ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
for
H. B. 2585
(By Delegates M. Poling and Paxton (By Request))
[Passed March 10, 2007; in effect July 1, 2007.]
AN ACT to
repeal §18A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; to amend and reenact §5-16-2 of said code; to amend
and reenact §18-7A-3 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-
7B-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §18-23-4a of said
code; to amend and reenact §18A-3-3 of said code; and to amend
said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-3-
11, all relating to education generally; findings;
definitions; allowing for the designation of up to twenty-five
professional educators as 21st Century Learner Fellows;
allowing Fellows to continue as a member of either the
teachers retirement system or the defined contribution system,
as applicable, while being employed by a state institution of
higher education or a research corporation; allowing Fellows
to continue to participate in public employee insurance
programs during the employment; limiting the responsibility of
a state institution of higher education or a research corporation for a fellow's annual and sick leave earned from
prior employment; the renewal of teaching certificates and
permanent certification; providing certification through
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as an
additional option for attaining permanent certification;
providing for state board member participation in the public
employees insurance program; and making technical
improvements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; that §5-16-2 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §18-7A-3 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18-7B-2
of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18-23-4a of said code
be amended and reenacted; that §18A-3-3 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §18A-3-11, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS;
MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases as used in this article,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context,
have the following meanings:
(1) "Agency" means the public employees insurance agency
created by this article.
(2) "Director" means the director of the public employees
insurance agency created by this article.
(3) "Employee" means any person, including an elected officer,
who works regularly full time in the service of the State of West
Virginia and, for the purpose of this article only, the term
"employee" also means any person, including an elected officer, who
works regularly full time in the service of a county board of
education; a county, city or town in the state; any separate
corporation or instrumentality established by one or more counties,
cities or towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or
instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or
towns; any public corporation charged by law with the performance
of a governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive
with one or more counties, cities or towns; any comprehensive
community mental health center or comprehensive mental retardation
facility established, operated or licensed by the secretary of
health and human resources pursuant to section one, article two-a,
chapter twenty-seven of this code and which is supported in part by
state, county or municipal funds; any person who works regularly
full time in the service of the Higher Education Policy Commission,
the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College
Education or a governing board, as defined in section two, article
one, chapter eighteen-b of this code; any person who works regularly full time in the service of a combined city-county health
department created pursuant to article two, chapter sixteen of this
code; any person designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow
pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen-a of
this code; and any person who works as a long term substitute as
defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this
code , in the service of a county board of education:
Provided,
That a long term substitute who is continuously employed for at
least one hundred thirty-three instructional days during an
instructional term and until the end of that instructional term, is
eligible for the benefits provided in this article until the first
day of September following that instructional term.
Provided
further, That a long term substitute employed fewer than one
hundred thirty-three instructional days during an instructional
term is eligible for the benefits provided in this article only
during such time as he or she is actually employed as a long term
substitute. On and after the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-four, and upon election by a county board of
education to allow elected board members to participate in the
public employees insurance program pursuant to this article, any
person elected to a county board of education shall be considered
to be an "employee" during the term of office of the elected
member. Upon election by the State Board of Education to allow
appointed board members to participate in the public employees
insurance program pursuant to this article, any person appointed to the State Board of Education is considered an "employee" during the
term of office of the appointed member:
Provided, That the elected
member of a county board of education and the appointed member of
the State Board of Education shall pay the entire cost of the
premium if he or she elects to be covered under this article. Any
matters of doubt as to who is an employee within the meaning of
this article shall be decided by the director.
On or after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, a person shall be considered an "employee" if that
person meets the following criteria:
(i) Participates in a job-sharing arrangement as defined in
section one, article one, chapter eighteen-a of this code;
(ii) Has been designated, in writing, by all other
participants in that job-sharing arrangement as the "employee" for
purposes of this section; and
(iii) Works at least one third of the time required for a
full-time employee.
(4) "Employer" means the state of West Virginia, its boards,
agencies, commissions, departments, institutions or spending units;
a county board of education; a county, city or town in the state;
any separate corporation or instrumentality established by one or
more counties, cities or towns, as permitted by law; any
corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties,
cities or towns; any public corporation charged by law with the
performance of a governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more counties, cities or towns; any
comprehensive community mental health center or comprehensive
mental retardation facility established, operated or licensed by
the secretary of health and human resources pursuant to section
one, article two-a, chapter twenty-seven of this code and which is
supported in part by state, county or municipal funds; a combined
city-county health department created pursuant to article two,
chapter sixteen of this code; and a corporation meeting the
description set forth in section three, article twelve, chapter
eighteen-b of this code that is employing a 21st Century Learner
Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter eighteen
of this code but the corporation is not considered an employer with
respect to any employee other than a 21st Century Learner Fellow.
