WEST virginia legislature

2021 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 227

By Senators Baldwin, Beach, Caputo, Ihlenfeld, Jeffries, Lindsay, Plymale, Romano, Stollings, and Woelfel

[Introduced February 11, 2021; referred
to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-8-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-8A-5, all relating to creating a homeless education coordinator in counties designated by the state board as an urban county.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

§18-8-4. Duties of attendance director and assistant directors; complaints, warrants and hearings.

(a) The county attendance director and the assistants shall diligently promote regular school attendance. The director and assistants shall:

(1) Ascertain reasons for unexcused absences from school of students of compulsory school age and students who remain enrolled beyond the compulsory school age as defined under section §18-8-1a of this code;

(2) Take such steps as are, in their discretion, best calculated to encourage the attendance of students and to impart upon the parents and guardians the importance of attendance and the seriousness of failing to do so;

(3) For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(A) “Excused absence” includes:

(i) Personal illness or injury of the student;

(ii) Personal illness or injury of the student’s parent, guardian, custodian, or family member: Provided, That the excuse must provide a reasonable explanation for why the student’s absence was necessary and caused by the illness or injury in the family;

(iii) Medical or dental appointment with written excuse from physician or dentist;

(iv) Chronic medical condition or disability that impacts attendance;

(v) Participation in home or hospital instruction due to an illness or injury or other extraordinary circumstance that warrants home or hospital confinement;

(vi) Calamity, such as a fire or flood;

(vii) Death in the family;

(viii) School-approved or county-approved curricular or extra-curricular activities;

(ix) Judicial obligation or court appearance involving the student;

(x) Military requirement for students enlisted or enlisting in the military;

(xi) Personal or academic circumstances approved by the principal; and

(xii) Such other situations as may be further determined by the county board: Provided, That absences of students with disabilities shall be in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and the federal and state regulations adopted in compliance therewith; and

(B) “Unexcused absence” means any absence not specifically included in the definition of “excused absence”; and

(4) All documentation relating to absences shall be provided to the school no later than three instructional days after the first day the student returns to school.

(b) In the case of When there are three total unexcused absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director, assistant, or principal shall make meaningful contact with the parent, guardian, or custodian of the student to ascertain the reasons for the unexcused absences and what measures the school may employ to assist the student in attending and not incurring any additional unexcused absences.

(c) In the case of When there are five total unexcused absences, the attendance director or assistant or principal shall again make meaningful contact with the parent, guardian, or custodian of the student to ascertain the reasons for the unexcused absences and what measures the school may employ to assist the student in attending school and not incurring any additional unexcused absences.

(d) In the case of When there are 10 total unexcused absences of a student during a school year, the attendance director or assistant may make a complaint against the parent, guardian, or custodian before a magistrate of the county. If it appears from the complaint that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the accused has committed it, a summons, or a warrant for the arrest of the accused shall issue to any officer authorized by law to serve the summons or to arrest persons charged with offenses against the state. More than one parent, guardian or custodian may be charged in a complaint. Initial service of a summons or warrant issued pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be attempted within 10 calendar days of receipt of the summons or warrant and subsequent attempts at service shall continue until the summons or warrant is executed or until the end of the school term during which the complaint is made, whichever is later.

(e) The magistrate court clerk, or the clerk of the circuit court performing the duties of the magistrate court as authorized in §50-1-8 of this code, shall assign the case to a magistrate within 10 days of execution of the summons or warrant. The hearing shall be held within 20 days of the assignment to the magistrate, subject to lawful continuance. The magistrate shall provide to the accused at least 10 days’ advance notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(f) When any doubt exists as to the age of a student absent from school, the attendance director and assistants have authority to require a properly attested birth certificate or an affidavit from the parent, guardian, or custodian of the student, stating age of the student. In the performance of his or her duties, the county attendance director and assistants have authority to take without warrant any student absent from school in violation of the provisions of this article and to place the student in the school in which he or she is or should be enrolled.

