Enrolled Version - Final Version
House Bill 4593 History
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ENROLLED
H. B. 4593
(By
Delegates Stowers, Perry, M. Poling, Paxton
,
D. Walker and Duke)
[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect July 1, 2010.]
AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18-8-6; to amend and
reenact §18-8-1, §18-8-1a and §18-8-4 of said code; to amend
and reenact §18-9A-21 of said code; and to amend and reenact
§62-15-4 of said code, all relating to improving student
participation, success and high school graduation rates;
increasing the minimum age for ending compulsory school
attendance; reducing the number of days of unexcused absences
at which proceedings to enforce attendance begin; establishing
the "High School Graduation Improvement Act"; establishing
legislative findings and intent; requiring county board of
education plan for improving student retention and increasing
graduation rate; requiring state board of education to
develop, expand and assist certain programs; requiring certain
state superintendent reports to Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability; increasing funding for
alternative education programs; and authorizing establishment of additional juvenile drug courts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-8-6; that §18-8-1,
§18-8-1a and §18-8-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that
§18-9A-21 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §62-15-4
of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
§18-8-1. Compulsory school attendance; exemptions.
(a) Exemption from the requirements of compulsory public
school attendance established in section one-a of this article
shall be made on behalf of any child for the causes or conditions
set forth in this section. Each cause or condition set forth in
this section is subject to confirmation by the attendance authority
of the county.
(b) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to instruction in a
private, parochial or other approved school, are met. The
instruction shall be in a school approved by the county board and
for a time equal to the instructional term set forth in section
forty-five, article five of this chapter. In all private, parochial
or other schools approved pursuant to this subsection it is the
duty of the principal or other person in control, upon the request
of the county superintendent, to furnish to the county board such
information and records as may be required with respect to attendance, instruction and progress of students enrolled.
(c) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of either subdivision (1) or subdivision (2) of this
subsection, both relating to home instruction, are met.
(1) The instruction shall be in the home of the child or
children or at some other place approved by the county board and
for a time equal to the instructional term set forth in section
forty-five, article five of this chapter. If the request for home
instruction is denied by the county board, good and reasonable
justification for the denial shall be furnished in writing to the
applicant by the county board. The instruction shall be conducted
by a person or persons who, in the judgment of the county
superintendent and county board, are qualified to give instruction
in subjects required to be taught in public elementary schools in
the state. The person or persons providing the instruction, upon
request of the county superintendent, shall furnish to the county
board information and records as may be required periodically with
respect to attendance, instruction and progress of students
receiving the instruction. The state board shall develop guidelines
for the home schooling of special education students including
alternative assessment measures to assure that satisfactory
academic progress is achieved.
(2) The child meets the requirements set forth in this
subdivision: Provided, That the county superintendent may seek from
the circuit court of the county an order denying home instruction of the child. The order may be granted upon a showing of clear and
convincing evidence that the child will suffer neglect in his or
her education or that there are other compelling reasons to deny
home instruction.