Any matters of doubt as to who is an "employer" within the meaning
of this article shall be decided by the director. The term
"employer" does not include within its meaning the national guard.
(5) "Finance board" means the public employees insurance
agency finance board created by this article.
(6) "Person" means any individual, company, association,
organization, corporation or other legal entity, including, but not
limited to, hospital, medical or dental service corporations;
health maintenance organizations or similar organization providing
prepaid health benefits; or individuals entitled to benefits under
the provisions of this article.
(7) "Plan", unless the context indicates otherwise, means the medical indemnity plan, the managed care plan option or the group
life insurance plan offered by the agency.
(8) "Retired employee" means an employee of the state who
retired after the twenty-ninth day of April, one thousand nine
hundred seventy-one, and an employee of the higher education policy
commission, the council for community and technical college
education, a state institution of higher education or a county
board of education who retires on or after the twenty-first day of
April, one thousand nine hundred seventy-two, and all additional
eligible employees who retire on or after the effective date of
this article, meet the minimum eligibility requirements for their
respective state retirement system and whose last employer
immediately prior to retirement under the state retirement system
is a participating employer:
Provided, That for the purposes of
this article, the employees who are not covered by a state
retirement system but who are covered by a state approved or state
contracted retirement program shall, in the case of education
employees, meet the minimum eligibility requirements of the State
Teachers' Retirement System and in all other cases, meet the
minimum eligibility requirements of the public employees retirement
system.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 7A. STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7A-3. Definitions.
(a) As used in this article, unless the context clearly
require a different meaning:
(1) "Accumulated contributions" means all deposits and all
deductions from the gross salary of a contributor plus regular
interest.
(2) "Accumulated net benefit" means the aggregate amount of
all benefits paid to or on behalf of a retired member;
(3) "Annuities" means the annual retirement payments for life
granted beneficiaries in accordance with this article.
(4) "Average final salary" means the average of the five
highest fiscal year salaries earned as a member within the last
fifteen fiscal years of total service credit, including military
service as provided in this article, or if total service is less
than fifteen years, the average annual salary for the period on
which contributions were made.
(5) "Beneficiary" means the recipient of annuity payments made
under the retirement system.
(6) "Contributor" means a member of the retirement system who
has an account in the teachers accumulation fund.
(7) "Deposit" means a voluntary payment to his or her account
by a member.
(8) "Employer" means the agency of and within the state which
has employed or employs a member.
(9) "Employment term" means employment for at least ten
months, a month being defined as twenty employment days.
(10) "Gross salary" means the fixed annual or periodic cash
wages paid by a participating public employer to a member for
performing duties for the participating public employer for which
the member was hired. Gross salary also shall include retroactive
payments made to a member to correct a clerical error, or pursuant
to a court order or final order of an administrative agency charged
with enforcing federal or state law pertaining to the member's
rights to employment or wages, with all the retroactive salary
payments to be allocated to and considered paid in the periods in
which the work was or would have been done. Gross salary shall not
include lump sum payments for bonuses, early retirement incentives,
severance pay, or any other fringe benefit of any kind including,
but not limited to, transportation allowances, automobiles or
automobile allowances, or lump sum payments for unused, accrued
leave of any type or character.
(11) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as it has been amended.
(12) "Member" means a member of the retirement system.
(13) "Members of the administrative staff of the public
schools" means deans of instruction, deans of men, deans of women,
and financial and administrative secretaries.
(14) "Members of the extension staff of the public schools"
means every agricultural agent, boys' and girls' club agent and
every member of the agricultural extension staff whose work is not
primarily stenographic, clerical or secretarial.
(15) "New entrant" means a teacher who is not a present
teacher.
(16) "Nonteaching member" means any person, except a teacher
member, who is regularly employed for full-time service by: (a)
Any county board of education; (b) the State Board of Education;
(c) the Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia
Council for Community and Technical College Education or a
governing board, as defined in section two, article one, chapter
eighteen-b of this code; or (d) the Teachers Retirement Board:
Provided, That any person whose employment with the Higher
Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia Council for
Community and Technical College Education or a governing board
commences on or after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one, is not considered a nonteaching member.
