H. B. 4483
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss (By Request))
[Introduced
February 16, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-3-1d, relating
to providing legislative findings that support the loosening
of certification requirements on teachers from out-of-state
otherwise certified to teach special education and which
further support creating an in-state generic special education
teaching certification; and, directing the state board of
education, in consultation with the secretary of education, to
propose legislative rules designed to create a generic special
education certification and, additionally, to loosen
certification requirements on teachers coming from out of
state who hold out-of-state certificates to teach special
education.
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 §18A-3-1d, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-1d. Legislative findings; teacher certification in special
education; reciprocity.
(a) The Legislature finds that problems exist in the current
state of affairs relative to teacher certification in special
education and in awarding reciprocity to qualified teachers in
special education who come from places outside the boundaries of
this state.
(1) Teachers coming from other states who have completed
educational programs in special education while being certified in
other states in special education are informed that in this state,
each special education area is separate and distinct and that they
will be required to obtain additional course work, testing, and
experience in order to receive the needed in-state certification to
teach. This current state of affairs discourages otherwise
qualified teachers from teaching in this state.
(2) A generic special education endorsement and certification
process is greatly needed in this state in order to allow our
teachers to work with the variety of special education students
with whom they inevitably come into contact.
(3) The current certification policy has become overly encumbered with details and minutia, to the extent we prevent
otherwise qualified individuals from teaching in this state.
(4) Matching various codes and criteria for students, for
classes, and for teachers, has mistakenly become more of a priority
under the current system than ever before, making it overly
difficult to certify teachers as being qualified to teach the
diverse group of students with whom they inevitably come into
contact.
(b) The state board of education in consultation with the
secretary of education is directed to propose legislative rules in
accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, designed to provide a generic special education certification
which qualifies an individual, at a minimum, to teach students with
behavioral disorders, who are mentally impaired, or who suffer
specific learning disorders.
(c) The state board of education in consultation with the
secretary of education is directed to propose legislative rules in
accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, designed to promote reciprocity for out-of-state teachers
seeking employment in this state in the area of special education.
The rules shall give due deference to training and certification
criteria in other states and jurisdictions and shall encourage
reciprocal certification in areas of special education, including,
but not limited to, behavioral disorder, mental impairment and learning disability.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to loosen certification
requirements on teachers from out-of-state otherwise certified to
teach special education and, to create an in-state generic special
education teaching certification. The bill contains legislative
findings that support both of these purposes. Also, the bill
directs the state board of education in consultation with the
secretary of education to propose legislative rules designed to
create a generic special education certification and, additionally,
to loosen certification requirements on teachers coming from out of
state who hold out-of-state certificates to teach special
education.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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