COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4626
(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Kiss))
[Originating in the Committee on Education.]
[February 23, 2006]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to educator preparation programs
generally; and providing for an alternate student teaching
experience in a nonpublic school setting in lieu of the
student teaching experience required in a public school
setting.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-1. Teacher preparation programs; program approval and
standards; authority to issue teaching certificates.
(a) The education of professional educators in the state
shall
be is under the general direction and control of the State Board of
Education after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education who shall
represent the interests of
teacher educator preparation programs
within the institutions of higher education in this state as those
institutions are defined in section two, article one, chapter
eighteen-b of this code.
The education of professional educators in the state includes
all programs leading to certification to teach or serve in the
public schools including:
(1) Those programs in all institutions of higher education,
including student teaching
in the public schools as provided in
this section;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) The granting of West Virginia certification to persons who
received their preparation to teach outside the boundaries of this
state, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(4) Any alternative preparation programs in this state leading
to certification, including programs established pursuant to the
provisions of section one-a of this article and programs which are
in effect on the effective date of this section; and
(5) Any continuing professional education, professional
development and in-service training programs for professional
educators employed in the public schools in the state.
(b) The State Board of Education, after consultation with the
Secretary of Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher
Education,
who shall represent the interests of teacher preparation
programs within the institutions of higher education in this state as those institutions are defined in section two, article one,
chapter eighteen-b of this code shall adopt standards for the
education of professional educators in the state and for
the
awarding of awarding certificates valid in the public schools of
this state.
The standards shall include, but not be limited
subject to the following:
conditions
(1)
The standards approved by the Board for teacher
preparation shall include A provision for the study of
multicultural education. As used in this section, multicultural
education means the study of the pluralistic nature of American
society including its values, institutions, organizations, groups,
status positions and social roles;
(2)
Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three The standards approved by the Board shall also
include A provision for the study of classroom management
techniques,
and shall include including methods of effective
management of disruptive behavior which shall include societal
factors and their impact on student behavior; and
(3)
Effective on the effective date of this section, any
teacher who Subject to the provisions of section ten of this
article, a teacher from another state shall be awarded a teaching
certificate for a comparable grade level and subject area valid in
the public schools of this state, if he or she:
(A) Holds a valid teaching certificate or a certificate of
eligibility issued by another state;
(i) (B) Has graduated from
a teacher an educator preparation program at a regionally accredited institution of higher education;
(ii) (C) Possesses the minimum of a bachelor's degree; and
(iii) Holds a valid teaching certificate or certificates
issued by another state, or holds a certificate of eligibility
issued by another state; and
(D) Meets all of the requirements of the state for full
certification except employment.
shall be, upon application,
awarded a teaching certificate or certificates for the same grade
level or levels and subject area or areas valid in the public
schools of this state, subject only to the provisions of section
ten of this article
(c) To give prospective teachers the teaching experience
needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to certification
to teach in the West Virginia public schools, the State Board of
Education may enter into an agreement with county boards for the
use of the public schools.
(d) An agreement established pursuant to subsection (c) of
this section Such agreement shall recognize student teaching as a
joint responsibility of the
teacher educator preparation
institution and the cooperating
public schools school and shall
include:
(1) The minimum qualifications for the employment of
public
the school teachers selected as supervising teachers,
including the
requirement that field-based and clinical experiences shall be
supervised by a teacher fully certified in West Virginia;
(2) The remuneration to be paid public school teachers by the State Board, in addition to their contractual salaries, for
supervising student teachers;
and
(3) Minimum standards to guarantee the adequacy of the
facilities and program of the
public school selected for student
teaching;
(4) That the student teacher, under the direction and
supervision of the supervising teacher, shall exercise the
authority of a substitute teacher;
and
(5) A provision requiring any nonpublic cooperating school to
document that the student teacher's field-based and clinical
experiences include participation and instruction with
multicultural, at-risk and exceptional children at each
programmatic level for which the student teacher seeks
certification. As used in this section:
(A) "At-risk" means having the potential for academic failure,
including, but not limited to the risk of dropping out of school,
involvement in delinquent activity or poverty as indicated by free
or reduced lunch status; and
(B) "Exceptional children" has the meaning ascribed pursuant
to section one, article twenty, chapter eighteen of this code, but
does not include gifted students.