(17) "Pick-up service" means service that a member was
entitled to, but which the employer has not withheld or paid for.
(18) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on
the first day of July and ending the following thirtieth day of
June of any designated year.
(19) "Present member" means a present teacher who is a member
of the retirement system.
(20) "Present teacher" means any person who was a teacher
within the thirty-five years beginning the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-four, and whose membership in the
retirement system is currently active.
(21) "Prior service" means all service as a teacher completed
prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
forty-one, and all service of a present member who was employed as
a teacher, and did not contribute to a retirement account because
he or she was legally ineligible for membership during the service.
(22) "Public schools" means all publicly supported schools,
including colleges and universities in this state.
(23) "Refund beneficiary" means the estate of a deceased
contributor or a person he or she has nominated as beneficiary of
his or her contributions by written designation duly executed and
filed with the retirement board.
(24) "Refund interest" means interest compounded, according to
the formula established in legislative rules, series seven of the
Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(25) "Regular interest" means interest at four percent
compounded annually, or a higher earnable rate if set forth in the
formula established in legislative rules, series seven of the
Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
(26) "Regularly employed for full-time service" means
employment in a regular position or job throughout the employment
term regardless of the number of hours worked or the method of pay.
(27) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April of
the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar year in
which the member attains age seventy and one-half years; or (b) the
calendar year in which the member retires or ceases covered employment under the system after having attained the age of
seventy and one-half years.
(28) "Retirement system" means the State Teachers' Retirement
System provided for in this article.
(29) "Teacher member" means the following persons, if
regularly employed for full-time service: (a) Any person employed
for instructional service in the public schools of West Virginia;
(b) principals; (c) public school librarians; (d) superintendents
of schools and assistant county superintendents of schools; (e) any
county school attendance director holding a West Virginia teacher's
certificate; (f) the Executive Secretary of the Retirement Board;
(g) members of the research, extension, administrative or library
staffs of the public schools; (h) the State Superintendent of
Schools, heads and assistant heads of the divisions under his or
her supervision, or any other employee under the State
Superintendent performing services of an educational nature; (i)
employees of the State Board of Education who are performing
services of an educational nature; (j) any person employed in a
nonteaching capacity by the State Board of Education, any county
board of education, the State Department of Education or the
Teachers Retirement Board, if that person was formerly employed as
a teacher in the public schools; (k) all classroom teachers,
principals and educational administrators in schools under the
supervision of the Division of Corrections, the Division of Health
or the Division of Human Services; (l) employees of the State Board of School Finance, if that person was formerly employed as a
teacher in the public schools; and (m) any person designated as a
21st Century Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article
three, chapter eighteen-a of this code who elects to remain a
member of the Teachers' Retirement System provided for in this
article.
(30) "Total service" means all service as a teacher while a
member of the retirement system since last becoming a member and,
in addition thereto, credit for prior service, if any.
The masculine gender shall be construed so as to include the
feminine.
Age in excess of seventy years shall be considered to be
seventy years.
ARTICLE 7B. TEACHERS' DEFINED CONTRIBUTION RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§18-7B-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context clearly requires
a different meaning:
(1) "Defined contribution system" or "system" means the
Teachers' Defined Contribution Retirement System created and
established by this article:
(2) "Existing retirement system" means the State Teachers'
Retirement System established in article seven-a of this chapter;
(3) "Existing employer" means any employer who employed or
employs a member of the existing retirement system;
(4) "Consolidated board" or "board" means the Consolidated Public Retirement Board created and established pursuant to article
ten-d, chapter five of this code;
(5) "Member" or "employee" means the following persons, if
regularly employed for full-time service: (A) Any person employed
for instructional service in the public schools of West Virginia;
(B) principals; (C) public school librarians; (D) superintendents
of schools and assistant county superintendents of schools; (E) any
county school attendance director holding a West Virginia teacher's
certificate; (F) members of the research, extension, administrative
or library staffs of the public schools; (G) the State
Superintendent of Schools, heads and assistant heads of the
divisions under his or her supervision, or any other employee under
the State Superintendent performing services of an educational
nature; (H) employees of the State Board of Education who are
performing services of an educational nature; (I) any person
employed in a nonteaching capacity by the State Board of Education,
any county board of education or the State Department of Education
if that person was formerly employed as a teacher in the public
schools; (J) all classroom teachers, principals and educational
administrators in schools under the supervision of the Division of
Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Resources; (K)
