurred by any person invited to appear to be interviewed concerning possible employment by the county board, subject to rules established by the county board;

(o) Allow designated employees to use publicly provided carriage to travel from their residences to their workplace and return. The use:

(1) Is subject to the supervision of the county board; and

(2) Shall be directly connected with, required by and essential to the performance of the employee>s duties and responsibilities;

(p) Provide at public expense adequate public liability insurance, including professional liability insurance, for county board employees;

(q) (1) Enter into cooperative agreements with other one or more county boards to provide improvements to the instructional needs of each district. The cooperative agreements may be used to employ specialists in a field of academic study or for support functions or services for the field. The agreements are subject to approval by the state board; facilitate coordination and cooperation in areas of service to reduce administrative and/or operational costs, including the consolidation of administrative, coordinating, and other county level functions into shared functions to promote the efficient administration and operation of the public school systems including, but not limited to:

(i) Purchasing;

(ii) Operation of specialized programs for exceptional children;

(iii) Employment of any school personnel as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(iv) Professional development;

(v) Technology including, but not limited to WVEIS; and

(vi) Billing for school-based Medicaid services in schools throughout the state.

(2) Each cooperative agreement shall be in writing and agreed to by each county board participating in the cooperative agreement.

(3) Each cooperative employment agreement may be entered into on a case-by-case basis.

(4) Notwithstanding the geographic quadrants, school systems may enter into cooperative agreements with any school system in the state.

(r) Provide information about vocational and higher education opportunities to exceptional students. The county board shall provide in writing to the students and their parents or guardians information relating to programs of vocational education and to programs available at state institutions of higher education. The information may include sources of available funding, including grants, mentorships and loans for students who wish to attend classes at institutions of higher education;

(s) Enter into agreements with other county boards for the transfer and receipt of any funds determined to be fair when students are permitted or required to attend school in a district other than the district of their residence. These agreements are subject to the approval of the state board; and

(t) Enter into job-sharing arrangements, as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code, with its employees, subject to the following provisions:

(1) A job-sharing arrangement shall meet all the requirements relating to posting, qualifications and seniority, as provided in article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(2) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this code or legislative rule and specifically the provisions of article sixteen, chapter five of this code, a county board that enters into a job-sharing arrangement:

(A) Shall provide insurance coverage to the one employee mutually agreed upon by the employees participating in that arrangement; and

(B) May not provide insurance benefits of any type to more than one of the job-sharing employees, including any group plan available under the State Public Employees Insurance Act;

(3) Each job-sharing agreement shall be in writing on a form prescribed and furnished by the county board. The agreement shall designate specifically one employee only who is entitled to the insurance coverage. Any employee who is not designated is not eligible for state public employees insurance coverage regardless of the number of hours he or she works;

(4) All employees involved in the job-sharing agreement shall meet the requirements of subdivision (3), section two, article sixteen, chapter five of this code; and

(5) When entering into a job-sharing agreement, the county board and the participating employees shall consider issues such as retirement benefits, termination of the job-sharing agreement and any other issue the parties consider appropriate. Any provision in the agreement relating to retirement benefits may not cause any cost to be incurred by the retirement system that is more than the cost that would be incurred if a single employee were filling the position; and

(u) Under rules it establishes for each child, expend an amount not to exceed the proportion of all school funds of the district that each child would be entitled to receive if all the funds were distributed equally among all the children of school age in the district upon a per capita basis.


§18-5-45. School calendar.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) "Instructional day" means a day within the instructional term which meets the following criteria:

(A) Instruction is offered to students for at least the minimum amount of hours provided by state board rule;

(B) Instructional time is used for instruction and cocurricular activities; and

(C) Other criteria as the state board determines appropriate.

(2) "Cocurricular activities" are activities that are closely related to identifiable academic programs or areas of study that serve to complement academic curricula as further defined by the state board.

(b) Findings. –

(1) The primary purpose of the school system is to provide instruction for students.

(2) The school calendar, as defined in this section, is designed to define the school term both for employees and for instruction.

(3) The school calendar shall provide for one hundred eighty separate instructional days.

