H. B. 4674
(By Delegates Armstead, Harrison, Azinger,
Evans, Williams and Capito)
[Introduced February 24, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article two-e, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to creating
"exemplary school accreditation standard" for individual
schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article two-e, chapter eighteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; office of education
performance audits; education standards; school
accreditation and school system approval;
intervention to correct impairments.
(a) Legislative intent. -- The purpose of this section is to establish a process for improving education that includes
standards, assessment, accountability and capacity building to
provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system of schools
is being provided for all West Virginia public school students on
an equal education opportunity basis and that the high quality
standards are, at a minimum, being met.
(b) State board rules. -- The state board shall promulgate
rules in accordance with article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code establishing a unified county improvement plan for each
county board and a unified school improvement plan for each public
school in this state. The state board is not required to
promulgate new rules if legislative rules meeting the requirements
of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code have been
filed with the office of the secretary of state before the
effective date of this section.
(c) High quality education standards. -- The state board
shall, in accordance with the provisions of article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, adopt and periodically review
and update high quality education standards for student, school and
school system performance and processes in the following areas:
(1) Curriculum;
(2) Workplace readiness skills;
(3) Finance;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Special education;
(6) Facilities;
(7) Administrative practices;
(8) Training of county board members and administrators;
(9) Personnel qualifications;
(10) Professional development and evaluation;
(11) Student and school performance;
(12) A code of conduct for students and employees; and
(13) Any other such areas as determined by the state board.
(d) Performance measures. -- The standards shall assure that
all graduates are prepared for gainful employment or for continuing
post secondary education and training and that schools and school
districts are making progress in achieving the education goals of
the state.
The standards shall include measures of student performance to
indicate when a thorough and efficient system of schools is being
provided and of school and school system performance and processes
that enable student performance. The measures of student
performance and school and school system performance and processes
shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The acquisition of student proficiencies as indicated by
student performance by grade level measured, where possible, by a
uniform statewide assessment program;
(2) School attendance rates;
(3) Student dropout rate;
(4) Percent of students promoted to next grade;
(5) Graduation rate;
(6) Average class size;
(7) Pupil-teacher ratio and number of exceptions to ratio
requested by county boards and number granted;
(8) Number of split-grade classrooms;
(9) Percentage of graduates who enrolled in college; the
percentage of graduates who enrolled in other post secondary
education; and the percentage of graduates who become fully
employed within one year of high school graduation all as reported
by the graduates on the assessment form attached to their
individualized student transition plan, pursuant to section eight
of this article and the percentage of graduates reporting;
(10) Pupil-administrator ratio;
(11) Parent involvement;
(12) Parent, teacher and student satisfaction;
(13) Operating expenditures per pupil;
(14) Percentage of graduates who attain the minimum level of
performance in the basic skills recognized by the state board as
laying the foundation for further learning and skill development
for success in college, other post-secondary education and gainful
employment and the grade level distribution in which the minimum
level of performance was met;
(15) Percentage of graduates who received additional
certification of their skills, competence and readiness for
college, other postsecondary education or employment above the
minimum foundation level of basic skills; and
(16) Effective school system participation with their assigned
regional education service agency.
(e) Assessment and accountability of school and school system
performance and processes. -- The state board shall establish by
rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, a system of education performance
audits which measures the quality of education and the preparation
of students based on the standards and measures of student, school
and school system performance and processes, including, but not
limited to, the standards and measures set forth in subsections (c)
and (d) of this section. The system of education performance
audits shall assist the state board in ensuring that the standards
and measures established pursuant to this section are, at a
minimum, being met and that a thorough and efficient system of
schools is being provided. The system of education performance
audits shall include: (1) The assessment of student, school and
school system performance and the processes in place in schools and
school systems which enable student performance; (2) the review of
school and school system unified improvement plans; and (3) the
periodic, random unannounced on-site review of school and school system performance and compliance with the standards.
(f) Uses of school and school system assessment information.
