COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4544
(By Campbell, Paxton, Williams, Poling,
Tabb, Spencer, Perry, Wysong and Beach)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[February 23, 2006]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3-3a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to reimbursement of teachers for
courses completed toward certification renewal and additional
endorsement; removing division between these areas of funds
appropriated for reimbursements; and limiting the number of
courses for which certain reimbursement may be paid per
certain period, year and lifetime.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-3a 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-3-3a. Payment of tuition, registration and other fees for
teachers; maximum payment per teacher.
(a) The West Virginia Department of Education shall promulgate
rules to administer the reimbursement of tuition, registration and
other required fees for course work completed by teachers in accordance with the provisions of this section. The rules shall
provide for reimbursement for courses completed toward both
certification renewal, and additional endorsement in a shortage
area.
(b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
have the meanings ascribed to them:
(1) "Teacher" has the meaning provided in section one, article
one, chapter eighteen of this code.
(2) "Shortage area" shall be defined by state board policy to
indicate the subject areas for which an insufficient number of
teachers are available.
(3) "Certification" and "certificate" mean a valid West
Virginia:
(A) Professional teaching, service or administrative
certificate, or its equivalent; or
(B) Provisional professional teaching, service or
administrative certificate, or its equivalent.
(4) "Requirements for certification renewal" are those
requirements of the State Department of Education as provided in
section three of this article.
(5) "Requirements for additional endorsement" are those
requirements of the State Department of Education as provided in
section three of this article.
(6) "State institution of higher education" has the meaning
provided in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this
code.
(c) To the extent of funds appropriated for the purposes
specified in this section, payment shall be made to any teacher
who:
(1) Holds either a valid West Virginia:
(A) Certificate; or
(B) First class permit for full-time employment; and
(2) Is seeking:
(A) An additional endorsement in a shortage area, and either
resides in the state or is employed regularly for instructional
purposes in a public school in the state; or
(B) Certification renewal, and has a continuing contract with
a county board.
(d) The payment shall be made as reimbursement for the
tuition, registration and other required fees for any course
completed at:
(1) Any college or university within the state; or
(2) A college or university outside the state if prior
approval is granted by the department.
(e) A course is eligible for reimbursement if it meets the
requirements for:
(1) An additional endorsement in a shortage area; or
(2) Certification renewal.
(f) In the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two
thousand two, funds appropriated for the purposes specified in this
section shall be disbursed evenly between courses completed toward
certification renewal and courses completed toward additional endorsement in a shortage area. Thereafter, funds shall be divided
between renewal and endorsement in the same proportion that the
number of applications for each was made toward the total number of
applications received, except that reimbursement toward either may
not exceed seventy-five percent of total funds appropriated.
(g) (f) Payment made for any single fee may not exceed the
amount of the highest corresponding fee charged at a state
institution of higher education.
(h) (g) Reimbursement for courses completed toward
certification renewal is limited to
reimbursement for six semester
hours of course work per teacher per certification renewal period
and fifteen semester hours of courses for any teacher,
per
lifetime.
(h) Reimbursement for courses completed toward certification
in a shortage area is limited to reimbursement for six semester
hours of course work per teacher per year, with no lifetime limit.
(i) The West Virginia Department of Education shall seek
funding from sources other than general revenue appropriation,
including, but not limited to, workforce investment funds.
(j) No provision of this section may be construed to require
any appropriation or any specific amount of appropriation for the
purposes specified in this section, or to require the department to
expend funds for those purposes from any other amounts appropriated
for expenditure by the department.