(c) The county board shall provide a school term for its schools that contains the following:

(1) The school calendar shall provide for one hundred eighty separate instructional days or the equivalent of the minimal amount of instructional time per year as further defined by the state board. Upon approval of the state board or, from the state superintendent if so designated by the state board, a county board may propose a school calendar using the equivalent of the minimal amount of instructional time per year as further defined by the state board.

(1) (2) An employment term that excludes Saturdays and Sundays and consists of at least two hundred days, which need not be successive. The beginning and closing dates of the employment term may not exceed forty-eight weeks;

(2) (3) Within the employment term, an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional days, which includes an inclement weather and emergencies plan designed to guarantee an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional days;

(4) A county may apply up to five days that are “reimagined” instructional days to fulfill the requirement of one hundred eighty separate instructional days.

(3) (5) Within the employment term, noninstructional days shall total twenty and shall be comprised of the following:

(A) Seven paid holidays;

(B) Election day as specified in section two, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(C) Six days to be designated by the county board to be used by the employees outside the school environment, with at least four outside the school environment days scheduled to occur after the one hundred and thirtieth instructional day of the school calendar; and

(D) The remaining days to be designated by the county board for purposes to include, but not be limited to:

(i) Curriculum development;

(ii) Preparation for opening and closing school;

(iii) Professional development;

(iv) Teacher-pupil-parent conferences;

(v) Professional meetings;

(vi) Making up days when instruction was scheduled but not conducted; and

(vii) At least four two-hour blocks of time for faculty senate meetings with each two-hour block of time scheduled once at least every forty-five instructional days; and

(4) (6) Scheduled out-of-calendar days that are to be used for instructional days in the event school is canceled for any reason.

(d) A county board of education shall develop a policy that requires additional minutes of instruction in the school day or additional days of instruction to recover time lost due to late arrivals and early dismissals.

(e) If it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty separate instructional days with the current school calendar, the county board shall schedule instruction on any available noninstructional day, regardless of the purpose for which the day originally was scheduled, or an out-of-calendar day and the day will be used for instruction of students: Provided, That the provisions of this subsection do not apply to:

(A) (1) Holidays;

(B) (2) Election day;

(C) (3) Saturdays and Sundays.

(f) The instructional term shall commence and terminate on a date selected by the county board.

(g) The state board may not schedule the primary statewide assessment program more than thirty days prior to the end of the instructional year unless the state board determines that the nature of the test mandates an earlier testing date.

(h) The following applies to cocurricular activities:

(1) The state board shall determine what activities may be considered cocurricular;

(2) The state board shall determine the amount of instructional time that may be consumed by cocurricular activities; and

(3) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may provide in the rule required to be promulgated by this section.

(i) Extracurricular activities may not be used for instructional time.

(j) Noninstructional interruptions to the instructional day shall be minimized to allow the classroom teacher to teach.

(k) Prior to implementing the school calendar, the county board shall secure approval of its proposed calendar from the state board or, if so designated by the state board, from the state superintendent.

(l) In formulation of a school's calendar, a county school board shall hold at least two public meetings that allow parents, teachers, teacher organizations, businesses and other interested parties within the county to discuss the school calendar. The public notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing must be published in a local newspaper of general circulation in the area as a Class II legal advertisement, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.

(m) The county board may contract with all or part of the personnel for a longer term of employment.

(n) The minimum instructional term may be decreased by order of the state superintendent in any county declared a federal disaster area and where the event causing the declaration is substantially related to a reduction of instructional days.

(o) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the state board may grant a waiver to a county board for its noncompliance with provisions of chapter eighteen, eighteen-a, eighteen-b and eighteen-c of this code to maintain compliance in reaching the mandatory one hundred eighty separate instructional days established in this section.

(p) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section.

(q) The amendments to this section during the 2013 2017 regular session of the Legislature shall be effective for school years beginning on or after July 1, 2014 2017, and the provisions of this section existing immediately prior to the 2013 2017 regular session of the Legislature remain in effect for school years beginning prior to July 1, 2014 2017.


ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.


§18-9A-8a. Foundation allowance for regional education service agencies.

For the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2006, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the foundation allowance for regional education service agencies shall be equal to sixty-three one-hundredths percent of the allocation for professional educators as determined in section four of this article, but not more than $3,690,750. The allowance shall be distributed to the regional education service agencies in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. The allowance for regional education service agencies shall be excluded from the computation of total basic state aid as provided in section twelve of this article: Provided, That the foundation allowance for regional education service agencies shall be reduced to zero for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2017, and for each fiscal year thereafter.


ARTICLE 9D. SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY.


§18-9D-16. Authority to establish guidelines and procedures for facilities and major improvement plans; guidelines for modifications and updates, etc.; guidelines for project evaluation; submission of certified list of projects to be funded; department on-site inspection of facilities; enforcement of required changes or additions to project plans.

(a) The authority shall establish guidelines and procedures to promote the intent and purposes of this article and assure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds for projects under this article including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Guidelines and procedures for the facilities plans, school major improvement plans and projects submitted in the furtherance of the plans that address, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) All of the elements of the respective plans as defined in section two of this article;

(B) The procedures for a county to submit a preliminary plan, a plan outline or a proposal for a plan to the authority prior to the submission of the facilities plan. The preliminary plan, plan outline or proposal for a plan shall be the basis for a consultation meeting between representatives of the county and members of the authority, including at least one citizen member, which shall be held promptly following submission of the preliminary plan, plan outline or proposal for a plan to assure understanding of the general goals of this article and the objective criteria by which projects will be evaluated, to discuss ways the plan may be structured to meet those goals, and to assure efficiency and productivity in the project approval process;

(C) The manner, time line and process for the submission of each plan and annual plan updates to the authority;

(D) The requirements for public hearings, comments or other means of providing broad-based input on plans and projects under this article within a reasonable time period as the authority may consider appropriate. The submission of each plan must be accompanied by a synopsis of all comments received and a formal comment by the county board, the state board or the administrative council of an area vocational educational center submitting the plan;

(E) Any project specifications and maintenance specifications considered appropriate by the authority including, but not limited to, such matters as energy efficiency, preferred siting, construction materials, maintenance plan and any other matter related to how the project is to proceed;

(F) A prioritization by the county board, the state board or the administrative council submitting the plan of each project contained in the plan. In prioritizing the projects, the county board, the state board or the administrative council submitting the plan shall make determinations in accordance with the objective criteria formulated by the School Building Authority in accordance with this section. The priority list is one of the criteria that shall be considered by the authority deciding how the available funds should be expended;

(G) The objective means to be set forth in the plan and used in evaluating implementation of the overall plan and each project included in the plan. The evaluation must measure how the plan addresses the goals of this article and any guidelines adopted under this article, and how each project is in furtherance of the facilities plan and school major improvement plan, as applicable, as well as the importance of the project to the overall success of the facilities plan or school major improvement plan and the overall goals of the authority; and

(H) Any other matters considered by the authority to be important reflections of how a construction project or a major improvement project or projects will further the overall goals of this article.

(2) Guidelines and procedures which may be adopted by the authority for requiring that a county board modify, update, supplement or otherwise submit changes or additions to an approved facilities plan or for requiring that a county board, the state board or the administrative council of an area vocational educational center modify, update, supplement or otherwise submit changes or additions to an approved school major improvement plan. The authority shall provide reasonable notification and sufficient time for the change or addition as delineated in guidelines developed by the authority. The guidelines shall require an update of the estimated duration of school bus transportation times for students associated with any construction project under consideration by the authority that includes the closure, consolidation or construction of a school or schools.