-- The state board shall use information from the system of
education performance audits to assist it in ensuring that a
thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided and to
improve student, school and school system performance, including,
but not limited to, the following: (1) Determining school
accreditation and school system approval status; (2) holding
schools and school systems accountable for the efficient use of
existing resources to meet or exceed the standards; and (3)
targeting additional resources when necessary to improve
performance. Primary emphasis in determining school accreditation
and school system approval status will be based on student, school
and school system performance on measures selected by the state
board. The state board shall make accreditation information
available to the Legislature; the governor; and to the general
public and any individuals who request such information, subject to
the provisions of any act, rule or regulation restricting the
release of information. Based on the assessment of student, school
and school system performance, the state board shall establish
early detection and intervention programs to assist underachieving
schools and school systems in improving performance before
conditions become so grave as to warrant more substantive state
intervention, including, but not limited to, making additional technical assistance, programmatic, monetary and staffing resources
available where appropriate.
(g) Office of education performance audits. -- To assist the
state board in the operation of the system of education performance
audits and in making determinations regarding the accreditation
status of schools and the approval status of school systems, the
state board shall establish an office of education performance
audits which shall be operated under the direction of the state
board independently of the functions and supervision of the state
department of education and state superintendent. The office of
education performance audits shall report directly to and be
responsible to the state board in carrying out its duties under the
provisions of this section. The office shall be headed by a
director who shall be appointed by the state board and shall serve
at the will and pleasure of the state board. The salary of the
director shall not exceed the salary of the state superintendent of
schools. The state board shall organize and sufficiently staff the
office to fulfill the duties assigned to it by this section and the
state board. Employees of the state department of education who
are transferred to the office of education performance audits shall
retain their benefit and seniority status with the department of
education. Under the direction of the state board, the office of
education performance audits shall receive from the West Virginia
education information system staff research and analysis data on the performance of students, schools and school systems, and shall
receive assistance from staff at the state department of education
and the state school building authority to carry out the duties
assigned to the office. In addition to other duties which may be
assigned to it by the state board or by statute, the office of
education performance audits also shall:
(1) Assure that all statewide assessments of student
performance are secure as required in section one-a, article two-e
of this chapter;
(2) Administer all accountability measures as assigned by the
state board, including, but not limited to, processes for the
accreditation of schools and the approval of school systems, and
recommend to the state board appropriate action, including, but not
limited to, accreditation and approval action;
(3) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, what capacity may be needed by schools
and school systems to meet the standards established by the
Legislature and the state board, and recommend to the school,
school system and state board, plans to establish those needed
capacities;
(4) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, whether statewide system deficiencies
exist in the capacity to establish and maintain a thorough and
efficient system of schools, including the identification of trends and the need for continuing improvements in education, and
report those deficiencies and trends to the state board;
(5) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, staff development needs of schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the Legislature
and the state board, and make recommendations to the state board,
the center for professional development, regional education service
agencies, higher education governing boards and county boards; and
(6) Identify, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, exemplary schools and school systems and
best practices that improve student, school and school system
performance, and make recommendations to the state board for
recognizing and rewarding exemplary schools and school systems and
promoting the use of best practices. The state board shall provide
information on best practices to county school systems and shall
use information identified through the assessment and
accountability processes to select schools of excellence.
(h) On-site reviews. -- At the direction of the state board
or by weighted, random selection by the office of education
performance audits, an unannounced on-site review shall be
conducted by the office of education performance audits of any
school or school system for purposes, including, but not limited
to, the following: (1) Verifying data reported by the school or
county board; (2) documenting compliance with policies and laws; (3) evaluating the effectiveness and implementation status of
school and school system unified improvement plans; (4)
investigating official complaints submitted to the state board that
allege serious impairments in the quality of education in schools
or school systems; and (5) investigating official complaints
submitted to the state board that allege that a school or county
board is in violation of policies or laws under which schools and
county boards operate. The random selection of schools and school
systems for an on-site review shall use a weighted random sample so
that those with lower performance indicators and those that have
not had a recent on-site review have a greater likelihood of being
selected. Under the direction of the state board, the office of
education performance audits shall appoint an education standards
compliance review team to assist it in conducting on-site reviews.
The teams shall be composed of an adequate number of persons who
possess the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to make an
accurate assessment of education programs and who are drawn from a
trained cadre established by the office of education performance
audits. The state board shall have discretion in determining the
number of persons to serve on a standards compliance review team
based on the size of the school or school system as applicable.
