SB632 HED AM as amended

            The Committee on Education moves to amend the bill on page 1, following the article heading, by striking the section heading and inserting in lieu thereof a new section heading to read as follows:

§18-5-48. Safety and security measures for school facilities; Safe Schools Fund created.

 

And on page 2, following the article heading, by striking the section heading and inserting in lieu thereof a new section heading to read as follows:

§18-20-11. Video cameras required in certain special education classrooms.

 

And on page 2, section 11, line 3, following the subsection designation (a), by inserting the following:

“Upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature” and a comma

 

And on page 5, section 11, line 72, by striking subdivision (2) in its entirety on lines 72 and 73, and renumbering subsequent subdivisions

 

And on page 7, section 11, line 109, by striking subsection (q) in its entirely and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (q) to read as follows:

(q)(1) A public school or school district may use funds distributed from the Safe Schools Fund created in §18-5-48 of this code to meet the requirements of this section.

(2) A public school or school district may accept gifts, grants, or donations to meet the requirements of this section.

 

And on page 8, following the article heading, by striking section §18A-3-6 in its entirely and inserting in lieu thereof a new section §18A-3-6 to read as follows:

§18A-3-6. Grounds for revocation of certificates; recalling certificates for correction.

(a) The  state superintendent may, after 10 days' notice and upon proper evidence, revoke the certificates of any teacher for any of the following causes: Intemperance; untruthfulness; cruelty; immorality; the conviction of a felony or a guilty plea or a plea of no contest to a felony charge; the conviction, guilty plea or plea of no contest to any charge involving sexual misconduct with a minor or a student; or for using fraudulent, unapproved or insufficient credit to obtain the certificates: Provided, That the certificates of a teacher may not be revoked for any matter for which the teacher was disciplined, less than dismissal, by the county board that employs the teacher, nor for which the teacher is meeting or has met an improvement plan determined by the county board, unless it can be proven by clear and convincing evidence that the teacher has committed one of the offenses listed in this subsection and his or her actions render him or her unfit to teach: Provided, however, That in order for any conduct of a teacher involving intemperance; cruelty; immorality; or using fraudulent, unapproved or insufficient credit to obtain the certificates to constitute grounds for the revocation of the certificates of the teacher, there must be a rational nexus between the conduct of the teacher and the performance of his or her job. The state superintendent may designate the West Virginia commission for professional teaching standards or members thereof to conduct hearings on revocations or certificate denials and make recommendations for action by the state superintendent: Provided further, That a teacher, as defined by West Virginia Code §18-1-1(g), convicted under §61-8D-3 or §61-8D-5 of this code or comparable statute in any other state, any criminal offense that requires the teacher to register as a sex offender, or any criminal offense which has as an element delivery or distribution of a controlled substance, shall have his or her certificate or license automatically revoked. Should the conviction resulting in automatic revocation pursuant to this section be overturned by any Court of this State or the United States, the teacher’s certification shall be reinstated unless otherwise prohibited by law.

(b) It shall be the duty of Any county superintendent who knows of any acts on the part of any teacher for which a certificate may be revoked in accordance with this section to shall report the same this, together with all the facts and evidence, to the state superintendent for such action as in the state superintendent's judgment may be proper.

(c) If a certificate has been granted through an error, oversight, or misinformation, the state superintendent has authority to may recall the certificate and make such corrections as will conform to the requirements of law and the state board.