(3) Guidelines and procedures for evaluating project proposals that are submitted to the authority that address, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Any project funded by the authority must be in furtherance of the facilities plan or school major improvement plan and in compliance with the guidelines established by the authority;

(B) If a project is to benefit more than one county in the region, the facilities plan must state the manner in which the cost and funding of the project will be apportioned among the counties;

(C) If a county board proposes to finance a construction project through a lease with an option to purchase pursuant to an investment contract as described in subsection (f), section fifteen of this article, the specifications for the project must include the term of the lease, the amount of each lease payment, including the payment due upon exercise of the option to purchase, and the terms and conditions of the proposed investment contract; and

(D) The objective criteria for the evaluation of projects which shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) How the current facilities do not meet and how the plan and any project under the plan meets the following:

(I) Student health and safety including, but not limited to, critical health and safety needs;

(II) Economies of scale, including compatibility with similar schools that have achieved the most economical organization, facility use and pupil-teacher ratios;

(III) (II) Reasonable travel time and practical means of addressing other demographic considerations. The authority may not approve a project after July 1, 2008, that includes a school closure, consolidation or new construction for which a new bus route will be created for the transportation of students in any of the grade levels prekindergarten through grade five to and from any school included in the project, which new bus route exceeds by more than fifteen minutes the recommended duration of the one-way school bus transportation time for elementary students adopted by the state board as provided in section five-d, article two-e of this chapter, unless the county has received the written permission of the state board to create the route in accordance with said section five-d;

(IV) (III) Multicounty and regional planning to achieve the most effective and efficient instructional delivery system;

(V) (IV) Curriculum improvement and diversification, including the use of instructional technology, distance learning and access to advanced courses in science, mathematics, language arts and social studies;

(VI) (V) Innovations in education;

(VII) (VI) Adequate space for projected student enrollments;

(VIII) (VII) The history of efforts taken by the county board to propose or adopt local school bond issues or special levies to the extent Constitutionally permissible; and

(IX) (VIII) Regularly scheduled preventive maintenance; and

(ii) How the project will assure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and achieve the purposes of this article for constructing, expanding, renovating or otherwise improving and maintaining school facilities for a thorough and efficient education.

(4) Guidelines and procedures for evaluating projects for funding that address, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) Requiring each county board's facilities plan and school major improvement plan to prioritize all the construction projects or major improvement projects, respectively, within the county. A school major improvement plan submitted by the state board or the administrative council of an area vocational educational center shall prioritize all the school improvement projects contained in the plan. The priority list shall be one of the criteria to be considered by the authority in determining how available funds shall be expended. In prioritizing the projects, the county board, the state board or the administrative council submitting a plan shall make determinations in accordance with the objective criteria formulated by the School Building Authority;

(B) The return to each county submitting a project proposal an explanation of the evaluative factors underlying the decision of the authority to fund or not to fund the project; and

(C) The allocation and expenditure of funds in accordance with this article, subject to the availability of funds.

(b) Prior to final action on approving projects for funding under this article, the authority shall submit a certified list of the projects to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.

(c) The State Department of Education shall conduct on-site inspections, at least annually, of all facilities which have been funded wholly or in part by moneys from the authority or state board to ensure compliance with the county board's facilities plan and school major improvement plan as related to the facilities; to preserve the physical integrity of the facilities to the extent possible; and to otherwise extend the useful life of the facilities: Provided, That the state board shall submit reports regarding its on-site inspections of facilities to the authority within thirty days of completion of the on-site inspections: Provided, however, That the state board shall promulgate rules regarding the on-site inspections and matters relating thereto, in consultation with the authority, as soon as practical and shall submit proposed rules for legislative review no later than December 1, 1994.

(d) Based on its on-site inspection or notification by the authority to the state board that the changes or additions to a county's board facilities plan or school major improvement plan required by the authority have not been implemented within the time period prescribed by the authority, the state board shall restrict the use of the necessary funds or otherwise allocate funds from moneys appropriated by the Legislature for those purposes set forth in section nine, article nine-a of this chapter.


CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.


ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.


§18A-4-2. State minimum salaries for teachers.

(a) It is the goal of the Legislature to increase the state minimum salary for teachers with zero years of experience and an A. B. degree, including the equity supplement, to at least $43,000 by fiscal year 2019.

(b) Beginning July 1, 2014, and continuing thereafter, each teacher shall receive the amount prescribed in the State Minimum Salary Schedule as set forth in this section, specific additional amounts prescribed in this section or article and any county supplement in effect in a county pursuant to section five-a of this article during the contract year.

