Senate Bill No. 315
(By Senators Jones, Lucht, Wagner, Chafin,
Dalton, Bailey, Schoonover and Humphreys)
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[Introduced February 10, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eighteen-a, article five,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact sections four and five-a, article nine-a of said
chapter, all relating to maximum teacher-pupil ratios;
accelerating implementation of reduced student-teacher
ratios; changing current law to provide that in the year one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five instead of the year one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six teachers may not have more
than the prescribed ratio instead of one pupil above the
ratio; setting forth a progressively smaller student-teacher
ratio schedule for first, second and third grades through
the year two thousand one; and setting new net and adjusted
enrollment limits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eighteen-a, article five, chapter eighteen ofthe code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that sections four and
five-a, article nine-a of said chapter be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18a. Maximum teacher-pupil ratio.
County boards of education shall provide, by the school year
one thousand nine hundred eighty-three--eighty-four, and
thereafter, sufficient personnel, equipment and facilities as
will ensure that each first and second grade classroom, or
classrooms having two or more grades that include either the
first or second grades shall not have more than twenty-five
pupils for each teacher of the grade or grades and shall not have
more than twenty pupils for each kindergarten teacher per
session, unless the state superintendent has excepted a specific
classroom upon application therefor by a county board.
County boards shall provide by the school year one thousand
nine hundred eighty-four--eighty-five, and continue thereafter,
sufficient personnel, equipment and facilities as will ensure
that each third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade classroom, or
classrooms having two or more grades that include one or more of
the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, shall not have more
than twenty-five pupils for each teacher of the grade or grades.
Beginning with the school year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-six--eighty-seven, and thereafter, no county shall
maintain a greater number of classrooms having two or more gradesthat include one or more of the grade levels referred to in this
section than were in existence in said county as of the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred eighty-three:
Provided,
That for the prior school years, and only if there is
insufficient classroom space available in the school or county,
a county may maintain one hundred ten percent of such number of
classrooms.
During the school year one thousand nine hundred eighty-
four--eighty-five, and thereafter, the state superintendent is
authorized, consistent with sound educational policy, (a) to
permit on a statewide basis, in grades four through six, more
than twenty-five pupils per teacher in a classroom for the
purposes of instruction in physical education, and (b) to permit
more than twenty pupils per teacher in a specific kindergarten
classroom and twenty-five pupils per teacher in a specific
classroom in grades one through six during a school year in the
event of extraordinary circumstances as determined by the state
superintendent after application by a county board of education.
The state board shall establish guidelines for the
exceptions authorized in this section, but in no event shall the
superintendent except classrooms having more than three pupils
above the pupil-teacher ratio as set forth in this section.
The requirement for approval of an exception to exceed the
twenty pupils per kindergarten teacher per session limit or the
twenty-five pupils per teacher limit in grades one through six is
waived in schools where the schoolwide pupil-teacher ratio istwenty-five or less in grades one through six:
Provided,
That a
teacher shall not have more than three pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section. Any
kindergarten teacher who has more than twenty pupils per session
and any classroom teacher of grades one through six who has more
than twenty-five pupils shall be paid additional compensation
based on the affected classroom teacher's average daily salary
divided by twenty for kindergarten teachers or twenty-five for
teachers of grades one through six for every day times the number
of additional pupils enrolled up to the maximum pupils permitted
in the teacher's classroom. All such additional compensation
shall be paid from county funds exclusively.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, commencing with the school year beginning on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, a teacher in
grades one, two or three or classrooms having two one or more
such grade levels, shall not have more than two pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section:
Provided,
further, That commencing with the school year beginning on the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, such
teacher shall not have more than one pupil above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section: Provided,
however, That commencing with the school year beginning on the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six ninety-
five, such teacher shall not have any pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section. Commencingwith the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the maximum teacher-pupil ratio
for the first, second and third grades may not be more than
twenty-three pupils for each teacher. Commencing with the school
year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-seven, the maximum teacher-pupil ratio for such
grades may not be more than twenty-one pupils for each teacher.
Commencing with the school year beginning on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, the maximum
teacher-pupil ratio for such grades may not be more than nineteen
pupils for each teacher. Commencing with the school year
beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, the maximum teacher-pupil ratio for such grades may
not be more than seventeen pupils for each teacher. Commencing
with the school year beginning on the first day of July, two
thousand one, the maximum teacher-pupil ratio for such grades may
not be more than fifteen pupils for each teacher. No provision
of this section is intended to limit the number of pupils per
teacher in a classroom for the purpose of instruction in choral,
band or orchestra music.
Each school principal shall assign students equitably among
the classroom teachers, taking into consideration reasonable
differences due to subject areas and/or grade levels.
The state board shall collect from each county board of
education information on class size and the number of pupils per
teacher for all classes in grades seven through twelve. Thestate board shall report such information to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability before the first
day of January of each year.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional educators.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for
professional educators shall be the amount of money required to
pay the state minimum salaries, in accordance with provisions of
article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, to the personnel
employed:
Provided,
That in making this computation no county
shall receive an allowance for the personnel which number is in
excess of educators fifty-three and one-half professional
educators to each one thousand students in adjusted enrollment:
Provided, however, That commencing on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, no county may receive such
an allowance in excess of fifty-four and six one hundredths
professional educators to each one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment. Commencing on the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-seven, no county may receive such an
allowance in excess of fifty-four and seventy-four one hundredths
professional educators to each one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment. Commencing on the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-eight, no county may receive such an
allowance in excess of fifty-five and fifty-five one hundredths
professional educators to each one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment. Commencing on the first day of July, one thousandnine hundred ninety-nine, no county may receive such an allowance
in excess of fifty-six and fifty-six one hundredths professional
educators to each one thousand students in adjusted enrollment.