(A) Annually, the person or persons providing home instruction
shall present to the county superintendent or county board a notice
of intent to provide home instruction and the name, address, age
and grade level of any child of compulsory school age to be
instructed: Provided, That if a child is enrolled in a public
school, notice of intent to provide home instruction shall be given
at least two weeks prior to withdrawing the child from public
school;
(B) The person or persons providing home instruction shall
submit satisfactory evidence of a high school diploma or
equivalent;
(C) The person or persons providing home instruction shall
outline a plan of instruction for the ensuing school year; and
(D) On or before June 30 annually, the person or persons
providing home instruction shall obtain an academic assessment of
the child for the previous school year and submit the results to
the county superintendent. When the academic assessment takes
place outside of a public school, the parent or legal guardian
shall pay the cost. The requirement of an academic assessment is
satisfied in one of the following ways:
(i) The child receiving home instruction takes a nationally
normed standardized achievement test to be administered under standardized conditions as set forth by the published instructions
of the selected test in the subjects of reading, language,
mathematics, science and social studies. The child's parent or
legal guardian may not administer the test in any event. The
publication date of the chosen test may not be more than ten years
from the date the test is administered. The child is considered to
have made acceptable progress when the mean of the child's test
results in the required subject areas for any single year meets or
exceeds the fiftieth percentile or, if below the fiftieth
percentile, shows improvement from the previous year's results;
(ii) The child participates in the testing program currently
in use in the state's public schools. The test shall be
administered to the child at a public school in the county of
residence. Determination of acceptable progress shall be based on
current guidelines of the state testing program;
(iii) The county superintendent is provided with a written
narrative indicating that a portfolio of samples of the child's
work has been reviewed and that the child's academic progress for
the year is in accordance with the child's abilities. If the
narrative indicates that the child's academic progress for the year
is in accordance with the child's abilities, the child is
considered to have made acceptable progress. This narrative shall
be prepared by a certified teacher whose certification number shall
be provided. The narrative shall include a statement about the
child's progress in the areas of reading, language, mathematics,
science and social studies and shall note any areas which, in the professional opinion of the reviewer, show need for improvement or
remediation; or
(iv) The child completes an alternative academic assessment of
proficiency that is mutually agreed upon by the parent or legal
guardian and the county superintendent. Criteria for acceptable
progress shall be mutually agreed upon by the same parties; and
(E) When the annual assessment fails to show acceptable
progress as defined under the appropriate assessment option set
forth in paragraph (D) of this subdivision, the person or persons
providing home instruction shall initiate a remedial program to
foster acceptable progress. The county board shall notify the
parents or legal guardian of the child, in writing, of the services
available to assist in the assessment of the child's eligibility
for special education services. Identification of a disability
does not preclude the continuation of home schooling. In the event
that the child does not achieve acceptable progress as defined
under the appropriate assessment option set forth in paragraph (D)
of this subdivision for a second consecutive year, the person or
persons providing instruction shall submit to the county
superintendent additional evidence that appropriate instruction is
being provided.
(3) This subdivision applies to both home instruction
exemptions set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this
subsection. The county superintendent or a designee shall offer
such assistance, including textbooks, other teaching materials and
available resources, all subject to availability, as may assist the person or persons providing home instruction. Any child receiving
home instruction may upon approval of the county board exercise the
option to attend any class offered by the county board as the
person or persons providing home instruction may consider
appropriate subject to normal registration and attendance
requirements.
(d) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to physical or mental
incapacity, are met. Physical or mental incapacity consists of
incapacity for school attendance and the performance of school
work. In all cases of prolonged absence from school due to
incapacity of the child to attend, the written statement of a
licensed physician or authorized school nurse is required.,
Incapacity shall be narrowly defined and in any case the provisions
of this article may not allow for the exclusion of the mentally,
physically, emotionally or behaviorally handicapped child otherwise
entitled to a free appropriate education.
(e) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if
conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to
the life, health or safety of the child exist.
(f) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article upon regular
graduation from a standard senior high school or alternate
secondary program completion as determined by the state board.
(g) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
child is granted a work permit pursuant to the subsection. After
due investigation the county superintendent may grant work permits
to youths under the termination age designated in section one-a of
this article, subject to state and federal labor laws and
regulations. A work permit may not be granted on behalf of any
youth who has not completed the eighth grade of school.
(h) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if a serious
illness or death in the immediate family of the child has occurred.
It is expected that the county attendance director will ascertain
the facts in all cases of such absences about which information is
inadequate and report the facts to the county superintendent.
(i) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to destitution in the
home, are met. Exemption based on a condition of extreme
destitution in the home may be granted only upon the written
recommendation of the county attendance director to the county
superintendent following careful investigation of the case. A copy
of the report confirming the condition and school exemption shall
be placed with the county director of public assistance. This
enactment contemplates every reasonable effort that may properly be
taken on the part of both school and public assistance authorities
for the relief of home conditions officially recognized as being so destitute as to deprive children of the privilege of school
attendance. Exemption for this cause is not allowed when the
destitution is relieved through public or private means.
(j) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to church ordinances and
observances of regular church ordinances, are met. The county
board may approve exemption for religious instruction upon written
request of the person having legal or actual charge of a child or
children. This exemption is subject to the rules prescribed by the
county superintendent and approved by the county board.
(k) A child is exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in section one-a of this article if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to alternative private,
parochial, church or religious school instruction, are met.