STATE MINIMUM SALARY SCHEDULE

Years

4th

3rd

2nd

 

A.B.

 

M.A.

M.A.

M.A.

Doc-

Exp.

Class

Class

Class

A.B.

+15

M.A.

+15

+30

+45

torate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0

27,917

28,606

28,872

30,315

31,076

32,843

33,604

34,365

35,126

36,161

1

28,245

28,934

29,200

30,833

31,594

33,362

34,123

34,883

35,644

36,679

2

28,574

29,262

29,528

31,352

32,113

33,880

34,641

35,402

36,163

37,198

3

28,902

29,590

29,856

31,871

32,631

34,399

35,160

35,920

36,681

37,716

4

29,474

30,162

30,428

32,633

33,394

35,162

35,923

36,683

37,444

38,479

5

29,802

30,490

30,756

33,152

33,913

35,680

36,441

37,202

37,963

38,998

6

30,130

30,818

31,084

33,670

34,431

36,199

36,960

37,720

38,481

39,516

7

30,458

31,147

31,412

34,189

34,950

36,717

37,478

38,239

39,000

40,035

8

30,786

31,475

31,741

34,707

35,468

37,236

37,997

38,757

39,518

40,553

9

31,114

31,803

32,069

35,226

35,987

37,754

38,515

39,276

40,037

41,072

10

31,443

32,131

32,397

35,746

36,506

38,274

39,035

39,796

40,556

41,591

11

31,771

32,459

32,725

36,264

37,025

38,793

39,553

40,314

41,075

42,110

12

32,099

32,787

33,053

36,783

37,543

39,311

40,072

40,833

41,593

42,628

13

32,427

33,115

33,381

37,301

38,062

39,830

40,590

41,351

42,112

43,147

14

32,755

33,443

33,709

37,820

38,580

40,348

41,109

41,870

42,630

43,665

15

33,083

33,771

34,037

38,338

39,099

40,867

41,627

42,388

43,149

44,184

16

33,411

34,099

34,365

38,857

39,617

41,385

42,146

42,907

43,667

44,702

17

33,739

34,428

34,693

39,375

40,136

41,904

42,665

43,425

44,186

45,221

18

34,067

34,756

35,022

39,894

40,655

42,422

43,183

43,944

44,705

45,740

19

34,395

35,084

35,350

40,412

41,173

42,941

43,702

44,462

45,223

46,258

20

34,723

35,412

35,678

40,931

41,692

43,459

44,220

44,981

45,742

46,777

21

35,052

35,740

36,006

41,449

42,210

43,978

44,739

45,499

46,260

47,295

22

35,380

36,068

36,334

41,968

42,729

44,496

45,257

46,018

46,779

47,814

23

35,708

36,396

36,662

42,487

43,247

45,015

45,776

46,536

47,297

48,332

24

36,036

36,724

36,990

43,005

43,766

45,534

46,294

47,055

47,816

48,851

25

36,364

37,052

37,318

43,524

44,284

46,052

46,813

47,574

48,334

49,369

26

36,692

37,380

37,646

44,042

44,803

46,571

47,331

48,092

48,853

49,888

27

37,020

37,708

37,974

44,561

45,321

47,089

47,850

48,611

49,371

50,406

28

37,348

38,037

38,302

45,079

45,840

47,608

48,368

49,129

49,890

50,925

29

37,676

38,365

38,631

45,598

46,358

48,126

48,887

49,648

50,408

51,443

30

38,004

38,693

38,959

46,116

46,877

48,645

49,405

50,166

50,927

51,962

31

38,333

39,021

39,287

46,635

47,396

49,163

49,924

50,685

51,445

52,480

32

38,661

39,349

39,615

47,153

47,914

49,682

50,443

51,203

51,964

52,999

33

38,989

39,677

39,943

47,672

48,433

50,200

50,961

51,722

52,483

53,518

34

39,317

40,005

40,271

48,190

48,951

50,719

51,480

52,240

53,001

54,036

35

39,645

40,333

40,599

48,709

49,470

51,237

51,998

52,759

53,520

54,555

(c) (1) Eight hundred and eight dollars shall be paid annually to each classroom teacher, effective July 1, 2017.

