Committee Substitute
for
H. B. 4062
(By Delegates M. Poling, Paxton, Perry and Shaver)
[Originating in the Committee on Education.]
(January 17, 2008)
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-3-1, §18A-3-1a and
§18A-3-3
of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
certification of professional educators; authorizing holders
of K-6 and K-8 certificates to teach departmentalized courses
for which certified; modifying instruction component of
alternative preparation programs; authorizing alternative
education programs for certified teachers to obtain additional
endorsement; providing for state board rule; report on
proposed rule to Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability prior to implementation; and authorizing
electronic equivalent of official transcript certificate
renewal course work.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18A-3-1, §18A-3-1a and
§18A-3-3
of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-1. Teacher preparation programs; program approval and
standards; authority to issue teaching certificates.
(a) The education of professional educators in the state is
under the general direction and control of the state board after
consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the
Chancellor for Higher Education who shall represent the interests
of educator preparation programs within the institutions of higher
education in this state as those institutions are defined in
section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
The education of professional educators in the state includes
all programs leading to certification to teach or serve in the
public schools including:
(1) Those programs in all institutions of higher education,
including student teaching as provided in this section;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) The granting of West Virginia certification to persons who
received their preparation to teach outside the boundaries of this
state, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(4) Any alternative preparation programs in this state leading
to certification, including programs established pursuant to the
provisions of section one-a of this article and programs which are in effect on the effective date of this section; and
(5) Any continuing professional education, professional
development and in-service training programs for professional
educators employed in the public schools in the state.
(b) The state board, after consultation with the Secretary of
Education and the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education,
shall adopt standards for the education of professional educators
in the state and for awarding certificates valid in the public
schools of this state. The standards shall include, but not be
limited to the following:
(1) A provision for the study of multicultural education. As
used in this section, multicultural education means the study of
the pluralistic nature of American society including its values,
institutions, organizations, groups, status positions and social
roles;
(2) A provision for the study of classroom management
techniques, including methods of effective management of disruptive
behavior which shall include societal factors and their impact on
student behavior; and
(3) Subject to the provisions of section ten of this article,
a teacher from another state shall be awarded a teaching
certificate for a comparable grade level and subject area valid in
the public schools of this state, if he or she:
(A) Holds a valid teaching certificate or a certificate of
eligibility issued by another state;
(B) Has graduated from an educator preparation program at a
regionally accredited institution of higher education;
(C) Possesses the minimum of a bachelor's degree; and
(D) Meets all of the requirements of the state for full
certification except employment; and
(4) A certificate to teach any one or more of the subjects
taught at grade levels kindergarten through grade six or
kindergarten through grade eight means that the holder is certified
to teach each of the subjects for which certified and may be
assigned to teach any of those subjects in a departmentalized or
self-contained school structure.
(c) To give prospective teachers the teaching experience
needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to certification
to teach in the West Virginia public schools, the state board may
enter into an agreement with county boards for the use of the
public schools.
(d) An agreement established pursuant to subsection (c) of
this section shall recognize student teaching as a joint
responsibility of the educator preparation institution and the
cooperating public schools and shall include:
(1) The minimum qualifications for the employment of public
school teachers selected as supervising teachers, including the
requirement that field-based and clinical experiences be supervised
by a teacher fully certified in the state in which that teacher is
supervising;
(2) The remuneration to be paid public school teachers by the
state board, in addition to their contractual salaries, for
supervising student teachers;
(3) Minimum standards to guarantee the adequacy of the
facilities and program of the public school selected for student
teaching;
(4) That the student teacher, under the direction and
supervision of the supervising teacher, shall exercise the
authority of a substitute teacher; and
(5) A provision requiring any higher education institution
with an educator preparation program to document that the student
teacher's field-based and clinical experiences include
participation and instruction with multicultural, at-risk and
exceptional children at each programmatic level for which the
student teacher seeks certification.
(e) Beginning the fall, two thousand six - two thousand seven
academic term, in lieu of the student teaching experience in a
public school setting required by this section, an institution of
higher education may provide an alternate student teaching
experience in a nonpublic school setting if the institution of
higher education:
(1) Complies with the provisions of this section;
(2) Has a state board approved educator preparation program;
and
(3) Enters into an agreement pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) of this section.
