WEST virginia legislature
2016 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
House Bill 2202
By DELEGATES ROWAN, ROMINE, DUKE, PERRY, AMBLER,
BUTLER, PETHTEL, COOPER AND D. EVANS
[Originating in the Committee on Finance,
February 22, 2016]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-20-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to more equitable disbursement of funds to county boards to lessen budgetary impact of serving high cost/high acuity special needs students; eliminating requirement to annual review of rules, policies and standards and federal law and report to legislative oversight commission; defining high cost/high acuity special needs; and providing for method of fund disbursement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-20-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20. EDUCATION OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN.
§18-20-5. Powers and duties of state superintendent.
(a) The State Superintendent of Schools shall organize, promote, administer and be responsible for:
(1) Stimulating and assisting county boards of education in establishing, organizing and maintaining special schools, classes, regular class programs, home-teaching and visiting-teacher services for exceptional children.
(2) Cooperating with all other public and private agencies engaged in relieving, caring for, curing, educating and rehabilitating exceptional children, and in helping coordinate the services of such agencies.
(3) (A) Preparing the necessary rules, policies, formula
formulas for distribution of available appropriated funds, reporting
forms and procedures necessary to define minimum standards in providing
suitable facilities for education of exceptional children and ensuring the
employment, certification and approval of qualified teachers and therapists
subject to approval by the State Board of Education: Provided, That no
state rule, policy or standard under this article or any county board rule,
policy or standard governing special education may exceed the requirements of
federal law or regulation.
(B) The state superintendent shall annually
review the rules, policies and standards of the state and federal law for
serving the needs of exceptional children enrolled in the public schools and
shall report to the Legislative Oversight commission on Education
Accountability by December 1, or as soon thereafter as requested by the
commission, 2008, and in each year thereafter, the findings of the review along
with an accounting of the services provided and the costs thereof for exceptional
children enrolled in the public schools of this state during the latest
available school year. An appropriation shall be made to the
(B) The Department of Education to be
distributed shall disburse to county boards to support children
appropriations made to assist them with serving exceptional children
with high cost/high acuity special needs. that exceed the
capacity of county to provide with funds available An “exceptional
child with high cost/high acuity special needs” is a student with a disability
for whom the costs to the county exceed three times the average per pupil
expenditure.
(i) The state superintendent shall establish, in consultation and coordination with representatives of the affected county boards, a method for disbursing the separate appropriation for exceptional children with high cost/high acuity special needs.
(ii) The disbursement method shall reasonably account for and endeavor to equitably mitigate the differing budgetary impacts that enrolled exceptional children with high cost/high acuity special needs have on individual county boards’ abilities to serve all of their enrolled students.
(iii) The disbursement method shall further provide that, whenever the separate appropriation under this paragraph, when combined with federal funds available for this purpose, is insufficient to reimburse all eligible county boards fully for their costs of serving the exceptional children with high cost/high acuity special needs enrolled in their counties, the county boards shall receive disbursements that equalize, as near as reasonably possible, the budget percentage for each county board that is consumed by eligible, but not reimbursed, expenditures for serving exceptional children with high cost/high acuity special needs so that no county board's budget is affected disproportionately.
(iv) Each county board shall apply to the state
superintendent for receipt of to receive this funding in a manner
set forth by the state superintendent. that assesses and takes into account
varying acuity levels of the exceptional students Any remaining funds at
the end of a fiscal year from the appropriation shall be carried over to the
next fiscal year. When possible, federal funds shall be distributed disbursed
to county boards for this purpose before any of the state appropriation is distributed
disbursed. The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that
implements the provisions of this subdivision relating to distributing the
funds to the county boards. The rule at least shall include a definition for
“children with high acuity needs.”
(4) Receiving from county boards of education their applications, annual reports and claims for reimbursement from such moneys as are appropriated by the Legislature, auditing such claims and preparing vouchers to reimburse said counties the amounts reimbursable to them.
(5) Assuring that all exceptional children in the state, including children in mental health facilities, residential institutions, private schools and correctional facilities as provided in section thirteen-f, article two of this chapter, receive an education in accordance with state and federal laws: Provided, That the state superintendent shall also assure that adults in correctional facilities and regional jails receive an education to the extent funds are provided therefor.
(6) Performing other duties and assuming other responsibilities in connection with this program as needed.
(7) Receive the county plan for integrated classroom
submitted by the county boards of education and submit a state plan, approved
by the State Board of Education, to the Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability no later than December 1, 1995.
(b) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent any county board of education from establishing and maintaining special schools, classes, regular class programs, home-teaching or visiting-teacher services for exceptional children out of funds available from local revenue.