(g) The county attendance director and assistants shall devote such time as is required by §18-8-3 of this code to the duties of attendance director in accordance with this section during the instructional term and at such other times as the duties of an attendance director are required. All attendance directors and assistants hired for more than 200 days may be assigned other duties determined by the superintendent during the period in excess of 200 days. The county attendance director is responsible under direction of the county superintendent for efficiently administering school attendance in the county.

(h) In addition to those duties directly relating to the administration of attendance, the county attendance director and assistant directors also shall perform the following duties:

(1) Assist in directing the taking of the school census to see that it is taken at the time and in the manner provided by law;

(2) Confer with principals and teachers on the comparison of school census and enrollment for the detection of possible nonenrollees;

(3) Cooperate with existing state and federal agencies charged with enforcing child labor laws;

(4) Prepare a report for submission by the county superintendent to the State Superintendent of Schools on school attendance, at such times and in such detail as may be required. The state board shall promulgate a legislative rule pursuant to §29A-3B-1 et seq. of this code that set forth student absences that are excluded for accountability purposes. The absences that are excluded by rule shall include, but are not limited to, excused student absences, students not in attendance due to disciplinary measures and absent students for whom the attendance director has pursued judicial remedies to compel attendance to the extent of his or her authority. The attendance director shall file with the county superintendent and county board at the close of each month a report showing activities of the school attendance office and the status of attendance in the county at the time;

(5) Promote attendance in the county by compiling data for schools and by furnishing suggestions and recommendations for publication through school bulletins and the press, or in such manner as the county superintendent may direct;

(6) Participate in school teachers’ conferences with parents and students;

(7) Assist in such other ways as the county superintendent may direct for improving school attendance; and

(8) Make home visits of students who have excessive unexcused absences, as provided in subsection-a of this section, or if requested by the chief administrator, principal, or assistant principal. and

(9) Serve as the liaison for homeless children and youth

ARTICLE 8A. ATTENDANCE OF HOMELESS CHILDREN.

§18-8A-5. Homeless education coordinator.

(a) The state board shall employ a full-time homeless education coordinator in each county designated by the state board as an urban county and a part-time homeless education coordinator in each county designated by the state board as a rural county. Urban and rural designations may be based on the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) designations of metropolitan and non-metropolitan or a substantially similar method of delimitating urban and rural areas.

(b) The state board may establish special and professional qualifications for homeless education coordinators as are deemed expedient and proper and are consistent with the rules of the state board.

(c) A homeless education coordinator is responsible for:

(1) Ensuring that homeless children and youth are identified by school personnel, are enrolled in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in schools of that county;

(2) Coordinating the referrals of homeless children to health care, dental care, mental health services, and other appropriate services;

(3) Expediting school placement decisions;

(4) Identifying homeless children, youth, and families in the community;

(5) Coordinating programs and services to prevent duplication of services;

(6) Monitoring programs and projects to ensure compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, if the county board receives funds under the McKinney Act;

(7) Informing parents or guardians of homeless children and youth of the educational and related opportunities available to their children, ensuring that they are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children;

(8) Disseminating public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youth in the schools, community agencies, family shelters, soup kitchens, and organizations where children and youth receive services;

(9) Ensuring that the parent or guardian of a homeless child or youth and any unaccompanied youth is fully informed of all transportation services;

(10) Working with Title I administrators to ensure that Title I services are provided in accordance with the reservation of funds required by McKinney-Vento Act;

(11) Coordinating and collaborating with the state coordinator and community and school personnel responsible for the provision of education and related services to homeless children and youth;

(12) Developing and implementing a program to train school personnel on the educational rights of homeless children and youth, policies, and procedures to identify and serve homeless children and youth, and on the special needs of homeless children and youth;

(13) Assisting unaccompanied homeless youth in the school selection process; and

(14) Ensuring that enrollment disputes are mediated according to the county board’s appeal process.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that each county school board designate a homeless education coordinator and set out the duties of the position.

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