H. B. 4123
(By Delegates Perry, Shaver, Crosier, Ellis,
Paxton, Wells and Sumner)
[Introduced
January 22, 2008
; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to transfers of teachers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reeenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
§18A-2-7. Assignment, transfer, promotion, demotion, suspension
and recommendation of dismissal of school personnel
by superintendent; preliminary notice of transfer;
hearing on the transfer; proof required.
(a) The superintendent, subject only to approval of the board,
shall have authority to assign, transfer, promote, demote or
suspend school personnel and to recommend their dismissal pursuant
to provisions of this chapter. However, an employee shall be
notified in writing by the superintendent on or before the first Monday in April if he
or she is being considered for transfer or to
be transferred. Only those employees whose consideration for
transfer or intended transfer is based upon known or expected
circumstances which will require the transfer of employees shall be
considered for transfer or intended for transfer and the
notification shall be limited to only those employees. Any teacher
or employee who desires to protest such proposed transfer may
request in writing a statement of the reasons for the proposed
transfer. Such statement of reasons shall be delivered to the
teacher or employee within ten days of the receipt of the request.
Within ten days of the receipt of the statement of the reasons, the
teacher or employee may make written demand upon the superintendent
for a hearing on the proposed transfer before the county board of
education. The hearing on the proposed transfer shall be held on
or before the first Monday in May. At the hearing, the reasons for
the proposed transfer must be shown.
(b) The superintendent at a meeting of the board on or before
the first Monday in May shall furnish in writing to the board a
list of teachers and other employees to be considered for transfer
and subsequent assignment for the next ensuing school year. An
employee who was not provided notice and an opportunity for a
hearing pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may not be
included on the list. All other teachers and employees not so
listed shall be considered as reassigned to the positions or jobs held at the time of this meeting. The list of those recommended
for transfer shall be included in the minute record of such meeting
and all those so listed shall be notified in writing, which notice
shall be delivered in writing, by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to such persons' last known addresses within ten days
following said board meeting, of their having been so recommended
for transfer and subsequent assignment and the reasons therefor.
(c) The superintendent's authority to suspend school personnel
shall be temporary only pending a hearing upon charges filed by the
superintendent with the board of education and such period of
suspension shall not exceed thirty days unless extended by order of
the board.
(d) The provisions of this section respecting hearing upon
notice of transfer shall not be applicable in emergency situations
where the school building becomes damaged or destroyed through an
unforeseeable act and which act necessitates a transfer of such
school personnel because of the aforementioned condition of the
building.
(e) When used in this section the term "transfer" for a
classroom teacher means a substantial change in the teacher's
assignment which includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Assigning the teacher to a different school;
(2) Assigning the teacher to teach one or more classes in a
certification area not utilized by the teacher in his or her present assignment; and
(3) Assigning an elementary grade classroom teacher to teach
a different grade level than his or her present assignment or to a
split grade.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to provide a degree of
certainty to education employer/employee relations by defining when
classroom teachers are transferred so that school administrators
know when to implement the notice provisions set out in this
section. The definition of a transfer for classroom teachers is
consistent with the cases decided by hearing examiners for the West
Virginia Education and State Employees Grievance Board.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.