(e) Beginning the fall, two thousand six - two thousand seven
academic term, in lieu of the student teaching experience in a
public school setting required by this section, an institution of
higher education may provide an alternate student teaching
experience in a nonpublic school setting if the institution of higher education:
(1) Complies with the provisions of this section;
(2) Has a State Board of Education approved educator
preparation program; and
(3) Enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivision (f) of
this section.
(f) At the discretion of the higher education institution, an
agreement for an alternate student teaching experience between an
institution of higher education and a nonpublic school shall
require that either:
(1) The student teacher complete at least one-half of the
clinical experience in a public school; or
(2) The educator preparation program include a requirement
that any student performing student teaching in a nonpublic school
complete at least:
(A) Two hundred clock hours of field-based training in a
public school; and
(B) A course, which is a component of the institution's State
Board of Education approved educator preparation program, that
provides to prospective teachers information that is equivalent to
the teaching experience needed to demonstrate competence as a
prerequisite to certification to teach in the public schools in
West Virginia. The course shall include instruction on at least
the following elements:
(i) State Board of Education policy and provisions of this
code governing public education;
(ii) Requirements for federal and state accountability,
including the mandatory reporting of child abuse;
(iii) Federal and state mandated curriculum and assessment
requirements, including multicultural education, safe schools and
student code of conduct;
(iv) Federal and state regulations for the instruction of
exceptional students as defined by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.;
(v) Varied approaches for effective instruction for students
who are at-risk;
(d) (g) The State Superintendent of Schools may issue
certificates to graduates of
teacher education educator preparation
programs and alternative
teacher education educator preparation
programs approved by the State Board of Education.
and The
certificates are issued in accordance with this section and rules
adopted by the State Board after consultation with the Secretary of
Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education.
(1) A certificate to teach
shall not may be granted
only to
any person who is:
not
(A) A citizen of the United States,
except as provided in
subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(B) Is
not of good moral character;
and
(C) Physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform
the duties of a teacher; and
who has not attained the age of
(D) At least eighteen years on or before the first day of
October of the year in which his or her certificate is issued.
except that
(2) A permit to teach in the public schools of this state may
be granted to a person who is an exchange teacher from a foreign
country, or an alien person who meets the requirements to teach.
may be granted a permit to teach within the public schools of the
state
(e) (h) In consultation with the Secretary of Education and
the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education, institutions of
higher education approved for
teacher educator preparation may
cooperate with each other, with the Center for Professional
Development and with one or more county boards
in the organization
and operation of to organize and operate centers to provide
selected phases of the
teacher educator preparation program. Such
as phases include, but are not limited to:
(1) Student teaching;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) Instruction in methodology; and
(4) Seminar programs for college students, teachers with
provisional certification, professional support team members and
supervising teachers.
The institutions of higher education, the Center for
Professional Development and county boards may by mutual agreement
budget and expend funds
for the operation of to operate the centers
through payments to the appropriate fiscal office of the
participating institutions, the center for professional development
and the county boards.
(f) (i) The provisions of this section
shall not be construed
to do not require
the discontinuation of an existing student
teacher training center or school which meets the standards of the
State Board of Education.
(g) (j) All institutions of higher education approved for
teacher educator preparation in the
school year of one thousand
nine hundred sixty-two--sixty-three
school year shall continue to
hold that distinction so long as they meet the minimum standards
for
teacher educator preparation. Nothing
contained herein shall
infringe in this section infringes upon the rights granted to any
institution by charter given according to law previous to the
adoption of this code.
(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this
section, nor any other provision of rule, law or this code to the
contrary, an institution of higher education may enter into an
agreement with a nonpublic school:
(1) For the purposes of this section regarding student
teaching;
(2) For the spring, two thousand six - two thousand seven
academic term only;
(3) If the institution is approved for educator education by
the State Board of Education; and
(4) If the institution had entered into the agreement for that
academic term prior to the effective date of this section.
(l) As used in this section, the phrase "nonpublic school"
means a private school, parochial school, church school, school operated by a religious order or other nonpublic school that elects
to:
(1) Comply with the provisions of article twenty-eight,
chapter eighteen of this code;
(2) Participate on a voluntary basis in a state operated or
state sponsored program provided to such schools pursuant to this
section; and
(3) Comply with the provisions of this section.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.