HB 4636 Text

H. B. 4636

(By Delegates Love, Fragale, Heck, Higgins,
Stewart, Walters and Willison)

(Originating in the Committee on Government Organization)

[February 28, 1994]

A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to continuing the center for professional development; changing compensation and expense reimbursement.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section one, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

§ 18A-3A-1. Center for professional development continued; intent; advisory council .

(a) Teaching is a profession that directly correlates to the social and economic well-being of a society and its citizens. Superior teaching is essential to a well educated and productive populace. The intent of this article is to recognize the value of professional involvement by experienced educators in building and maintaining a superior teaching force and to establish avenues for applying such involvement.

In furtherance of this intent, the center for professional development is ~~established~~ continued. The general mission of the center is to study matters relating to the quality of teaching and management in the schools of West Virginia and to promote the implementation of programs and practices to assure the highest quality in such teaching and management. The center shall also perform such duties as are assigned to it by law.
The center shall consist of nine persons as members: The secretary of education and the arts, ex officio; the state superintendent of schools, ex officio; one member of the state board of education, elected by the state board; two experienced educators, of whom one shall be a working classroom teacher, appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate; and four citizens of the state who are knowledgeable in matters relevant to the issues addressed by the center appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate. No two appointees shall be residents within the same region. The state superintendent of schools shall convene the first meeting of the center to elect a chair, vice chair and secretary.
The election and appointment of members shall be made as soon as possible after the effective date of this section. Of the initial appointed members, three shall be appointed for two-year terms and four shall be appointed for four-year terms. All successive appointments shall be for four-year terms.
The center for professional development shall meet at least quarterly, and the appointed members shall ~~be reimbursed for~~ ~~reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the~~ ~~performance of their official duties from funds appropriated or~~ ~~otherwise made available for such purposes upon submission of an~~ ~~itemized statement therefor.~~ receive the same compensation and expense reimbursement as is paid to members of the Legislature for their interim duties as recommended by the citizens legislative compensation commission and authorized by law for each day or portion thereof engaged in the discharge of official duties.
The center may employ and fix the compensation of an executive director and such other persons as may be necessary to carry out the mission and duties of the center. When practical, personnel employed by state higher education agencies and state, regional and county public education agencies shall be made available to the center to assist in the operation of projects of limited duration.
The center shall contract with existing agencies or agencies created after the effective date of this section or others to provide training programs in the most efficient manner. Existing programs currently based in agencies of the state shall be continued in the agency of their origin unless the center establishes a compelling need to transfer or cancel the existing program. The center shall recommend to the governor the transfer of funds to the providing agency, if needed, to provide programs approved by the center.
(b) To assist the center for professional development in the performance of its duties related to teacher education and professional development, there is ~~created~~ continued an advisory council on professional development which shall consist of eleven persons as follows: An employee of the center who shall chair the advisory council; two shall be professors, or associate or assistant professors, of teacher education, one from a public institution and one from a private institution of higher education in this state offering programs leading to certification to teach in the public schools of this state; two county school superintendents, one of whom shall be from a district with a student enrollment above the statewide average and one of whom shall be from a district with a student enrollment below such average; two school principals, one of whom shall be from a school including elementary grade levels and one of whom shall be from a school including secondary grade levels; and four professional instructional personnel, two of whom shall be from a school including elementary grade levels and two of whom shall be from a school including secondary grade levels. To the extent possible, the principals and instructional personnel shall be appointed from the members of county staff development councils. Except for the employee of the center, the members shall be appointed jointly by the secretary of education and the arts and the state superintendent for two-year terms which overlap so that one member from each of the classes shall be appointed in each successive year, except that two members from the professional instructional personnel class shall be appointed in each successive year. No two members of the council shall be from the same college or university or school district. Members of the council shall be granted release time from their employment for attending meetings of the council.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code, the center for professional development and advisory council shall continue to exist until the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, to allow for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the joint committee on government operations.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to continue the center for professional development and advisory council until July 1, 1995, to allow for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the Joint Committee on Government Operations, pursuant to West Virginia's sunset law. Compensation and expense reimbursement of members of the center for professional development is changed to equal that paid to members of the Legislature for their interim duties.

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