(f) At the discretion of the higher education institution, an
agreement for an alternate student teaching experience between an
institution of higher education and a nonpublic school shall
require that either:
(1) The student teacher complete at least one half of the
clinical experience in a public school; or
(2) The educator preparation program include a requirement
that any student performing student teaching in a nonpublic school
complete at least:
(A) Two hundred clock hours of field-based training in a
public school; and
(B) A course, which is a component of the institution's state
board approved educator preparation program, that provides to
prospective teachers information that is equivalent to the teaching
experience needed to demonstrate competence as a prerequisite to
certification to teach in the public schools in West Virginia. The
course shall include instruction on at least the following
elements:
(i) State board policy and provisions of this code governing
public education;
(ii) Requirements for federal and state accountability,
including the mandatory reporting of child abuse;
(iii) Federal and state mandated curriculum and assessment
requirements, including multicultural education, safe schools and student code of conduct;
(iv) Federal and state regulations for the instruction of
exceptional students as defined by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.;
(v) Varied approaches for effective instruction for students
who are at-risk;
(g) In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection
(f) of this section, an agreement for an alternate student teaching
experience between an institution of higher education and a
nonpublic school shall:
(1) Require that the higher education institution with an
educator preparation program document that the student teacher's
field-based and clinical experiences include participation and
instruction with multicultural, at-risk and exceptional children at
each programmatic level for which the student teacher seeks
certification; and
(2) Include the minimum qualifications for the employment of
school teachers selected as supervising teachers, including the
requirement that field-based and clinical experiences be supervised
by a teacher fully certified in the state in which that teacher is
supervising.
(h) The state superintendent may issue certificates to
graduates of educator preparation programs and alternative educator
preparation programs approved by the state board. The certificates
are issued in accordance with this section and rules adopted by the state board after consultation with the Secretary of Education and
the Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education.
(1) A certificate to teach may be granted only to any person
who is:
(A) A citizen of the United States, except as provided in
subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(B) Is of good moral character;
(C) Physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform
the duties of a teacher; and
(D) At least eighteen years on or before the first day of
October of the year in which his or her certificate is issued.
(2) A permit to teach in the public schools of this state may
be granted to a person who is an exchange teacher from a foreign
country, or an alien person who meets the requirements to teach.
(i) In consultation with the Secretary of Education and the
Arts and the Chancellor for Higher Education, institutions of
higher education approved for educator preparation may cooperate
with each other, with the center for professional development and
with one or more county boards to organize and operate centers to
provide selected phases of the educator preparation program. The
phases include, but are not limited to:
(1) Student teaching;
(2) Beginning teacher internship programs;
(3) Instruction in methodology; and
(4) Seminar programs for college students, teachers with provisional certification, professional support team members and
supervising teachers.
The institutions of higher education, the center for
professional development and county boards may by mutual agreement
budget and expend funds to operate the centers through payments to
the appropriate fiscal office of the participating institutions,
the center for professional development and the county boards.
(j) The provisions of this section do not require
discontinuation of an existing student teacher training center or
school which meets the standards of the state board.
(k) All institutions of higher education approved for educator
preparation in the one thousand nine hundred sixty-two--sixty-three
school year shall continue to hold that distinction so long as they
meet the minimum standards for educator preparation. Nothing in
this section infringes upon the rights granted to any institution
by charter given according to law previous to the adoption of this
code.
(l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, nor
any other provision of rule, law or this code to the contrary, an
institution of higher education may enter into an agreement with a
nonpublic school:
(1) For the purposes of this section regarding student
teaching;
(2) For the spring, two thousand six academic term only;
(3) If the institution is approved for educator preparation by the state board; and
(4) If the institution had entered into the agreement for that
academic term prior to the effective date of this section.
(m) As used in this section:
(1) "Nonpublic school" means a private school, parochial
school, church school, school operated by a religious order or
other nonpublic school that elects to:
(A) Comply with the provisions of article twenty-eight,
chapter eighteen of this code;
(B) Participate on a voluntary basis in a state operated or
state sponsored program provided to such schools pursuant to this
section; and
(C) Comply with the provisions of this section;
(2) "At-risk" means having the potential for academic failure,
including, but not limited to, the risk of dropping out of school,
involvement in delinquent activity or poverty as indicated by free
or reduced lunch status; and
(3) "Exceptional children" has the meaning ascribed pursuant
to section one, article twenty, chapter eighteen of this code, but
does not include gifted students.
§18A-3-1a. Alternative programs for the education of teachers.
(a) By the fifteenth day of August, two thousand five, the
state board, after consultation with the Secretary of Education and
the Arts, shall promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions
of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the approval and operation of teacher education programs which are an
alternative to the regular college or university programs for the
education of teachers. To participate in an approved alternative
teacher education program, the candidate must hold an alternative
program teacher certificate issued by the superintendent and
endorsed for the instructional field in which the candidate seeks
certification. An alternative program teacher certificate is a
certificate issued for one year to a candidate who does not meet
the standard educational requirements for certification. The
certificate may be renewed no more than two times. No individual
may hold an alternative program teacher certificate for a period
exceeding three years. The alternative program teacher certificate
shall be considered a professional teaching certificate for the
purpose of the issuance of a continuing contract. To be eligible
for an alternative program teacher certificate, an applicant shall:
(1) Possess at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally
accredited institution of higher education in a discipline taught
in the public schools except that the rules established by the
board may exempt candidates in selected vocational and technical
areas who have at least ten years' experience in the subject field
from this requirement;
(2) Pass an appropriate state board approved basic skills and
subject matter test in the area for which licensure is being
sought;
(3) Be a citizen of the United States, be of good moral character and physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to
perform the duties of a teacher, and have attained the age of
eighteen years on or before the first day of October of the year in
which the alternative program teacher certificate is issued;
(4) Have been offered employment by a county board in an area
of critical need and shortage; and
(5) Qualify following a criminal history check pursuant to
section ten of this article.