Exemption shall be made for any child attending any private school,
parochial school, church school, school operated by a religious
order or other nonpublic school which elects to comply with the
provisions of article twenty-eight of this chapter.
(l) Completion of the eighth grade does not exempt any child
under the termination age designated in section one-a of this
article from the compulsory attendance provision of this article.
§18-8-1a. Commencement and termination of compulsory school
attendance; public school entrance requirements;
exceptions.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of this
article, compulsory school attendance begins with the school year
in which the sixth birthday is reached prior to September 1 of such
year or upon enrolling in a publicly supported kindergarten program
and, subject to subdivision (3) of this subsection, continues to
the sixteenth birthday or for as long as the student continues to
be enrolled in a school system after the sixteenth birthday.
(1) A child may be removed from such kindergarten program when
the principal, teacher and parent or guardian concur that the best
interest of the child would not be served by requiring further
attendance: Provided, That the principal shall make the final
determination with regard to compulsory school attendance in a
publicly supported kindergarten program.
(2) The compulsory school attendance provision of this article
shall be enforced against a person eighteen years of age or older
for as long as the person continues to be enrolled in a school
system, and may not be enforced against the parent, guardian, or
custodian of the person.
(3) Beginning with the 2011-2012 high school freshman cohort
class of students, and notwithstanding the provisions of section
one of this article, compulsory school attendance begins with the
school year in which the sixth birthday is reached prior to
September 1 of such year or upon enrolling in a publicly supported
kindergarten program and continues to the seventeenth birthday or
for as long as the student continues to be enrolled in a school
system after the seventeenth birthday.
(4) Beginning with the December 2010 interim meeting period,
and semiannually thereafter, the state superintendent shall report
to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability
on the impact of the increased age requirement of subdivision (3)
of this subsection, and the progress of the state board and the
county boards in implementing the requirements of section six of
this article.
(b) Attendance at a state-approved or Montessori kindergarten,
as provided in section eighteen, article five of this chapter, is
deemed school attendance for purposes of this section. Prior to
entrance into the first grade in accordance with section five,
article two of this chapter, each child must have either:
(1) Successfully completed such publicly or privately
supported, state-approved kindergarten program or Montessori
kindergarten program; or
(2) Successfully completed an entrance test of basic readiness
skills approved by the county in which the school is located. The
test may be administered in lieu of kindergarten attendance only
under extraordinary circumstances to be determined by the county
board.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and of
section five, article two of this chapter and section eighteen,
article five of this chapter, a county board may provide for
advanced entrance or placement under policies adopted by said board
for any child who has demonstrated sufficient mental and physical
competency for such entrance or placement.
(d) This section does not prevent a student from another state
from enrolling in the same grade in a public school in West
Virginia as the student was enrolled at the school from which the
student transferred.
§18-8-4. Duties of attendance director and assistant directors;
complaints, warrants and hearings.
(a) The county attendance director and the assistants shall
diligently promote regular school attendance. The director and
assistants shall:
(1) Ascertain reasons for inexcusable absences from school of
students of compulsory school age and students who remain enrolled
beyond the compulsory school age as defined under section one-a of
this article; and
(2) Take such steps as are, in their discretion, best
calculated to correct attitudes of parents and students which
result in absences from school even though not clearly in violation
of law.
(b) In the case of five total unexcused absences of a student
during a school year, the attendance director or assistant shall:
(1) Serve written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian
of the student that the attendance of the student at school is
required and that within ten days of receipt of the notice the
parent, guardian or custodian, accompanied by the student, shall
report in person to the school the student attends for a conference
with the principal or other designated representative of the school
in order to discuss and correct the circumstances causing the inexcusable absences of the student; and if the parent, guardian or
custodian does not comply with the provisions of this article, then
the attendance director or assistant shall make complaint against
the parent, guardian or custodian before a magistrate of the
county. If it appears from the complaint that there is probable
cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the
accused has committed it, a summons or a warrant for the arrest of
the accused shall issue to any officer authorized by law to serve
the summons or to arrest persons charged with offenses against the
state. More than one parent, guardian or custodian may be charged
in a complaint. Initial service of a summons or warrant issued
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be attempted
within ten calendar days of receipt of the summons or warrant and
subsequent attempts at service shall continue until the summons or
warrant is executed or until the end of the school term during
which the complaint is made, whichever is later.