Commencing on the first day of July, two thousand one, no county
may receive such an allowance in excess of fifty-seven and
eighty-three one hundredths professional educators to each one
thousand students in adjusted enrollment:
Provided however
further,
That any county not qualifying under the provision of
section fourteen of this article is eligible for a growth rate
in professional personnel in any one year not to exceed twenty
percent of its total potential increase under this provision,
except that in no case shall the limit be fewer than five
professionals:
And provided further,
That the number of and the
allowance for personnel paid in part by state and county funds
shall be prorated:
And provided further,
That where two or more
counties join together in support of a vocational or
comprehensive high school or any other program or service, the
professional educators for the school or program may be prorated
among the participating counties on the basis of each one's
enrollment therein and that the personnel shall be considered
within the above-stated limit:
And provided further,
That in the
school year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, and in each school year thereafter, each
county board shall establish and maintain a minimum ratio of
fifty professional instructional personnel per one thousand
students in adjusted enrollment:
And provided further,
That nopermanent substitute shall be included in the minimum ratio for
professional instructional personnel. Permanent substitutes may
be included in the computation for professional educators. For
the purposes of this section, permanent substitute means a full-
time employee who performs the duties of a day-to-day substitute:
And provided further,
That no county shall have less than a total
of five principals and central office administrators. Any county
board which does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio
shall suffer a pro rata reduction in the allowance for
professional educators under this section:
And provided further,
That no county shall be penalized if it has increases in
enrollment during that school year:
And provided further,
That
any county board which does not establish and maintain this
minimum ratio shall utilize any and all allocations to it by
provision of section fourteen of this article solely to employ
professional instructional personnel until the minimum ratio is
attained. Every county shall utilize methods other than
reductions in force, such as attrition and early retirement,
before implementing their reductions in force policy to comply
with the limitations of this section. It is the intent of the
Legislature that in planning reductions in force to comply with
reduced ratios of professional educators to students in adjusted
enrollment, county boards shall consider positions for
elimination in the following order: (1) Central office
administrators, (2) assistant principals, and (3) principals.
No county shall increase the number of administrativepersonnel employed as either professional educators or pay grade
"H" service personnel above the number which were employed, or
for which positions were posted, on the thirtieth day of June,
one thousand nine hundred ninety, and, therefore, county boards
shall whenever possible utilize classroom teachers for curriculum
administrative positions through the use of modified or extended
contracts:
Provided,
That the governor shall submit a
recommendation to the Legislature at the beginning of the regular
session thereof in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one,
which proposes a method for establishing a responsible level of
administrative support for each county school system and a pay
scale differentiation on a daily rate between classroom positions
and administrative positions when all other factors are equal.
§18-9A-5a. Ratio of foundation allowances for professional
educators and service personnel to net enrollment.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish maximum
ratios between the numbers of professional educators and service
personnel in the counties which are funded through the public
school support plan and the net enrollment in the counties, such
ratios are in addition to the ratios provided for in sections
four and five of this article. It is the intent of the
Legislature to adjust these ratios pursuant to legislative act as
may be appropriate when additional personnel are needed to
perform additional duties.
(b) Commencing with the school year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine--ninety, and each year thereafter, incomputing the basic foundation allowance to a county for
professional educators and the basic foundation allowance to a
county for service personnel under sections four and five of this
article, a county shall not receive an allowance for such
personnel which number per one thousand students in net
enrollment is in excess of the number of professional educators
and the number of service personnel in the county computed as
follows:
Maximum professionalMaximum service
For theeducators per 1000personnel per 1000
school yearnet enrollment thenet enrollment the
preceding yearpreceding year
1989-9076.545.5
1990-9176.045.0
1991-9275.544.5
1992-9375.044.0
1993-9474.543.75
1994-95 and74.043.5
thereafter
1995-96 74.0 43.5
1996-97 74.76 43.5
1997-98 75.66 43.5
1998-99 76.76 43.5
1999-2000 78.11 43.5
2000-2001 78.11 43.5
2001-2002 and 79.82 43.5
thereafter
(c) Every county shall utilize methods other than reductionsin force, such as attrition and early retirement, before
implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the
limitations of this section.
(d) For the school years one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine--ninety and one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one
only, if a school district loses more than six percent of the
number chargeable for the previous school year for professional
educator positions or service personnel positions, due to the
maximum ratios established in subsection (b) of this section, it
may apply to the state board for a waiver of said ratios to the
extent that the loss exceeds either six percent of its
professional educators or service personnel:
Provided,
That the
county board of education establishes and maintains the minimum
ratio of professional instructional personnel per one thousand
students in adjusted enrollment as required in section four of
this article. Waivers shall be determined on a case by case
basis according to rules adopted by the state board and granted
to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature for this
purpose. Prior to the adoption of such rules, the state board
shall conduct a thorough review of the staffing patterns in each
county. Any personnel positions funded as a result of a waiver
granted under the provisions of this subsection shall not be
included in the computations set forth in sections four and five
of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to accelerateimplementation of reduced student-teacher ratios mandated by law.
The bill changes existing law by providing that in 1995 instead
of 1996 teachers may not have more than the prescribed ratios
instead of one student above the ratio. It also sets forth a
progressively smaller student-teacher ratio schedule for the
first, second and third grades through the year 2001. Finally it
sets new net and adjusted enrollment limits so that classroom
ratios in other grades besides first, second and third will not
have student-teacher ratios effected by the progressively smaller
ratios required by this legislation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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