SB630 HFA Ellington 4-6 #1
“That
§18-2-25 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and
reenacted and to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated
§18-5F-1, §18-5F-2, §18-5F-3, §18-5F-4, §18-5F-5 and §18-5F-6, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-25. Authority of county boards to regulate
athletic and other extracurricular activities of secondary schools; delegation
of authority to West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission; authority
of commission; approval of rules and regulations by state board;
incorporation; funds; participation by private and parochial schools and by
home schooled students.
The
county boards of education are hereby granted and shall exercise the
control, supervision and regulation of all interscholastic athletic events, and
other extracurricular activities of the students in public secondary schools,
and of said those schools of their respective counties. The county board of education may delegate such
control, supervision and regulation of interscholastic athletic events and band
activities to the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission. which
is hereby established
The
West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission shall be is
composed of the principals, or their representatives, of those secondary
schools whose county boards of education have certified in writing to the state
superintendent of Schools that they have elected to delegate the control,
supervision and regulation of their interscholastic athletic events and band
activities of the students in the public secondary schools in their respective
counties to said the commission.
The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission is hereby
empowered to may exercise the control, supervision and regulation of
interscholastic athletic events and band activities of secondary schools,
delegated to it pursuant to this section.
The rules and regulations of the West Virginia Secondary School
Activities Commission shall contain a provision for a proper review procedure
and review board and be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, but shall are, in all
instances be subject to the prior approval of the state board. The West Virginia Secondary School Activities
Commission, may, with the consent of the State Board of Education, incorporate
under the name of "West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission,
Inc.," as a nonprofit, nonstock corporation under the provisions of
chapter thirty-one of this code. County
boards of education are hereby authorized to may expend moneys
for and pay dues to the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission,
and all moneys paid to such the commission, as well as moneys
derived from any contest or other event sponsored by said the
commission, shall be are quasi-public funds as the same are
defined in article five, chapter eighteen, and such the funds of
the commission shall be are subject to an annual audit by the
State Tax Commissioner.
The
West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission shall promulgate
reasonable rules and regulations providing for the control, supervision
and regulation of the interscholastic athletic events and other extracurricular
activities of such private and parochial secondary schools as that
elect to delegate to such the commission such control,
supervision and regulation, upon the same terms and conditions, subject to the
same regulations and requirements and upon the payment of the same fees and
charges as those provided for public secondary schools. Any such private or parochial secondary
school shall receive any monetary or other benefits in the same manner and in
the same proportion as any public secondary school.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of this section or the commission's
rules, the commission shall consider eligible for participation in
extracurricular activities of secondary schools a student who is receiving home
instruction pursuant to subsection (c), section one, article eight, chapter
eighteen of this code and who:
(1)
Has demonstrated satisfactory evidence of academic progress for two years in
compliance with the provisions of that subsection; provided that the student’s average test results are within or
above the fourth stanine in all subject areas;
(2)
Has not reached the age of nineteen by August 1 of the current school year;
(3)
Is an amateur who receives no compensation, but participates solely for the
educational, physical, mental and social benefits of the activity;
(4)
Agrees to comply with all disciplinary rules and regulations of the West Virginia
Secondary Schools Activities Commission and the county board in which the
home-schooled student lives, applicable to all other athletes and
activity participants; and
(5)
Agrees to obey all rules of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities
Commission governing awards, all-star games, parental consents, physical
examinations and vaccinations applicable to all high school athletes.
Eligibility
is limited to participation in interscholastic programs at the public secondary
school serving the attendance zone in which the student lives. Provided that home school students who
leave a member school during the school year shall be subject to the same
transfer protocols that apply to member-to-member transfers. Reasonable fees may be charged to the student to cover
the costs of participation in interscholastic programs.
ARTICLE 5F.
ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT Act.
§18-5F-1. Short
title.
This article shall be
known and may be cited as the Accessibility and Equity in Public Education
Enhancement Act.
§18-5F-2. Legislative findings; purpose.
(a) The Legislature
finds and declares that:
(1) County school
districts have called for more local control and flexibility to meet the
education needs of their communities;
(2) Students, parents
and teachers are seeking alternatives to the traditional classroom delivery of
education that better meets the educational needs of students;
(3) Public schools
should be able to provide a variety of instructional delivery models;
(4) The county school
districts can enhance education opportunities for students, using technology;
(5) Using technology to
deliver instruction can provide flexibility and increase options for
instruction;
(6) Giving county school
districts the flexibility to create innovative programs will provide teachers
with new instructional opportunities; and
(7) This Act is not
intended to save money through the reduction of school personnel positions.
(b) The purpose of this
article is to enhance access and equity in public education in West Virginia.
§18-5F-3. Definitions.