(c) The magistrate court clerk, or the clerk of the circuit
court performing the duties of the magistrate court as authorized
in section eight, article one, chapter fifty of this code, shall
assign the case to a magistrate within ten days of execution of the
summons or warrant. The hearing shall be held within twenty days
of the assignment to the magistrate, subject to lawful continuance.
The magistrate shall provide to the accused at least ten days'
advance notice of the date, time and place of the hearing.
(d) When any doubt exists as to the age of a student absent
from school, the attendance director has authority to require a properly attested birth certificate or an affidavit from the
parent, guardian or custodian of the student, stating age of the
student. In the performance of his or her duties, the county
attendance director has authority to take without warrant any
student absent from school in violation of the provisions of this
article and to place the student in the school in which he or she
is or should be enrolled.
(e) The county attendance director shall devote such time as
is required by section three of this article to the duties of
attendance director in accordance with this section during the
instructional term and at such other times as the duties of an
attendance director are required. All attendance directors hired
for more than two hundred days may be assigned other duties
determined by the superintendent during the period in excess of two
hundred days. The county attendance director is responsible under
direction of the county superintendent for efficiently
administering school attendance in the county.
(f) In addition to those duties directly relating to the
administration of attendance, the county attendance director and
assistant directors also shall perform the following duties:
(1) Assist in directing the taking of the school census to see
that it is taken at the time and in the manner provided by law;
(2) Confer with principals and teachers on the comparison of
school census and enrollment for the detection of possible
nonenrollees;
(3) Cooperate with existing state and federal agencies charged with enforcing child labor laws;
(4) Prepare a report for submission by the county
superintendent to the State Superintendent of Schools on school
attendance, at such times and in such detail as may be required.
The state board shall promulgate a legislative rule pursuant to
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that sets forth
student absences that are excluded for accountability purposes.
The absences that are excluded by the rule include, but are not be
limited to, excused student absences, students not in attendance
due to disciplinary measures and absent students for whom the
attendance director has pursued judicial remedies to compel
attendance to the extent of his or her authority. The attendance
director shall file with the county superintendent and county board
at the close of each month a report showing activities of the
school attendance office and the status of attendance in the county
at the time;
(5) Promote attendance in the county by compiling data for
schools and by furnishing suggestions and recommendations for
publication through school bulletins and the press, or in such
manner as the county superintendent may direct;
(6) Participate in school teachers' conferences with parents
and students;
(7) Assist in such other ways as the county superintendent may
direct for improving school attendance;
(8) Make home visits of students who have excessive unexcused
absences, as provided above, or if requested by the chief administrator, principal or assistant principal; and
(9) Serve as the liaison for homeless children and youth.
§18-8-6. The High School Graduation Improvement Act.
(a) This section is known and may be cited as "The High School
Graduation Improvement Act."
(b) The Legislature makes the following findings:
(1) West Virginia has a dire need to implement a comprehensive
approach to addressing the high school drop-out crisis, and to
develop policies and strategies that successfully assist at-risk
students to stay in school, earn a high school diploma, and
ultimately become productively contributing members of society;
(2) The current demands for a highly skilled workforce require
a high school diploma at the very minimum;
(3) The state has several dynamic programs that are capable of
actively engaging students in learning, providing students with a
sense of relevancy in academics, and motivating students to succeed
in school and ultimately earn a high school diploma;
(4) Raising the compulsory school attendance age alone will
neither increase the graduation rate nor decrease the drop-out
rate. It is imperative that the state shift the focus from merely
compelling students to attend school to instead providing vibrant
and engaging programs that allow students to recognize the value of
a high school diploma or workforce credential and inspire students
to graduate from high school, especially those students who are at
risk of dropping out of school;
(5) Investing financially in this focus shift will result in the need for fewer resources to be committed to enforcing
compulsory attendance laws and fewer incidents of disruptive
student behavior;
(6) Absenteeism is proven to be the highest predictor of
course failure. Truant students face low self-confidence in their
ability to succeed in school because their absences cause them to
fall behind their classmates, and the students find dropping out
