COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2423
(By Delegate Louisos)
(Originating in the Committee on Veterans Affairs
And Homeland Security)
[February 25, 2004]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2-34 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing awarding of high
school diplomas to certain surviving veterans.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2-34 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-34. High school diplomas for surviving World War I, World
War II, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam Conflict
veterans.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the state board shall provide for the awarding of high
school diplomas, either by the county board in the county in which
the veteran resides or the county in which the veteran would have
received his or her diplomas diploma, whichever location the
veteran chooses, to any surviving World War I, veteran and any World War II, Korean Conflict or Vietnam Conflict veteran who:
(1) Left high school prior to graduation and served in the
armed forces of the United States: Provided, That a veteran of the
Korean Conflict or the Viet Nam Conflict must have been attending
high school at the time he or she left prior to graduating and
served in the armed forces of the United States;
(2) Did not receive a high school diploma;
(3) Was discharged from the armed services under honorable
conditions; and
(4) Completes the application process as provided by the joint
rules of the state board and the veterans' council.
(b) The state board and the veterans' council, created in
article one, chapter nine-a of this code, shall jointly promulgate
propose rules for the identification of eligible veterans and for
the awarding of high school diplomas. The rules shall provide for
an application process and the credentials required to receive the
high school diplomas.
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) "World War I veteran" means any veteran who:
(A) Performed wartime service between April sixth, one
thousand nine hundred seventeen, and November eleventh, one
thousand nine hundred eighteen; or
(B) Has been awarded the World War I Victory Medal;
(2) "World War II veteran" means any veteran who performed
wartime service between September sixteenth, one thousand nine
hundred forty, and December thirty-first, one thousand nine hundred forty-six;
(3) "Korean Conflict veteran" means any veteran who performed
military service between June twenty-seventh, one thousand nine
hundred fifty, and January thirty-first, one thousand nine hundred
fifty-five; and
(4) "Vietnam Conflict veteran" means any veteran who performed
military service between February twenty-eighth, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-one, and May seventh, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-five.