H. B. 2687
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Ashley)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced March 24, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to repeal section six, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections
one and two of said article, all relating to public school
professional development; repealing obsolete provisions
relating to a task force on teacher preparation; recognizing
importance of principals and administrators skilled in
modern management principles; changing the membership of the
center for professional development board and advisory
council; providing qualification for center executive
director; requiring the center to assist in the delivery of
programs and activities to meet local needs; clarifying that
middle schools may be represented on advisory council on
professional development; focusing mission of professional development project of center on identifying, coordinating,
arranging and otherwise assisting in the delivery of
professional development for teachers, principals and
administrators based on laws, policies and regulations
adopted for public schools of West Virginia; authorizing
center to permit classroom aides, other school personnel and
higher education faculty to participate in appropriate
professional development; requiring center to advise teacher
education programs of changes in law and policy that affect
professional educator job performance; and requiring center
to assist in delivery of programs and activities to meet
expressed needs of school districts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections one and two of said
article be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3A-1. Center for professional development continued;
intent; advisory council.
(a) Teaching is a profession that directly correlates to the
social and economic well-being of a society and its citizens.
Superior teaching is essential to a well educated and productive populace. Strong academic leadership provided by principals and
administrators skilled in modern management principles is also
essential. The intent of this article is to recognize the value
of professional involvement by experienced educators, principals
and administrators in building and maintaining a superior
teaching force of professional educators and to establish avenues
for applying such involvement.
In furtherance of this intent, the center for professional
development is continued and reestablished. The general mission
of the center is to study matters relating to the quality of
teaching and management in the schools of West Virginia and to
promote the implementation of programs and practices to assure
the highest quality in teaching and management. The center shall
also perform such duties as are assigned to it by law.
(b) The center shall consist of nine a board of eleven
persons as members: The secretary of education and the arts, ex
officio, and the state superintendent of schools, ex officio,
both of whom shall be entitled to vote; one member three members
of the state board of education, elected by the state board; two
three experienced educators, of whom one shall be a working
classroom teacher, appointed by the governor by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate; and four three citizens of the
state who are knowledgeable in matters relevant to the issues
addressed by the center, including, but not limited to, professional development and management principles, appointed by
the governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
No Not more than two appointees shall be residents within the
same region congressional district. The state superintendent of
schools shall convene the first meeting of the center board to
elect a chair, vice chair and secretary.
The election and appointment of members shall be made as
soon as possible after the effective date of this section. Of
the initial members from the state board of education, one shall
be elected for a term of two years and two shall be elected for
terms of four years. All successive elections shall be for four- year terms. The state board of education shall elect another
member to fill the unexpired term of any person so elected who
subsequently vacates state board membership. Of the initial
appointed members, three shall be appointed for two-year terms
and four three shall be appointed for four-year terms. All
successive appointments shall be for four-year terms. The
governor shall appoint a new member to fill the unexpired term of
any vacancy in the appointed membership.
The center for professional development board shall meet at
least quarterly and the appointed members shall be reimbursed for
reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
performance of their official duties from funds appropriated or
otherwise made available for such purposes upon submission of an itemized statement therefor.
The center board may employ and fix the compensation of an
executive director with knowledge and experience in professional
development and management principles and such other persons as
may be necessary to carry out the mission and duties of the
center. When practical, personnel employed by state higher
education agencies and state, regional and county public
education agencies shall be made available to the center to
assist in the operation of projects of limited duration.
The center shall assist in the delivery of programs and
activities pursuant to this article to meet the local
professional development needs of teachers, principals and
administrators and may contract with existing agencies or
agencies created after the effective date of this section or
others to provide training programs in the most efficient manner.
Existing programs currently based in agencies of the state shall
be continued in the agency of their origin unless the center
establishes a compelling need to transfer or cancel the existing
program. The center shall recommend to the governor the transfer
of funds to the providing agency, if needed, to provide programs
approved by the center.
(b) (c) To assist the center for professional development in
the performance of its duties related to teacher education and
professional development, there is continued an advisory council on professional development which shall consist of eleven
thirteen persons as follows: An employee of the center who shall
chair the advisory council; two shall be professors or associate
or assistant professors of teacher education, one from a public
institution and one from a private institution of higher
education in this state offering programs leading to
certification to teach in the public schools of this state; two
county school superintendents, one of whom shall be from a
district with a student enrollment above the statewide average
and one of whom shall be from a district with a student
enrollment below such average; two school principals, one of whom
shall be from a school including elementary grade levels five and
below and one of whom shall be from a school including secondary
grade levels above grade five; and four professional
instructional personnel, two of whom shall be from a school
including elementary grade levels five and below and two of whom
shall be from a school including secondary grade levels above
grade five; and two citizens. To the extent possible, the
principals and instructional personnel shall be appointed from
the members of county staff development councils established
pursuant to section eight, article three of this chapter. Except
for the employee of the center, the members shall be appointed
jointly by the secretary of education and the arts and the state
superintendent for two-year terms which overlap so that one member from each of the classes shall be appointed in each
successive year, except that two members from the professional
instructional personnel class shall be appointed in each
successive year. No two members of the council shall be from the
same college or university or school district. Members of the
council shall be granted release time from their employment for
attending meetings of the council.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the center for professional development board and
advisory council shall continue to exist until the first day of
July, two thousand one.