any person who is regularly employed for full-time service by any
county board of education or the State Board of Education (L) the
administrative staff of the public schools including deans of
instruction, deans of men and deans of women, and financial and administrative secretaries; and (M) any person designated as a 21st
Century Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three,
chapter eighteen-a of this code who elects to remain a member of
the Teachers' Defined Contribution System established by this
article;
(6) "Regularly employed for full-time service" means
employment in a regular position or job throughout the employment
term regardless of the number of hours worked or the method of pay;
(7) "Year of employment service" means employment for at least
ten months, a month being defined as twenty employment days:
Provided, That no more than one year of service may be accumulated
in any twelve-month period;
(8) "Employer" means the agency of and within the State of
West Virginia which has employed or employs a member;
(9) "Compensation" means the full compensation actually
received by members for service whether or not a part of the
compensation is received from other funds, federal or otherwise,
than those provided by the state or its subdivisions;
(10) "Public schools" means all publicly supported schools,
including normal schools, colleges and universities in this state;
(11) "Member contribution" means an amount reduced from the
employee's regular pay periods, and deposited into the member's
individual annuity account within the Defined Contribution
Retirement System;
(12) "Employer contribution" means an amount deposited into the member's individual annuity account on a periodic basis
coinciding with the employee's regular pay period by an employer
from its own funds;
(13) "Annuity account" or "annuity" means an account
established for each member to record the deposit of member
contributions and employer contributions and interest, dividends or
other accumulations credited on behalf of the member;
(14) "Retirement" means a member's withdrawal from the active
employment of a participating employer and completion of all
conditions precedent to retirement;
(15) "Permanent, total disability" means a mental or physical
incapacity requiring absence from employment service for at least
six months: Provided, That the incapacity is shown by an
examination by a physician or physicians selected by the Board:
Provided, however, That for employees hired on or after the first
day of July, two thousand five, permanent, total disability means
an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of
any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can
be expected to result in death, or has lasted or can be expected to
last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months and the
incapacity is so severe that the member is likely to be permanently
unable to perform the duties of the position the member occupied
immediately prior to his or her disabling injury or illness.
(16) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on
the first day of July of any designated year and ending on the following thirtieth day of June;
(17) "Required beginning date" means the first day of April of
the calendar year following the later of: (a) The calendar year in
which the member attains age seventy-one and one-half years; or (b)
the calendar year in which the member retires or otherwise ceases
employment with a participating employer after having attained the
age of seventy and one-half years; and
(18) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as it has been amended.
ARTICLE 23. ADDITIONAL POWERS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
GOVERNING BOARDS OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
EDUCATION.
§18-23-4a. Supplemental and additional retirement plans for
employees; payroll deductions; authority to match
employee contributions; retroactive curative and
technical corrective action.
(a) Any reference in this code to the "additional retirement
plan" relating to state higher education employees, means the
"higher education retirement plan" provided in this section. Any
state higher education employee participating in a retirement plan
upon the effective date of this section continues to participate in
that plan and may not elect to participate in any other state
retirement plan. Any such retirement plan continues to be governed
by the provisions of law applicable on the effective date of this section.
(b) The Higher Education Policy Commission, on behalf of the
governing boards and itself, shall contract for a retirement plan
for its employees, to be known as the "Higher Education Retirement
Plan". The governing boards and Higher Education Policy Commission
shall make periodic deductions from the salary payments due the
employees in the amount they are required to contribute to the
Higher Education Retirement Plan, which deductions shall be six
percent.
(c) The Higher Education Policy Commission and the governing
boards, with policy commission approval, may contract for a
supplemental retirement plan for any or all of their employees to
supplement the benefits the employees otherwise receive. The
governing boards and Higher Education Policy Commission may make
additional periodic deductions from the salary payments due the
employees in the amount they are required to contribute for the
supplemental retirement plan.
(d) The Higher Education Policy Commission shall conduct a
study of the feasibility of offering multiple vendors of retirement
products and services to be offered for the benefit of higher
education employees. The commission shall report the findings of
the study, along with a plan for offering multiple vendors for the
employees, to the Joint Committee on Pensions and Retirement no
later than the first day of December, two thousand one. Upon
approval by the Joint Committee on Pensions and Retirement, the commission shall provide a choice of vendors to their employees.
any selection of vendors made by the commission shall be determined
according to a request for proposal issued pursuant to the
provisions of section four, article five, chapter eighteen-b of
this code.