easier than catching up;
(7) There is a strong relationship between truancy and
dropping out of high school. Frequent absences are one of the most
common indicators that a student is disengaging from the learning
process and likely to drop out of school early. Intervention after
fewer absences is likely to have a positive impact on a student's
persistence to graduation;
(8) Students cite many reasons for dropping out of school,
some of which include engaging in drug culture, lack of positive
influence, role model or parental involvement, absence of
boundaries and direction, lack of a positive home environment, peer
pressure, and poor community expectations;
(9) Dropping out of school has a profound negative impact on
an individual's future, resulting in limited job choices,
substantially lower wages and less earned over a life-time than
high school graduates, and a greater likelihood of depending on
public assistance and engaging in criminal activity;
(10) Career-technical education is a dynamic system in West
Virginia which offers numerous concentrations that provide students with industry-recognized credentials, while also preparing them for
post-secondary education;
(11) All career-technical education students in the state have
an opportunity to earn free college credit through the Earn a
Degree-Graduate Early (EDGE) program;
(12) The current high school graduation rate for secondary
career-technical education completers is significantly higher than
the state graduation rate;
(13) Students involved in career-technical education learn a
marketable skill, are likely to find jobs, and become prepared for
post-secondary education;
(14) A significant number of students who could benefit from
participating in a career-technical program are denied access due
to a number of factors, such as dropping out of high school prior
to enrolling in career-technical education, requirements that
students repeat academic courses that they have failed, and
scheduling conflicts with the high schools;
(15) There has been a dramatic change over the years from
vocational education, which was very basic and lacked high level
skills, to the career-technical programs of today which are
computer based, require national tests and certification, and often
result in jobs with high salaries;
(16) West Virginia's employers and technical education job
placement rates show that the state needs graduates with technical
skills to compete in the current and future job markets;
(17) The job placement rate for students graduating from career-technical programs statewide is greater than ninety-five
percent;
(18) Among the reasons students cite for dropping out of
school are feelings of hopelessness when they have failed classes
and can not recover credits in order to graduate;
(19) The state offers full-day programs consisting of credit
recovery, hands on experiences in career-technical programs and
basic education, which are valuable resources for re-engaging
students who have dropped out of school, or have a potential for or
are at risk of dropping out;
(20) A student is significantly more likely to graduate from
high school if he or she completes four units of training in
technical education;
(21) Learning is increased and retained at a higher level if
the content is taught through a relevant and applied experience,
and students who are able to experience academics through real life
projects have a higher probability of mastering the appropriate
concepts;
(22) Programs such as "GED Option" and "Techademics" are
valuable resources for providing relevant and applied experience
for students;
(23) The Techademics programs administered by the department
of education has embedded math competencies in career-technical
program curricula whereby students simultaneously earn credit for
mastery of math competencies and career-technical courses;
(24) Students would greatly benefit if West Virginia were designated as a "GED Option" state. Currently a student is
ineligible to take the General Educational Development (GED) exam
if he or she is enrolled in school, which requires the student to
drop out of high school in order to participate in a GED
preparation program or take the exam, even if the student desires
to remain enrolled;
(25) A GED Option state designation by the American Council on
Education would allow students in this state to remain enrolled in
school and continue acquiring academic and career-technical credits
while pursuing a GED diploma. The GED Option would be blended with
the West Virginia virtual schools or a career-technical education
pathway. Upon completion, rather than being a dropout, the student
would have a GED diploma and a certification in the chosen career-
technical or virtual school pathway;
(26) The Mountaineer Challenge Academy is a positive option
for students at risk of dropping out of school, as it provides
students with structure, stability, and a focus on positive change,
all in an environment where negative influences and distractions
can be left behind;
(27) Students attending the Mountaineer Challenge Academy
would greatly benefit if the GED Option were implemented at the
Academy;
(28) The Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) program
prepares rural, minority and economically disadvantaged students
for college and careers in the health sciences, and demonstrates
tremendous success in its high percentage of students who graduate from high school and participate in post-secondary education.