(2) Six hundred dollars shall be paid annually to each classroom teacher who has at least twenty years of teaching experience.

(3) The payments required by subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection: (i) (A) Shall be in addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable State Minimum Salary Schedule; (ii) (B) shall be paid in equal monthly installments; and (iii) (C) shall be considered a part of the state minimum salaries for teachers.

(d) To meet the objective of salary equity among the counties as set forth in section five of this article, each teacher shall be paid an equity supplement amount as applicable for his or her classification of certification or classification of training and years of experience as follows, subject to the provisions of that section:

(1) For "4th Class" at zero years of experience, $1,781. An additional $38 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(2) For "3rd Class" at zero years of experience, $1,796. An additional $67 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(3) For "2nd Class" at zero years of experience, $1,877. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(4) For "A. B." at zero years of experience, $2,360. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(5) For "A. B. + 15" at zero years of experience, $2,452. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(6) For "M. A." at zero years of experience, $2,644. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(7) For "M. A. + 15" at zero years of experience, $2,740. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(8) For "M. A. + 30" at zero years of experience, $2,836. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience;

(9) For "M. A. + 45" at zero years of experience, $2,836. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience; and

(10) For "Doctorate" at zero years of experience, $2,927. An additional $69 shall be paid for each year of experience up to and including thirty-five years of experience.

These payments: (i) Shall be in addition to any amounts prescribed in the applicable State Minimum Salary Schedule, any specific additional amounts prescribed in this section and article and any county supplement in effect in a county pursuant to section five-a of this article; (ii) shall be paid in equal monthly installments; and (iii) shall be considered a part of the state minimum salaries for teachers.


§18A-4-14. Duty-free lunch and daily planning period for certain employees.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven, article two of this chapter, every teacher who is employed for a period of time more than one half the class periods of the regular school day and every service person whose employment is for a period of more than three and one-half hours per day and whose pay is at least the amount indicated in the state minimum pay scale as set forth in section eight-a of this article shall be provided a daily lunch recess of not less than thirty consecutive minutes, and the employee shall not be assigned any responsibilities during this recess. The recess shall be included in the number of hours worked, and no county shall increase the number of hours to be worked by an employee as a result of the employee being granted a recess under the provisions of this section.

(b) Every teacher who is regularly employed for a period of time more than one half the class periods of the regular school day shall be provided at least one planning period within each school instructional day to be used to complete necessary preparations for the instruction of pupils. No teacher may be assigned any responsibilities during this period, and no county shall increase the number of hours to be worked by a teacher as a result of such teacher being granted a planning period subsequent to the adoption of this section (March 13, 1982). Educators shall receive uninterrupted time for planning periods each week. Administrators may not require a teacher to use the planning period time allotted to complete duties beyond instructional planning, including, but not limited to, administrative tasks and meetings. Districts and schools should develop and execute a planning period strategy that best meets their individual needs.

The duration of the planning period shall be in accordance with the following:

(1) For grades where the majority of the student instruction is delivered by only one teacher, the planning period shall be no less than forty minutes; and

(2) For grades where students take separate courses during at least four separate periods of instruction, most usually delivered by different teachers for each subject, the planning period shall be the length of the usual class period taught by the teacher, but no less than forty minutes. Principals, and assistant principals, where applicable, shall cooperate in carrying out the provisions of this subsection, including, but not limited to, assuming control of the class period or supervision of students during the time the teacher is engaged in the planning period. Substitute teachers may also be utilized to assist with classroom responsibilities under this subsection: Provided, That any substitute teacher who is employed to teach a minimum of two consecutive days in the same position shall be granted a planning period pursuant to this section.

