ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 427
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(By Senators Tomblin Mr. President and Buckalew,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Passed April 12, 1997; to take effect July 1, 1997.]
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AN ACT to repeal section six, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact sections
one and two of said article, all relating to public school
professional development; repealing obsolete provisions
relating to a task force on teacher preparation; clarifying
that advanced placement is under the center; recognizing
importance of principals and administrators skilled in
modern management principles; changing the membership of the
center for professional development board and eliminating
the advisory council; making the secretary of education and
the arts the chair of the center board; providing
qualification for center executive director and making
executive director at will and pleasure of the secretary; requiring the center to assist in the delivery of programs
and activities to meet local needs; providing for required
fees and creating a special fund in the state treasury;
focusing mission of professional development project of
center on identifying, coordinating, arranging and otherwise
assisting in the delivery of professional development for
teachers, principals and administrators based on laws,
policies and regulations adopted for public schools of West
Virginia; authorizing center to permit classroom aides,
other school personnel and higher education faculty to
participate in appropriate professional development;
requiring center to advise teacher education programs of
changes in law and policy that affect professional educator
job performance; and requiring center to assist in delivery
of programs and activities to meet expressed needs of school
districts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article three-a, chapter eighteen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that sections one and two of said
article be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.
ARTICLE 3A. CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
§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. Strong academic leadership provided by principals and
administrators skilled in modern management principles is also
essential. The intent of this article is to recognize the value
of professional involvement by experienced educators, principals
and administrators in building and maintaining a superior force
of professional educators and to establish avenues for applying
such involvement.
In furtherance of this intent, the center for professional
development is continued and reestablished. 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 teaching and management. The center shall
also perform such duties as are assigned to it by law.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to require any
specific level of funding by the Legislature.
(b) The center board existing before the effective date of
this section is abolished. The center board, after the effective
date of this section, shall consist of a board of eleven persons
as members as follows: The secretary of education and the arts,
ex officio, who shall be the board chair, and the state
superintendent of schools, ex officio, both of whom shall be entitled to vote; three members of the state board of education,
elected by the state board; three experienced educators, of whom
two shall be working classroom teachers and one of whom shall be
a school or county administrator, appointed by the governor by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and three citizens
of the state who are knowledgeable in matters relevant to the
issues addressed by the center, including, but not limited to,
professional development and management principles, appointed by
the governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Not more than two appointees shall be residents within the same
congressional district. The secretary of education and the arts
shall convene the first meeting of the center board.
The election and appointment of members shall be made as
soon as possible after the effective date of this section. Of
the initial members from the state board of education, one shall
be elected for a term of one year and two shall be elected for
terms of two years. All successive elections shall be for two- year terms. The state board of education shall elect another
member to fill the unexpired term of any person so elected who
subsequently vacates state board membership. Of the initial
appointed members, three shall be appointed for one-year terms
and three shall be appointed for two-year terms. All successive
appointments shall be for two-year terms. The governor shall
appoint a new member to fill the unexpired term of any vacancy in
the appointed membership.
The center for professional development board 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.
The secretary of education and the arts, with the advice of
the center board, from appropriations to the center for
professional development, may employ and fix the compensation of
an executive director with knowledge and experience in
professional development and management principles 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 assist in the delivery of programs and
activities pursuant to this article to meet the local
professional development needs of teachers, principals and
administrators and may 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.
Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the center for professional development board shall
continue to exist until the first day of July, two thousand one.
(c) On or before the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the center for professional development
shall develop and communicate to the state board of education a
curriculum for the principals academy. The curriculum shall be
based upon the minimum qualities, proficiencies and skills
necessary for principals and recommended by the state board,
pursuant to the terms of section two-c, article three of this
chapter.
(d) In accordance with section two-c, article three of this
chapter, the center shall be responsible for paying reasonable
and necessary expenses for persons attending the principals
academy: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be
construed to require any specific level of funding by the
Legislature.
(e) Persons attending the professional development offerings
of the center and such other courses as shall be offered by the
center for professional development, except the principals
academy, shall be assessed fees which shall be less than the full
cost of attendance. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special revenue account known as the "center for
professional development fund". All moneys collected by the
center shall be deposited in the fund for expenditure by the
center board for the purposes specified in this section. Moneys
remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year are subject
to reappropriation by the Legislature.
§18A-3A-2. Professional development project.
(a) Through this project the center shall:
(1) Identify, coordinate, arrange and otherwise assist in
the delivery of professional development programs and activities
that help professional educators acquire the knowledge, skills,
attitudes, practices and other such pertinent complements deemed
essential for an individual to demonstrate appropriate
performance as a professional personnel in the public schools of
West Virginia. The basis for such performance shall be the laws,
policies and regulations adopted for the public schools of West
Virginia, and amendments thereto. The center may also permit and
encourage school personnel such as classroom aides, higher
education teacher education faculty and higher education faculty
in programs such as articulated tech prep associate degree and
other programs to participate in appropriate professional
development programs and activities with public school
professional educators;
(2) Identify, coordinate, arrange and otherwise assist in
the delivery of professional development programs and activities that help principals and administrators acquire knowledge,
skills, attitudes and practices in academic leadership and
management principles for principals and administrators and such
other pertinent complements deemed essential for principals and
administrators to demonstrate appropriate performance in the
public schools of West Virginia. The basis for such performance
shall be the laws, policies and regulations adopted for the
public schools of West Virginia, and amendments thereto;
(3) Serve in a coordinating capacity to assure that the
knowledge, skills, attitude and other pertinent complements of
appropriate professional performance which evolve over time in
the public school environment are appropriately reflected in the
programs approved for the education of professional personnel,
including, but not limited to, advising the teacher education
programs of major statutory and policy changes in the public
schools which affect the job performance requirements of
professional educators, including principals and administrators;
(4) Provide for the routine updating of professional skills
of professional educators, including principals and
administrators, through in-service and other programs. Such
routine updating may be provided by the center through statewide
or regional institutes which may require a registration fee; and
(5) Provide consultation and assistance to county staff
development councils established under the provisions of section
eight, article three of this chapter in planning, designing, coordinating, arranging for and delivering professional
development programs to meet the needs of the professional
educators of their district. From legislative appropriations to
the center for professional development, exclusive of such
amounts required for the expenses of the principals academy, the
center shall, unless otherwise directed by the Legislature,
provide assistance in the delivery of programs and activities to
meet the expressed needs of the school districts for professional
development to help teachers, principals and administrators
demonstrate appropriate performance based on the laws, policies
and regulations adopted for the public schools of West Virginia.
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