(29) The West Virginia GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) program is aimed at
increasing the academic performance and rigorous preparation of
students, increasing the number of high-poverty, at-risk students
who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education,
and increasing the high school graduation rate;
(30) The GEAR UP program successfully aids students in
planning, applying and paying for education and training beyond
high school;
(31) Each dropout involved in drugs or crime or dependent on
public assistance creates a huge fiscal burden on society;
(32) The intense treatment and individual monitoring provided
through the state's juvenile drug courts have proven to be highly
effective in treating drug addictions, and rehabilitating drug
addicted youth and improving their educational outcomes;
(33) Services provided by juvenile drug courts include
substance abuse treatment, intervention, assessment, juvenile and
family counseling, heavy supervision by probation officers
including school-based probation officers who provide early
intervention and diversion services, and addressing some of the
underlying reasons why students are not successful in school;
(34) School participation and attendance are required for
students participating in juvenile drug courts, and along with
academic progress are closely monitored by the courts;
(35) Juvenile drug courts are an important strategy to improve substance abuse treatment outcomes, and serve to save the state
significant cost on incarceration of the juveniles, along with the
future costs to society of individuals who remain substance
abusers;
(36) Juvenile drug courts produce greater cost benefits than
other strategies that address criminal activity related to
substance abuse and addiction that bring individuals into the
criminal justice system;
(37) Funding for the increased number of students enrolled in
school during the 2010-2011 school year due to the compulsory
school attendance age increase established by this act will not be
reflected in the state aid formula allocation until the 2011-2012
school year, which will require additional funds to be provided to
county boards for the 2010-2011 school year to accommodate the
increased enrollment;
(38) The state will benefit both fiscally and through improved
quality of life if scarce state resources are targeted toward
programs that result in providing a competitive advantage as adults
for those students who are at risk of dropping out of school;
(39) Funds invested toward education and ensuring that
students complete high school pay tremendous dividends through the
moneys saved on incarceration, unemployment and underemployment as
those students reach adulthood; and
(40) Increasing the compulsory school attendance age will have
little effect in aiding students to complete high school if
additional resources, both fiscal and programmatic, are not dedicated to supporting student achievement, providing real-life
relevancy in curriculum, and engaging students in learning,
particularly for those students who have become so disengaged from
school and learning that they are at risk of dropping out of
school.
(c) The Legislature intends as follows:
(1) The state will continue to explore diverse instructional
delivery strategies to accommodate various learning styles and will
focus on a state-wide dropout intervention and prevention program
to provide support for students having academic difficulty;
(2) A general credit recovery program shall be implemented
statewide, including delivery through West Virginia virtual
schools;
(3) The state board will continue to improve the way career-
technical education is offered, including expansion of the
Techademics program;
(4) Up to five additional juvenile drug courts shall be
established by January 1, 2012;
(5) The state will invest additional state funds and other
resources in strategies and programs that engage disconnected and
discouraged students in a positive learning environment as a
critical first step to ensuring that students persist and graduate;
and
(6) County boards will develop plans to demonstrate how they
will use available funds to implement the intent of this section.
(d) Each county board shall include in its alternative education program plan required by section six, article two, of
this chapter a plan to improve student retention and increase the
graduation rate in the county. The plan is subject to approval of
the state board, and shall include strategies the county board will
implement to achieve the following goals:
(1) Increasing the graduation rate for the county;
(2) Identifying at the earliest age possible those students
who are at risk of dropping out of school prior to graduation; and
(3) Providing additional options for delivering to at-risk
students academic credentials and career-technical training if
appropriate or desired by the student. The options may include
such programs as Techademics, Earn a Degree-Graduate Early (EDGE),
Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), Gaining Early
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP),
truancy diversion, early intervention, dropout prevention,
prevention resource officers, GED option, credit recovery,
alternative learning environments, or any other program or strategy
approved by the state board.
(e) As soon as is practicable the state superintendent or his
or her designee shall pursue designation of West Virginia as a "GED
Option" state by the American Council on Education. If so
designated, the state board shall:
(1) Develop and implement a program whereby a student may
pursue a GED diploma while remaining enrolled in high school; and
(2) Ensure that the GED Option is offered to students
attending the Mountaineer Challenge Academy.
(f) The state board shall continue to expand:
(1) The Techademics program to include each major academic
subject and increase the academic credit available through the
program to students; and
(2) The Health Sciences and Technology Academy to ensure that
the program is available for any school containing any of the grade
levels of eligible students.