(e) Each governing board and the Higher Education Policy
Commission, by way of additional compensation to their employees,
shall pay an amount equal to the contributions of the employees
into the higher education retirement plan from funds appropriated
to the board or commission for personal services.
(f) Each participating employee has a full and immediate
vested interest in the retirement and death benefits accrued from
all the moneys paid into the Higher Education Retirement Plan or a
supplemental retirement plan for his or her benefit. Upon proper
requisition of a board or the Higher Education Policy Commission,
the auditor shall periodically issue a warrant, payable as
specified in the requisition, for the total contributions so
withheld from the salaries of all participating employees and for
the governing board's or Higher Education Policy Commission's
matching funds.
(g) Any person whose employment commences on or after the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one
, and who is
eligible to participate in the Higher Education Retirement Plan,
shall participate in that plan and is not eligible to participate
in any other state retirement system: Provided, That the foregoing provision does not apply to a person designated as a 21st Century
Learner Fellow pursuant to section eleven, article three, chapter
eighteen-a of this code. The additional retirement plan contracted
for by the governing boards prior to the
first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one
, remains in effect unless changed
by the Higher Education Policy Commission. Nothing in this section
may be construed to consider employees of the governing boards as
employees of the Higher Education Policy Commission, nor is the
Higher Education Policy Commission responsible or liable for
retirement benefits contracted by, or on behalf of, the governing
boards.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature in amending and
reenacting this section during its two thousand one regular session
solely to:
(1) Maintain the current retirement plans offered to state
higher education employees in their current form;
(2) Clarify that employees of the Higher Education Policy
Commission are participants in the higher education retirement
plan;
(3) Codify the current contribution levels of the governing
boards, the Higher Education Policy Commission and their employees
toward the present higher education retirement plan;
(4) Make mandatory the contribution levels of the governing
boards and Higher Education Policy Commission;
(5) Establish a standardized retirement policy for all state higher education employees as determined by the policy commission;
(6) Clarify the application and purposes of the additional and
supplemental retirement plans previously provided for in this
section; and
(7) Remove obsolete and archaic language.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-3. Renewal of certificates; permanent certification.
(a) Until the person qualifies for a permanent certificate,
any professional or first class certificate based upon a bachelor's
degree shall be renewable provided the holder within five years
from the date the certificate became valid:
(1) Files application on a prescribed form with the State
Department of Education;
(2) Presents an official transcript of six semester hours of
approved credit as may be prescribed by the state board;
(3) Successfully completes a beginning teacher internship
program, if applicable; and
(4) Submits a recommendation based on successful teaching
experience from the county superintendent of schools of the county
in which the holder last taught or resides.
(b) The holder of a professional certificate, valid for five
years, shall have the certificate made permanent upon meeting any of the following requirements:
(1) Completion of the second renewal, in accordance with the
provisions set forth in subsection (a) of this section; or
(2) After five years of service in the public schools,
presentation of a transcript showing the completion of requirements
for a master's degree from an institution of higher education
accredited to offer the master's degree and in a program relevant
to the public school program or completes the fifth year of
training leading to a bachelor's degree in library science from a
school fully approved by the American Library Association; or
(3) Receives certification through the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards.
(c) To satisfy any of the requirements of subsection (b) of
this section, the person must file application on a prescribed form
with the State Department of Education and must submit a
recommendation from the county superintendent of schools of the
county in which the person last taught or resides.
(d) All certificates and permits, other than the professional
certificate, shall be renewed in accordance with state board
regulations.
(e) If the applicant seeking renewal has cause to believe that
the county superintendent refuses to give a recommendation without
just cause, the applicant shall have the right, in such case, to
appeal to the State Superintendent of Schools whose responsibility
it shall be to investigate the matter and issue a certificate if, in the opinion of the state superintendent, the county
superintendent's recommendation was withheld arbitrarily.
(f) A person who has reached the age of sixty and holds a
renewable certificate, as provided in this section, need not
present renewal credit but shall meet all other renewal
requirements.
§18A-3-11. Fellowship for 21st Century Learners.
(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) There are instances, especially for the purpose of
professional development, where it would be beneficial for persons
who are members of the Teachers' Retirement System or the Teachers'
Defined Contribution System to be employed by state institutions of
higher education or research corporations;
(2) Members of the Teachers' Retirement System are discouraged
from terminating their membership to that system because their
annuity is based on their final average salary and their total
service credit;
(3) A member of the Teachers' Defined Contribution System may
be discouraged from terminating his or her membership to that
system because the member may be completely vested in that system
or have made substantial progress toward being vested;
(4) These members also are discouraged from leaving employment
that allows them to participate in the Public Employees Insurance
Program pursuant to article sixteen, chapter five of this code; and
(5) An example of this beneficial arrangement would be the employment of a member of the Teachers' Retirement System or a
member of the Teachers' Defined Contribution System by an entity
that otherwise would not be considered an employer under article
seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code or article seven-b, chapter
eighteen of this code for the purpose of working on a joint
professional development project between higher education and
public education.