The teams shall be led by a member of the office of education
performance audits. County boards shall be reimbursed for the
costs of substitutes required to replace county board employees while they are serving on an education standards compliance review
team. The office of education performance audits shall report the
findings of the on-site reviews to the state board for inclusion in
the evaluation and determination of a school's or county board's
accreditation or approval status as applicable.
(i) School accreditation. -- The state board annually shall
review the information from the system of education performance
audits submitted for each school and shall issue to every school:
Full accreditation status, temporary accreditation status,
conditional accreditation status, or shall declare the education
programs at the school to be seriously impaired.
(1) Full accreditation status shall be given to a school when
the school's performance on the standards adopted by the state
board pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section is at a
level which would be expected when all of the high quality
education standards are being met.
(2) Temporary accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the measure of the school's performance is below the level
required for full accreditation status. Whenever a school is given
temporary accreditation status, the county board shall ensure that
the school's unified improvement plan is revised to increase the
performance of the school to a full accreditation status level.
The revised unified school improvement plan shall include
objectives, a time line, a plan for evaluation of the success of the improvements, cost estimates, and a date certain for achieving
full accreditation. The revised plan shall be submitted to the
state board for approval.
(3) Conditional accreditation status shall be given to a
school when the school's performance on the standards adopted by
the state board is below the level required for full accreditation,
but the school's unified improvement plan has been revised to
achieve full accreditation status by a date certain, the plan has
been approved by the state board and the school is meeting the
objectives and time line specified in the revised plan.
(4) Exemplary accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance on the standards adopted by the state
board pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of this section
substantially exceeds the minimal level which would be expected
when all of the high quality education standards are being met.
The state board shall propose legislative rules in accordance with
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a, designated
to establish standards of performance to identify exemplary
schools.
(4) (5) The state board shall establish and adopt standards of
performance to identify seriously impaired schools and the state
board may declare a school seriously impaired whenever
extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.
These circumstances shall include, but are not limited to, the failure of a school on temporary accreditation status to obtain
approval of its revised unified school improvement plan within a
reasonable time period as defined by the state board and the
failure of a school on conditional accreditation status to meet the
objectives and time line of its revised unified school improvement
plan or to achieve full accreditation by the date specified in the
revised plan. Whenever the state board determines that the quality
of education in a school is seriously impaired, the state board,
shall appoint a team of improvement consultants to make
recommendations within sixty days of appointment for correction of
the impairment. Upon approval of the recommendations by the state
board, the recommendations shall be made to the county board. If
progress in correcting the impairment as determined by the state
board is not made within six months from the time the county board
receives the recommendations, the state board shall place the
county board on temporary approval status and provide consultation
and assistance to the county board to: (i) Improve personnel
management; (ii) establish more efficient financial management
practices; (iii) improve instructional programs and rules; or (iv)
make such other improvements as may be necessary to correct the
impairment. If the impairment is not corrected by a date certain
set by the state board, the county board shall be given nonapproval
status.
(j) Transfers from seriously impaired schools. -- Whenever a school is determined to be seriously impaired and fails to improve
its status within one year, any student attending such school may
transfer once to the nearest fully accredited school, subject to
approval of the fully accredited school and at the expense of the
school from which the student transferred.
(k) School system approval. -- The state board annually shall
review the information submitted for each school system from the
system of education performance audits and issue one of the
following approval levels to each county board: Full approval,
temporary approval, conditional approval, or nonapproval.
(1) Full approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system meets or exceeds all of the high quality standards
for student, school and school system performance and processes
adopted by the state board and whose schools have all been given
full, temporary or conditional accreditation status.
(2) Temporary approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system is below the level required for full approval.
Whenever a county board is given temporary approval status, the
county board shall revise its unified county improvement plan to
increase the performance of the school system to a full approval
status level. The revised plan shall include objectives, a time
line, a plan for evaluation of the success of the improvements, a
cost estimate, and a date certain for achieving full approval. The
revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for approval.
(3) Conditional approval shall be given to a county board
whose education system is below the level required for full
approval, but whose unified county improvement plan meets the
following criteria: (i) The plan has been revised to achieve full
approval status by a date certain; (ii) the plan has been approved
by the state board; and (iii) the county board is meeting the
objectives and time line specified in the revised plan.
