WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2024 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5289

By Delegates Hornby, Ellington, Chiarelli, Fehrenbacher, Linville, Hite, Criss, Riley, Worrell, Thorne, and Willis

[Introduced January 29, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Education then Finance]

A BILL to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §21A-12-1, relating to establishing a partnership between Workforce West Virginia through its Division of Workforce Development and the West Virginia Board of Education for the implementation of the Plasma Games teaching program in high schools and technical schools in the state, provide for funding this partnership, and establishing an implementation plan and reporting.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 12.   Partnership with state board of education for Science education.

§21A-12-1. Plasma Games educational partnership with West Virginia Board of Education.

(a) Beginning for the school year 2024-2025, the Workforce West Virginia's Division of Workforce Development shall partner with the state board to implement a project in phases to provide chemistry and other science- and math-based training through the Plasma Games system to high schools and technical schools in the state.

(b) Workforce West Virginia's Division of Workforce Development shall select ten schools for the first two years of this program.

(c) After two years, the program shall be open to all high schools and technical schools in the state that choose to participate;

(d) Subject to legislative appropriation for this purpose, schools participating in the project shall be provided with instructional resources for students and teachers that use Plasma Games system for instruction.

(e) Administrators and teachers at the participating schools shall be provided access to Plasma Games educational system as part of their professional development and support.

(f) Funding for this program shall be provided by the Department of Commerce to Workforce West Virginia's Division of Workforce Development.

(g) The project shall be designed and implemented to compliment and build upon the digital literacy standards and assessments established pursuant to §18-2-12, §18-2E-5(c), §18-2E-5(d), and §18-2E-12 of this code.  

(h) On or before January 1, 2027, the state board shall submit to the Governor and the Legislative Oversight Committee on Education Accountability an evaluation of the Plasma Games educational partnership between Workforce West Virginia's Division of Workforce Development and the state board of education's impact on the performance and progress of students at the participating schools. The evaluation shall include a recommendation for this project's continuation, expansion or termination and, if recommended for continuation or expansion, any recommendations for program modifications and utilization of the successful participating schools as demonstration sites to facilitate program expansion.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a partnership between Workforce West Virginia through its Division of Workforce Development and the West Virginia Board of Education for the implementation of the Plasma Games teaching program in high schools and technical schools in the state, establishing an implementation plan and reporting.

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