(c) Nothing in this section prevents any teacher from exchanging his or her lunch recess or a planning period or any service person from exchanging his or her lunch recess for any compensation or benefit mutually agreed upon by the employee and the county superintendent or his or her agent: Provided, That a teacher and the superintendent or his or her agent may not agree to terms which are different from those available to any other teacher granted rights under this section within the individual school or to terms which in any way discriminate among those teachers within the individual school, and a service person granted rights under this section and the superintendent or his or her agent may not agree to terms which are different from those available to any other service personnel within the same classification category granted rights under this section within the individual school or to terms which in any way discriminate among those service personnel within the same classification category within the individual school.

(d) The state board shall conduct a study on planning periods. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the appropriate length for planning periods at the various grade levels and for the different types of class schedules. The board shall report its findings and recommendations to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability no later than December 31, 2013


CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.


ARTICLE 31. LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS.


§30-31-11. Persons exempted from licensure.

(a) The following activities are exempt from the provisions of this article:

(1) Teaching, lecturing or engaging in research in professional counseling or marriage and family therapy so long as such activities do not otherwise involve the practice of professional counseling or marriage and family therapy directly affecting the welfare of the person counseled;

(2) The official duties of persons employed as professional counselors or marriage and family therapists by the State of West Virginia or any of its departments, agencies, divisions, bureaus or political subdivisions, counties, county boards of education, regional education service agencies municipalities or any other facilities or programs established, supported or funded, in whole or in part, by the governmental entity;

(3) The official duties of persons employed as professional counselors or marriage and family therapists by any department, agency, division or bureau of the United States of America;

(4) The official duties of persons serving as professional counselors or marriage and family therapists, whether as volunteers or for compensation or other personal gain, in any public or private nonprofit corporations, organizations, associations or charities;

(5) The official duties of persons who are employed by a licensed professional counselor or licensed marriage and family therapist, whose duties are supervised by a licensed professional counselor or licensed marriage and family therapists and who represent themselves by the title provisionally licensed counselor or provisionally licensed marriage and family therapist, and do not represent themselves as licensed professional counselors or licensed marriage and family therapists as defined in this article;

(6) The activities of a student of professional counseling or marriage and family therapy which are part of the prescribed course of study at an accredited educational institution and are supervised by a licensed professional counselor, licensed marriage and family therapist or by a teacher, instructor or professor of counseling or marriage and family therapy acting within the official duties or scope of activities exempted by this section; or

(7) The activities and services of qualified members of other recognized professions such as physicians, psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, lawyers, clergy, nurses or teachers performing counseling or marriage and family therapy consistent with the laws of this state, their training and any code of ethics of their professions so long as such persons do not represent themselves as licensed professional counselors or licensed marriage and family therapists as defined by section three of this article.

(b) Nothing in the article requires licensing of the following persons pursuant to this article:

(1) A school counselor who holds a school counseling certificate issued by the West Virginia Department of Education and who is engaged in counseling solely within the scope of his or her employment with the department, a county board of education; or a regional education service agency or

(2) A nonresident professional counselor or marriage and family therapist who holds a license or other authorization to engage in the practice of professional counseling or marriage and family therapy issued by another state, the qualifications for which in the opinion of the board are at least as stringent as those provided in section eight and section nine of this article, and who renders counseling services in this state for no more than thirty days in any calendar year.

(c) Nothing in this article permits a licensed professional counselor or licensed marriage and family therapist to administer or prescribe drugs or otherwise engage in the practice of medicine as defined in articles three and fourteen, of chapter thirty of this code.


 

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to promote an efficient and effective public education system by reducing state bureaucracy, restoring local control through increased flexibility in regulations for county school systems, and providing supports for classroom teachers throughout the state. This bill abolishes Regional Education Service Agencies (RESA) and funding by July 1, 2017. The bill eliminates the office of Education Performance Audits. The bill establishes the County Superintendents’ Advisory Council. The bill provides authority for county school systems to share services. The bill also modifies school accreditation and accountability measures, alters school and school system intervention procedures and requirements, and reduces statewide student assessment requirements. The bill requires flexibility to meet the one hundred eighty instructional days in the school calendar. The bill provides teachers with uninterrupted time for planning periods each week, and includes an $808 pay raise for classroom teachers.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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