SB 396 Text

Senate Bill No. 396

(By Senators Love, Deem , Prezioso, Mitchell, Hunter, Kessler,

Ross, Boley, Snyder, McKenzie, Edgell, Minear, Redd, Sharpe,

McCabe, Facemyer, Rowe, Bowman, Oliverio, Bailey, Unger, Caldwell, Sprouse, Anderson and Minard)

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[Introduced March 5, 2001; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend article five of said chapter by adding thereto a new section, designated section eighteen-e; and to amend article nine-a of said chapter by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-seven, all relating to art and music teachers in public schools; definitions; requirement and assignment; and state allowance for improvement of art and music instruction in public elementary schools.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section one, article one, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that article five of said chapter be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section eighteen-e; and that article nine-a of said chapter be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-seven, all to read as follows:

§18-1-1. Definitions.

The following words used in this chapter and in any proceedings pursuant thereto shall, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, be construed as follows:

(a) "School" means the pupils and teacher or teachers assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit;

(b) "District" means county school district;

(d) "Board" means the county board of education;

(e) "State superintendent" means the state superintendent of free schools;

(f) "Superintendent" means the county superintendent of schools;

(g) "Teacher" means teacher, supervisor, principal, superintendent, public school librarian; registered professional nurse, licensed by the West Virginia board of examiners for registered professional nurses and employed by a county board of education, who has a baccalaureate degree; or any other person regularly employed for instructional purposes in a public school in this state;

(h) "Service personnel" means all nonteaching school employees not included in the above definition of "teacher";

(i) "Regular full-time employee" means any person employed by a county board of education who has a regular position or job throughout his employment term, without regard to hours or method of pay;

(j) "Career clusters" means broad groupings of related occupations;

(k) "Work-based learning" means a structured activity that correlates with and is mutually supportive of the school-based learning of the student and includes specific objectives to be learned by the student as a result of the activity;

(l) "School-age juveniles" means any individual who is entitled to attend or who, if not placed in a residential facility, would be entitled to attend public schools, in accordance with: (1) Section five, article two of this chapter; (2) sections fifteen and eighteen, article five of this chapter; or (3) section one, article twenty of this chapter;

(m) "Student with a disability" means an exceptional child, other than gifted, pursuant to section one, article twenty of this chapter;

(n) "Low density county" means a county whose ratio of student population to square miles is less than or equal to the state average ratio as computed by the state department of education;

(o) "High density county" means a county whose ratio of student population to square miles is greater than the state average ratio as computed by the state department of education; ~~and~~

(p) "Casual deficit" means a deficit of not more than three percent of the approved levy estimate or a deficit that is nonrecurring from year to year;

(q) "Art teacher" means a professional educator who holds a valid teaching certificate endorsed for the teaching of art and indicating the grade levels in which the person is certified to teach art in the public schools; and

(r) "Music teacher" means a professional educator who holds a valid teaching certificate endorsed for the teaching of music and indicating the grade levels in which the person is certified to teach music in the public schools.
§18-5-18e. Art and music teachers in public elementary schools.

Beginning with the school year two thousand two through two thousand three, each county school system shall employ at least one full-time art teacher, or the equivalent, and at least one full-time music teacher, or the equivalent, as defined in section one, article one of this chapter, for direct teaching or as a resource teacher, as described below, for the general art and general music instruction of students in grades kindergarten through four and any other elementary grades housed in the same school.

The art and music teachers assigned to deliver general art and general music instruction in the elementary schools may be designated as resource teachers who will spend at least fifty percent of instructional time in direct teaching activities with students in one or more schools, and shall not devote more than fifty percent of instructional time to consulting with and assisting self-contained multisubject classroom teachers through demonstration lessons, use of technology, provision of lesson plans, workshops, and other services designed to improve the quality of instruction in art and music for students enrolled: Provided, That music teachers may also be assigned to teach electives in choral music or instrumental music.

Nothing herein shall prohibit a county board of education from exceeding the provisions of this section.

Nothing herein requires a county board of education to employ more than one art teacher and one music teacher for the kindergarten through fourth grades.

ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.

§18-9A-27. State allowance for the improvement of art and music instruction in public elementary schools.

For the school year two thousand one--two thousand two there shall be appropriated funds in an amount to be determined by the Legislature to grants, administered by the West Virginia department of education, for the purpose of providing high quality art and music instruction. Preference shall be given to counties that have not employed the services of art or music teachers, as defined in section one, article one of this chapter, for the general art or general music instruction of students in the elementary grades for a period of two or more school years. A county is eligible to apply for a grant in an amount not to exceed the annual salary and benefits of one art teacher or one music teacher, or both, if neither has been employed in the county for the general art or general music instruction of students in the elementary grades in the past two school years.

The department of education shall file a report on the effects of this initiative to the Legislature no later than the second day of January, two thousand three.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define art and music teachers; beginning in the school year 2002-2003 to require that each county school system will employ at least one art teacher and one music teacher, or the full-time equivalent of each to provide the general art and general music instruction of students in the elementary grades; and to provide a state allowance for the improvement of art and music instruction in public elementary schools.

§§18-5-18e and 18-9A-27 are new, therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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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