(b) For the purposes of this section only, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Employer" means either the state institution of higher
education or the research corporation employing a 21st Century
Learner Fellow;
(2) "Research corporation" means a corporation meeting the
description set forth in section three, article twelve, chapter
eighteen-b of this code; and
(3) "State institution of higher education" means the same as
defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this
code.
(c) The State Superintendent is authorized to designate up to
twenty-five professional educators who are currently employed and
who are members of either the Teachers' Retirement System set forth
in article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code or the Teachers'
Defined Contribution System set forth in article seven-b, chapter
eighteen of this code as 21st Century Learner Fellows, subject to
the following:
(1) Before designating a person as a 21st Century Learner
Fellow, the State Superintendent shall consult with the state
institution of higher education or the research corporation that
would employ the member if designated;
(2) In determining whether or not to designate a person as a
21st Century Learner Fellow, the State Superintendent shall give
preference to a person who:
(A) Is certified by the National Board for Professional
Teaching Standards; and
(B) Demonstrates leadership within his or her content field in
the county, regional education service agency area or the State;
(3) The duration of the person's designation as a 21st Century
Learner Fellow shall be for the period in which the specific
project to be undertaken by the person will last as determined by
the State Superintendent at the time he or she designates the
person; and
(4) Only the employer may terminate the employment of a person
designated as a 21st Century Learner Fellow prior to the end of the
duration of the person's designation as set forth in subsection (3)
of this subsection.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, the professional educators designated as 21st Century
Learner Fellows may elect to remain a member of the retirement
system in which they were a member of immediately preceding their
designation while they are employed by either a state institution of higher education or a research corporation, subject to the
following:
(1) This authorization to remain a member of the retirement
system in which they were a member of immediately preceding their
designation only applies to authorization to remain a member of
either the Teachers' Retirement System set forth in article seven-
a, chapter eighteen of this code or to the Teachers' Defined
Contribution System set forth in article seven-b, chapter eighteen
of this code, but not both;
(2) Both the employer and the member each shall contribute
their share as required by article seven-a, chapter eighteen of
this code or article seven-b, chapter eighteen of this code, as
applicable;
(3) If a 21st Century Learner Fellow elects to remain a member
of either the Teachers' Retirement System set forth in article
seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code or the Teachers' Defined
Contribution System set forth in article seven-b, chapter eighteen
of this code, he or she may not participate in any retirement plan
offered by the employer; and
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the employer does not assume any liability for benefits
accrued by the 21st Century Learner Fellow while he or she was
employed by any other entity.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of code to the
contrary, each 21st Century Learner Fellow also qualifies as an employee for the purposes of being authorized to participate in the
Public Employees Insurance Program pursuant to article sixteen,
chapter five of this code and the state institution of higher
education or the research corporation, as applicable, shall be
considered an employer under that program, subject to the
following:
(1) The state institution of higher education or the research
corporation, as applicable, is not considered an employer with
respect to any employee other than a 21st Century Learner Fellow;
(2)
For any employee that elects to participate in the program
pursuant to this subdivision, the employer shall pay their share of
the premium and the employee shall pay his or her share of the
premium pursuant to article sixteen, chapter five of this code; and
(3)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the employer does not assume any liability for benefits
accrued by the 21st Century Learner Fellow while he or she was
employed by any other entity.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary:
(1) The employer is not responsible for any accrued annual
leave, sick leave or both that a 21st Century Learner Fellow has
accumulated during any prior employment; and
(2) If a 21st Century Learner Fellow has accumulated sick
leave from prior employment, and if not for this subsection that
sick leave obligation or any part of that obligation otherwise would have been transferred to the employer, after expending all
sick leave accrued with the employer, the 21st Century Learner may
expend the sick leave accumulated with the prior employer, and the
prior employer is responsible for paying the cost of the sick leave
expended by the 21st Century Learner Fellow at a rate equivalent to
the salary and benefits paid to the 21st Century Learner Fellow at
the time his or her employment with the prior employer ended.
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