For the purposes of this
article, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(a) “Blended program”
means a formal education program in which a student learns:
(1) At least in part
through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place,
path or pace;
(2) At least in part in
a supervised setting outside the home; and
(3) In such a way that
the modalities of each student’s learning path within a course or subject are
connected to provide an integrated learning experience;
(b) “Eligible student”
means a student eligible for attendance in public schools in a school district
that provides a virtual instruction program, that is a member of a multicounty
consortium providing a virtual instruction program or that does not provide a
virtual instruction program and is not a member of a multicounty consortium,
but participates through a collaborative agreement between the school district
in which the student is enrolled and a school district or a multicounty
consortium providing a virtual instruction program;
(c) “Multicounty
consortium” means a written arrangement where two or more county boards act in
concert to establish a virtual school that will serve eligible students; and
(d) “Virtual instruction
program” means a program implemented by a county board or multicounty
consortium that provides a full-time online or blended program of instruction
for students enrolled in any composition of grades kindergarten through twelve.
§18-5F-4. County board policy adoption.
(a) A county board or a
multicounty consortium may create a virtual instruction program for one or more
schools serving any composition of grades kindergarten through twelve by
adopting a policy creating the program and after adopting the policy may contract
with virtual school providers. When
there is a multicounty consortium, each county board in the consortium shall
adopt a policy creating the virtual instruction program. The virtual instruction program may begin
July 1, 2017, or at any point thereafter: Provided,
That, notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, no
eligible students in grades kindergarten through five may participate in a
virtual instruction program until after the program has been in operation for
one full school year.
(b) The policy adopted
by the county board pursuant to this section shall govern the virtual
instruction program offered by the county board or multicounty consortium.
(c) The policy shall be
consistent with this article and may offer eligible students in grades
kindergarten through twelve an online pathway for earning a high school diploma
and, at a minimum, shall include the following:
(1) The scope,
instructional model and capacity for the virtual education program;
(2) Assessment protocol
and specific requirements for monitoring performance that are consistent with section
five, article two-e of this chapter;
(3) A plan for
monitoring students receiving virtual instruction in accordance with pacing and
completion of the required virtual coursework: Provided, That, if virtual instruction occurs in a public school
classroom then a teacher, professional personnel, professional educator, or
paraprofessional employed by that county must be present to monitor;
(4) Qualifications of faculty, which at a
minimum shall include a teaching certificate issued pursuant to article three,
chapter eighteen-a of this code and state board rules; and
(5) A requirement that
any virtual school provider contracted with comply with state and federal
privacy laws.
§18-5F-5. Compliance with existing state law
(a)
An eligible student enrolled in a virtual instruction program shall:
(1) Be counted in the
net enrollment of the school district in which the student resides for the
purposes of calculating and receiving state aid;
(2) Be subject to the
same state assessment requirements as other students in the school district;
and
(3) Receive a diploma
from the school district, upon completing the same coursework required of
regular public school students in the district.
(b) An eligible student
participating in a virtual instruction program, to the extent the program as
delineated in the county board policy allows or requires instruction to occur
outside of a school building, is not required to comply with compulsory school
attendance requirements set forth in article eight of this code or any other
provision of law or state board rule relating to attendance.
(c) Neither the school
district, the eligible student nor the parents of the student participating in
a virtual instruction program, to the extent the program as delineated in the
county board policy allows or requires instruction to occur outside of a school
building, may incur any penalty or be held accountable for the absence of the student
from the school building.
(d) For an eligible
student participating in a virtual instruction program, neither the school
district nor the student, to the extent the program as delineated in the county
board policy is a learn at your own pace program, is required to comply with
the instructional term requirement set forth in section forty-five, article
five of this chapter or any other law or state board rule requiring a student
to be receiving instruction for any set time.
(e) An eligible student
participating in a virtual instruction program shall be considered to be
attending the school in the attendance district created by the county board
pursuant to section sixteen, article five of this chapter that the eligible
student resides in unless otherwise transferred to another school pursuant to
that section or any other provision of this code. The eligible student may participate in any
cocurricular and extracurricular activities of that school, but is subject to
the same participation requirements imposed on a traditional student attending
the school. If the student transfers
from a traditional school to the virtual model, he or she will be subject to
the West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletic Commission transfer rules.
(f) A county board is
exempt from any provision of law or state board rule that applies to the
traditional delivery of instruction such as requirements relating to the
physical presence of a student, student monitoring and security, the maximum
teacher-pupil ratio set forth in section eighteen-a, article five of this
chapter, instructional time requirements and physical education requirements to
the extent any of the foregoing conflict with the delivery of the virtual
instruction program.
(g) The virtual
instruction program is not subject to online course restrictions imposed by the
state board, state superintendent or the West Virginia Department of Education.
(h) Coursework offered
through a virtual instruction program shall be aligned to the appropriate
academic standards as required by state law and state board rule.
(i) The assessment
results of a student shall be included in the assessment results of the school
and the school district in which the student is considered enrolled pursuant to
this section for purposes of accountability.
§18-5F-6. Report to Legislative Oversight Commission on
Education Accountability.
At the end of the first year any virtual instruction
program is implemented pursuant to this article, the West Virginia Department
of Education, after consulting with the county board or boards implementing the
program, shall report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability on all aspects of the program.
The report, at least, shall include the grade levels of the students the
program was offered to; the number of students who enrolled in the program; the
number of students who were enrolled in the program full-time and number who
participated in a blended program; the number of students who were homeschooled,
enrolled in a private school and enrolled in a public school immediately
preceding enrollment in the virtual instruction program; and how the students
performed academically as compared with students in a traditional classroom
setting.
Adopted
Rejected