(c) (d) On or before the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-seven ninety-eight, the center for
professional development shall develop and communicate to the
state board of education a curriculum for the principals academy.
The curriculum shall be based upon the minimum qualities,
proficiencies and skills necessary for principals and recommended
by the state board, pursuant to the terms of section two-c,
article three of this chapter.
(d) (e) In accordance with section two-c, article three of
this chapter, the center shall be responsible for paying
reasonable and necessary expenses and any stipends for persons
attending the principals academy: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to require any specific level of
funding by the Legislature.
§18A-3A-2. Professional development project.
(a) Through this project the center shall:
(1) Identify, coordinate, arrange, and otherwise assist in
the delivery of professional development programs and activities
that help professional educators acquire the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, practices and other such pertinent complements deemed
essential for an individual to demonstrate appropriate
performance as a professional personnel in the public schools of
West Virginia. The basis for such performance shall be the laws,
policies and regulations adopted for the public schools of West
Virginia, and amendments thereto. The center may also permit and
encourage school personnel such as classroom aides, higher
education teacher education faculty, and higher education faculty
in programs such as articulated tech prep associate degree and
other programs to participate in appropriate professional
development programs and activities with public school
professional educators; The center shall review the report of
the governor's committee on the preparation of teachers
established in section six of this article, shall participate in
the work of, and may contract with, the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards, Inc., to develop processes, procedures and assessment measures for the certification of
teachers, and shall consult regularly with active members of the
teaching profession in the public schools and higher education
teacher preparation programs. The center may make
recommendations to the state board of education and the higher
education governing boards regarding the adoption of such work
for application in the continuing professional development of
public school professional educators;
(2) Identify, coordinate, arrange and otherwise assist in
the delivery of professional development programs and activities
that help principals and administrators acquire knowledge,
skills, attitudes and practices in academic leadership and
management principles for principals and administrators and such
other pertinent complements deemed essential for principals and
administrators to demonstrate appropriate performance in the
public schools of West Virginia. The basis for such performance
shall be the laws, policies and regulations adopted for the
public schools of West Virginia, and amendments thereto.
(2) (3) Serve in a coordinating capacity to assure that the
knowledge, skills, attitude and other pertinent complements of
appropriate professional performance which evolve over time in
the public school environment are appropriately reflected in the
programs approved for the education of professional personnel,
including, but not limited to, advising the teacher education programs of major statutory and policy changes in the public
schools which affect the job performance requirements of
professional educators, including principals and administrators;
(3) (4) Provide for the routine updating of professional
skills of professional educators, including principals and
administrators, through in-service and other programs. Such
routine updating may be provided by the center through statewide
or regional institutes which may require a registration fee; and
(4) (5) Provide consultation and assistance to county staff
development councils established under the provisions of section
eight, article three of this chapter in planning, designing,
coordinating, arranging for and delivering staff professional
development programs to meet the staff development needs of
the professional educators of their county district. From
legislative appropriations to the center for professional
development, exclusive of such amounts required for the expenses
of the principals academy, the center shall, unless otherwise
directed by the Legislature, provide assistance in the delivery
of programs and activities to meet the expressed needs of the
school districts for professional development to help teachers,
principals and administrators demonstrate appropriate performance
based on the laws, policies and regulations adopted for the
public schools of West Virginia.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to refocus the mission of
the Center for Professional Development on coordinating,
arranging and otherwise assisting in the delivery of programs and
activities that help professional educators, including principals
and administrators, perform their duties based on the laws,
policies and regulations adopted for the public schools of West
Virginia.
Provisions are added requiring the Center to assist in the
delivery of programs and activities to meet the local
professional development needs of teachers, principals and
administrators. Current provisions relating to the development
of processes, procedures and assessment measures for the
certification of teachers are removed.
The membership of the Center is changed to three State Board
members, three experienced educators, three citizens, and the
current ex officio State Superintendent and Secretary of
Education and the Arts. Two citizen members are added to the
Center for Professional Development's Advisory Council.
Qualifications are provided for the executive director of the
center.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.