(4) Nonapproval status shall be given to a county board which
fails to submit and gain approval for its unified county
improvement plan or revised unified county improvement plan within
a reasonable time period as defined by the state board or fails to
meet the objectives and time line of its revised unified county
improvement plan or fails to achieve full approval by the date
specified in the revised plan. The state board shall establish and
adopt additional standards to identify school systems in which the
program may be nonapproved and the state board may issue
nonapproval status whenever extraordinary circumstances exist as
defined by the state board. Furthermore, whenever a county board
has more than a casual deficit, as defined in section one, article
one of this chapter, the county board shall submit a plan to the
state board specifying the county board's strategy for eliminating
the casual deficit. The state board either shall approve or reject
the plan. If the plan is rejected, the state board shall
communicate to the county board the reason or reasons for the rejection of the plan. The county board may resubmit the plan any
number of times. However, any county board that fails to submit a
plan and gain approval for the plan from the state board before the
end of the fiscal year after a deficit greater than a casual
deficit occurred or any county board which, in the opinion of the
state board, fails to comply with an approved plan may be
designated as having nonapproval status. Whenever nonapproval
status is given to a school system, the state board shall declare
a state of emergency in the school system and shall appoint a team
of improvement consultants to make recommendations within sixty
days of appointment for correcting the emergency. Upon approval of
the recommendations by the state board, the recommendations shall
be made to the county board. If progress in correcting the
emergency, as determined by the state board, is not made within six
months from the time the county board receives the recommendations,
the state board shall intervene in the operation of the school
system to cause improvements to be made that will provide
assurances that a thorough and efficient system of schools will be
provided. This intervention may include, but is not limited to,
the following: (i) Limiting the authority of the county
superintendent and county board as to the expenditure of funds, the
employment and dismissal of personnel, the establishment and
operation of the school calendar, the establishment of
instructional programs and rules and such other areas as may be designated by the state board by rule; (ii) taking such direct
action as may be necessary to correct the emergency; and (iii)
declaring that the office of the county superintendent is vacant.
(l) Capacity. -- The process for improving education includes
a process for targeting resources strategically to improve the
teaching and learning process. Development of unified school and
school system improvement plans, pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section, is intended, in part, to provide mechanisms to target
resources strategically to the teaching and learning process to
improve student, school and school system performance. When
deficiencies are detected through the assessment and accountability
processes, the revision and approval of school and school system
unified improvement plans shall ensure that schools and school
systems are efficiently using existing resources to correct the
deficiencies. When the state board determines that schools and
school systems do not have the capacity to correct deficiencies,
the state board shall work with the county board to develop or
secure the resources necessary to increase the capacity of schools
and school systems to meet the standards and, when necessary, seek
additional resources in consultation with the Legislature and the
governor.
The state board shall recommend to the appropriate body
including, but not limited to, the Legislature, county boards,
schools and communities methods for targeting resources strategically to eliminate deficiencies identified in the
assessment and accountability processes by:
(1) Examining reports and unified improvement plans regarding
the performance of students, schools and school systems relative to
the standards and identifying the areas in which improvement is
needed;
(2) Determining the areas of weakness that appear to have
contributed to the substandard performance of students or the
deficiencies of the school or school system;
(3) Determining the areas of strength that appear to have
contributed to exceptional student, school and school system
performance and promoting their emulation throughout the system;
(4) Requesting technical assistance from the school building
authority in assessing or designing comprehensive educational
facilities plans;
(5) Recommending priority funding from the school building
authority based on identified needs;
(6) Requesting special staff development programs from the
center for professional development, higher education, regional
education service agencies and county boards based on identified
needs;
(7) Submitting requests to the Legislature for appropriations
to meet the identified needs for improving education;
(8) Directing county boards to target their funds strategically toward alleviating deficiencies;
(9) Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with
increased enrollment are appropriately reflected and recommended
for funding;
(10) Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held
accountable for eliminating deficiencies; and
(11) Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the
state and local level to assist the school or school system in
achieving the standards and alleviating the deficiencies.
Amendments to this section adopted by the Legislature in
regular session in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight
shall be effective on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create an "exemplary
school accreditation standard" for individual schools under the
authority of the state board of education and the office of
education performance audits.
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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