Persons who satisfy the requirements set forth in subdivisions
(1) through (5) of this subsection shall be granted a formal
document which will enable them to work in a public school in West
Virginia.
(b) The rules adopted by the board shall include provisions
for the approval of alternative teacher education programs which
may be offered by schools, school districts, consortia of schools
or regional educational service agency and for the setting of
tuition charges to offset the program costs. An approved
alternative teacher education program shall be in effect for a
school, school district, consortium of schools or regional
educational service agency before an alternative program teacher
may be employed in that school, school district, consortium of
schools or regional educational service agency. An approved
alternative program shall provide essential knowledge and skills to
alternative program teachers through the following phases of
training:
(1) Instruction. -- The alternative preparation program shall
provide a minimum of eighteen semester hours of instruction through
a program agreed upon by the state superintendent and a higher
education institution or institutions in the areas of student
assessment; development and learning; curriculum; classroom
management; the use of educational computers and other technology;
and special education and diversity. All programs shall contain a
minimum of three semester hours of instruction in special education
and diversity out of the minimum eighteen required semester hours.
(2) Phase I. -- Phase I shall consist of a period of intensive
on-the-job supervision by an assigned mentor and the school
administrator for a period of not less than two weeks and no more
than four weeks. The assigned mentor shall meet the requirements
for mentor set forth in section two-b of this article and be paid
the stipend pursuant to that section. During this time, the
teacher shall be observed daily. This phase shall include an
orientation to the policies, organization and curriculum of the
employing district. The alternative program teacher shall begin to
receive formal instruction in those areas listed in subdivision (1)
of this subsection.
(3) Phase II. -- Phase II shall consist of a period of
intensive on-the-job supervision beginning the first day following
the completion of Phase I and continuing for a period of at least
ten weeks. During Phase II, the alternative program teacher shall
be visited and critiqued no less than one time per week by members of a professional support team, defined in subsection (c) of this
section, and shall be observed and formally evaluated at the end of
five weeks and at the end of ten weeks by the appropriately
certified members of the team. At the end of the ten-week period,
the alternative program teacher shall receive a formal written
progress report from the chairperson of the support team. The
alternative program teacher shall continue to receive formal
instruction in those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of
this subsection.
(4) Phase III. -- Phase III shall consist of an additional
period of continued supervision and evaluation of no less than
twenty weeks duration. The professional support team will determine
the requirements of this phase with at least one formal evaluation
being conducted at the completion of the phase. The alternative
program teacher shall continue to receive formal instruction in
those areas listed above under subdivision (1) of this subsection,
and receive opportunities to observe the teaching of experienced
colleagues.
(c) Training and supervision of alternative program teachers
shall be provided by a professional support team comprised of a
school principal, an experienced classroom teacher who satisfies
the requirements for mentor for the Beginning Educator Internship
as specified in section two-b of this article, a college or
university education faculty member and a curriculum supervisor.
Districts or schools which do not employ curriculum supervisors or have been unable to establish a relationship with a college or
university shall provide for comparable expertise on the team. The
school principal shall serve as chairperson of the team. In
addition to other duties assigned to it under this section and
section one-b of this article, the professional support team shall
submit a written evaluation of the alternative program teacher to
the county superintendent. The written evaluation shall be in a
form specified by the county superintendent and submitted on a date
specified by the county superintendent that is prior to the first
Monday of May. The evaluation shall report the progress of the
alternative program teacher toward meeting the academic and
performance requirements of the program.
(d) The training for professional support team members shall
be coordinated and provided by the Center for Professional
Development in coordination with the school district, consortium of
schools, regional educational service agency, and institution of
higher education, or any combination of these agencies as set forth
in the plan approved by the state board pursuant to subsection (e)
of this section.
(e) A school, school district, consortium of schools or
regional educational service agency seeking to employ an
alternative program teacher must submit a plan to the state board
and receive approval. Each plan shall describe how the proposed
training program will accomplish the key elements of an alternative
program for the education of teachers as set forth in this section. Each school, school district, consortium of schools or regional
educational service agency shall show evidence in its plan of
having sought joint sponsorship of their training program with
institutions of higher education.