(g) The state board shall ensure that the dropout information
required by section twenty-four, article one-b, chapter fifteen of
this code is provided annually to the Mountaineer Challenge
Academy.
(h) Some career and technical education programs only except
students in certain upper high school grade levels due to lack of
capacity to accept the students in the lower high school grade
levels. This can be detrimental to efforts to keep students
identified as at risk of dropping out of school prior to graduation
in school. Therefore, those career and technical education programs
that only students in certain upper high school grade levels to
enroll may make exceptions for those at risk students and enroll
any of those at risk students who are in grades nine and above.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-21. Funding for alternative education programs.
(a) An appropriation may be made to the state department to be
distributed to county boards for the operation of alternative
education and prevention programs established in accordance with
policies and procedures adopted by the state board under section six, article two of this chapter. The appropriation shall be an
amount equal to eighteen dollars per student in net enrollment,
subject to appropriation by the Legislature. The state board shall
distribute ninety-eight percent of the total appropriation to the
county boards proportionate to each county's net enrollment. The
remaining two percent of the appropriation shall be retained by the
state department to support the provision of services to the county
boards in administering programs established in accordance with
policies and procedures adopted by the state board under section
six, article two of this chapter.
(b) Nothing in this section may be construed to require any
specific level of funding by the Legislature.
(c) The increase from $12 per student in net enrollment to $18
per student in net enrollment pursuant to the amendment and
enactment of this section during the 2010 regular session of the
Legislature is not subject to the provisions of section three-a.
ARTICLE 15. DRUG OFFENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND TREATMENT ACT.
§62-15-4. Court authorization and structure.
(a) Each judicial circuit or two or more adjoining judicial
circuits may establish a drug court or regional drug court program
under which drug offenders will be processed to address
appropriately, the identified substance abuse problem as a
condition of pretrial release, probation, incarceration, parole or
other release from a correctional facility.
(b) The structure, method, and operation of each drug court
program may differ and should be based upon the specific needs of and resources available to the judicial circuit or circuits where
the drug court program is located.
(c) A drug court program may be preadjudication or post-
adjudication for an adult offender.
(d) Participation in drug court, with the consent of the
prosecution and the court, shall be pursuant to a written
agreement.
(e) A drug court may grant reasonable incentives under the
written agreement if it finds that the drug offender:
(1) Is performing satisfactorily in drug court;
(2) Is benefitting from education, treatment and
rehabilitation;
(3) Has not engaged in criminal conduct; or
(4) Has not violated the terms and conditions of the
agreement.
(f) A drug court may impose reasonable sanctions on the drug
offender, including incarceration for the underlying offense or
expulsion from the program, pursuant to the written agreement, if
it finds that the drug offender:
(1) Is not performing satisfactorily in drug court;
(2) Is not benefitting from education, treatment or
rehabilitation;
(3) Has engaged in conduct rendering him or her unsuitable for
the program;
(4) Has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the
agreement; or
(5) Is for any reason unable to participate.
(g) Upon successful completion of drug court, a drug
offender's case shall be disposed of by the judge in the manner
prescribed by the agreement and by the applicable policies and
procedures adopted by the drug court. This may include, but is not
limited to, withholding criminal charges, dismissal of charges,
probation, deferred sentencing, suspended sentencing, split
sentencing, or a reduced period of incarceration.
(h) Drug court shall include the Ten Key Components and the
drug court team shall act to ensure compliance with them.
(i) Nothing contained in this article confers a right or an
expectation of a right to participate in a drug court nor does it
obligate a drug court to accept every drug offender.
(j) Neither the establishment of a drug court nor anything
herein may be construed as limiting the discretion of the
jurisdiction's prosecutor to act on any criminal case which he or
she deems advisable to prosecute.
(k) Each drug court judge may establish rules and may make
special orders as necessary that do not conflict with rules and
orders promulgated by the Supreme Court of Appeals which has
administrative authority over the courts. The Supreme Court of
Appeals shall provide uniform referral, procedure and order forms
that shall be used in all drug courts in this state.
(l) In addition to the number of juvenile drug courts
operating on the effective date of this section, up to five
additional juvenile drug courts or regional juvenile drug court programs may be established by January 1, 2012, as determined by
the Supreme Court of Appeals.