Senate Bill No. 236
(By Senators Caldwell, Dempsey, Rowe, Hunter and White)
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[Introduced January 20, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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,
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-18a
of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to limiting the total number of
students a teacher is required to teach.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-18a
of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18a. Maximum teacher-pupil ratio.
(a) 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 through sixth grade classroom, or
classrooms having two or more grades that include
either any of the
first
or second through sixth grades
shall do not have more than twenty-five pupils for each teacher of the grade or grades and
shall do 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.
(b) Beginning with the school year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-six--eighty-seven, and thereafter No county
shall may
maintain a greater number of classrooms having two or more grades
that include one or more of the grade levels referred to in this
section than were in existence in
said that 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.
(c) 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) (1)
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) (2) 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.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 school wide pupil-teacher ratio is
twenty-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.
(f) 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 or more
such
grade levels
shall not have more than two pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section: Provided, 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, such teacher shall may not have any pupils above the
teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section.
(g) No provision of this section is intended to limit the
number of pupils per teacher in a classroom
or limit the total
number of pupils assigned to a teacher at any one time in all
classes combined for the purpose of instruction in choral, band or
orchestra music.
(h) Each school principal shall assign students equitably
among the classroom teachers, taking into consideration reasonable
differences due to subject areas and/or grade levels.
No teacher may be assigned more than a total of one hundred fifty students at
any one time in all classes combined.
(i) 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. The state
board shall report such information to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability before the first day of
January of each year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the total number
of pupils a teacher is required to teach to a total of one hundred
fifty pupils in all classes combined.
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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