(f) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the
approval and operation of alternative education programs to prepare
highly qualified special education teachers that are separate from
the programs established under the other provisions of this section
and are applicable only to teachers who have at least a bachelor's
degree in a program for the preparation of teachers from a
regionally accredited institution of higher education. These
programs are subject to the other provisions of this section only
to the extent specifically provided for in the rule. These
programs may be an alternative to the regular college and
university programs for the education of special education teachers
and also may address the content area preparation of certified
special education teachers. The programs shall incorporate
professional development to the maximum extent possible to help
teachers who are currently certified in special education to obtain
the required content area preparation. Participation in an
alternative education program pursuant to this subsection shall not
affect any rights
,
privileges or benefits to which the participant
would otherwise be entitled as a regular employee, nor does it
alter any rights
,
privileges or benefits of participants on continuing contract status. The state board shall report to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on the
programs authorized under this subsection during the July, two
thousand five, interim meetings or as soon thereafter as practical
prior to implementation of the programs.
(g) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the
approval and operation of alternative education programs to prepare
highly qualified special education teachers that are separate from
the programs established under the other provisions of this section
and are applicable only to persons who hold a bachelor's degree
from a regionally accredited institution of higher education.
These programs are subject to the other provisions of this section
only to the extent specifically provided for in this rule. These
programs may be an alternative to the regular college and
university programs for the education of special education teachers
and also may address the content area preparation of such persons.
The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Education Accountability on the programs authorized
under this subsection during the July, two thousand five, interim
meetings or as soon thereafter as practical prior to implementation
of the programs.
(h) For the purposes of this section, "area of critical need
and shortage" means an opening in an established, existing or newly
created position which has been posted in accordance with the provisions of section seven-a, article four of this chapter, and
for which no fully qualified applicant has been employed.
(i) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the
approval and operation of alternative education programs to provide
a route for teachers who hold a valid West Virginia teaching
certificate to obtain an additional endorsement or endorsements in
another area or areas of certification granted by the West Virginia
Department of Education. These programs are subject to the other
provisions of this section only to the extent specifically provided
in this rule. The state board shall report a proposed rule on the
programs authorized under this subsection to the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability during the July,
two thousand eight, interim meetings or as soon thereafter as
practical prior to implementation of the programs.
(i) (j) The recommendation to rehire an alternative education
program teacher pursuant to section eight-a, article two of this
chapter is subject to the position being posted and no fully
qualified applicant being employed: Provided, That this provision
does not apply to teachers who hold a valid West Virginia
professional teaching certificate and who are employed under a
program operated pursuant to subsection (f).
(j) (k) When making decisions affecting the hiring of an
alternative program teacher under the provisions of this section,
a county board shall give preference to applicants who hold a valid West Virginia professional teaching certificate.
§18A-3-3. Renewal of certificates; permanent certification.
(a) Until the person qualifies for a permanent certificate,
any professional or first class certificate based upon a bachelor's
degree shall be renewable provided the holder within five years
from the date the certificate became valid:
(1) Files application on a prescribed form with the State
Department of Education;
(2) Presents an official transcript or an electronic
equivalent of six semester hours of approved credit as may be
prescribed by the state board;
(3) Successfully completes a beginning teacher internship
program, if applicable; and
(4) Submits a recommendation based on successful teaching
experience from the county superintendent of schools of the county
in which the holder last taught or resides.
(b) The holder of a professional certificate, valid for five
years, shall have the certificate made permanent upon meeting any
of the following requirements:
(1) Completion of the second renewal, in accordance with the
provisions set forth in subsection (a) of this section; or
(2) After five years of service in the public schools,
presentation of a transcript showing the completion of requirements
for a master's degree from an institution of higher education
accredited to offer the master's degree and in a program relevant to the public school program or completes the fifth year of
training leading to a bachelor's degree in library science from a
school fully approved by the American Library Association; or
(3) Receives certification through the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards.
(c) To satisfy any of the requirements of subsection (b) of
this section, the person must file application on a prescribed form
with the State Department of Education and must submit a
recommendation from the county superintendent of schools of the
county in which the person last taught or resides.
(d) All certificates and permits, other than the professional
certificate, shall be renewed in accordance with state board
regulations.
(e) If the applicant seeking renewal has cause to believe that
the county superintendent refuses to give a recommendation without
just cause, the applicant shall have the right, in such case, to
appeal to the State Superintendent of Schools whose responsibility
it shall be to investigate the matter and issue a certificate if,
in the opinion of the state superintendent, the county
superintendent's recommendation was withheld arbitrarily.
(f) A person who has reached the age of sixty and holds a
renewable certificate, as provided in this section, need not
present renewal credit but shall meet all other renewal
requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.