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Introduced Version House Bill 108 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 108


(By Mr. Speaker, (Mr. Thompson) and Delegate Armstead)
[By Request of the Executive]
[Introduced May 31, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education.]



A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §18A-1-1 of said code; to amend and reenact §18A-2-2, §18A-2-6, §18A-2-7 and §18A-2-8a of said code; and to amend and reenact §18A-3-1 and §18A-3-2a of said code, all relating to the hiring, termination, transfer and reassignment of teachers and school personnel; revising definition of "long-term substitute"; revising certain dates upon which action must be taken with respect to the hiring, termination, resignation or transfer of teachers and school personnel; clarifying probationary professional employee contract; providing conditional contract of prospective and recent graduates and prospective employable professional personnel; revising dates regarding the early notification of retirement; providing for nonrevocation of early notification; providing an economic hardship exception; and authorizing certification of noncitizen teachers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §18A-1-1 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18A-2-2, §18A-2-6, §18A-2-7 and §18A-2-8a of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §18A-3-1 and §18A-3-2a of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-5-4. Meetings; employment and assignment of teachers; budget hearing; compensation of members; affiliation with state and national associations.

(a) The county board shall meet on the first Monday in July, and upon the dates provided by law for the laying of levies, and at any other times the county board fixes upon its records. Subject to adequate public notice, nothing herein shall prohibit in this section prohibits the county board from conducting regular meetings in facilities within the county other than the county board office. At any meeting as authorized in this section and in compliance with the provisions of article four of this chapter eighteen-a of this code, the county board may employ qualified teachers, or those who will qualify by the time they enter upon their duties, necessary to fill existing or anticipated vacancies for the current or next ensuing school year. At a meeting of the county board, on or before the first Monday in May, the county superintendent shall furnish in writing to the county board a list of those teachers to be considered for transfer and subsequent assignment for the next ensuing school year. All other teachers not listed are considered as reassigned to the positions held at the time of this meeting. The list of those recommended for transfer shall be included in the minute record and the teachers listed shall be notified in writing. The notice shall be delivered in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the teachers' last known addresses within ten days following the board meeting, of their having been recommended for transfer and subsequent assignment. Meetings of the county board shall be held in compliance with the provisions of chapter eighteen-a of this code for purposes relating to the assignment, transfer, termination and dismissal of teachers and other school employees.
(b) Special meetings may be called by the president or any three members, but no business may be transacted other than that designated in the call.
(c) In addition, a public hearing shall be held concerning the preliminary operating budget for the next fiscal year not fewer than ten days after the budget has been made available to the public for inspection and within a reasonable time prior to the submission of the budget to the state board for approval. Reasonable time shall be granted at the hearing to any person who wishes to speak regarding any part of the budget. Notice of the hearing shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
(d) A majority of the members of the county board constitutes the quorum necessary for the transaction of official business.
(e) Board members may receive compensation at a rate not to exceed $160 per meeting attended, but they may not receive pay for more than fifty meetings in any one fiscal year. Board members who serve on an administrative council of a multicounty vocational center also may receive compensation for attending up to twelve meetings of the council at the same rate as for meetings of the county board. Meetings of the council are not counted as board meetings for purposes of determining the limit on compensable board meetings.
(f) Members also shall be paid, upon the presentation of an itemized sworn statement, for all necessary traveling expenses, including all authorized meetings, incurred on official business, at the order of the county board.
(g) When, by a majority vote of its members, a county board considers it a matter of public interest, the county board may join the West Virginia School Board Association and the National School Board Association and may pay the dues prescribed by the associations and approved by action of the respective county boards. Membership dues and actual traveling expenses incurred by board members for attending meetings of the West Virginia School Board Association may be paid by their respective county boards out of funds available to meet actual expenses of the members, but no allowance may be made except upon sworn itemized statements.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

§18A-1-1. Definitions.

The definitions contained in section one, article one, chapter eighteen of this code apply to this chapter. In addition, the following words used in this chapter and in any proceedings pursuant to this chapter have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "School personnel" means all personnel employed by a county board whether employed on a regular full-time basis, an hourly basis or otherwise. "School personnel" is comprised of two categories: Professional personnel and service personnel;
(b) "Professional person" or "Professional personnel" means those persons or employees who meet the certification requirements of the state, licensing requirements of the state, or both, and includes a professional educator and other professional employee;
(c) "Professional educator" has the same meaning as "teacher" as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen of this code. Professional educators are classified as follows:
(1) "Classroom teacher" means a professional educator who has a direct instructional or counseling relationship with students and who spends the majority of his or her time in this capacity;
(2) "Principal" means a professional educator who functions as an agent of the county board and has responsibility for the supervision, management and control of a school or schools within the guidelines established by the county board. The principal's major area of responsibility is the general supervision of all the schools and all school activities involving students, teachers and other school personnel;
(3) "Supervisor" means a professional educator who is responsible for working primarily in the field with professional and other personnel in instructional and other school improvement. This category includes other appropriate titles or positions with duties that fit within this definition; and
(4) "Central office administrator" means a superintendent, associate superintendent, assistant superintendent and other professional educators who are charged with administering and supervising the whole or some assigned part of the total program of the countywide school system. This category includes other appropriate titles or positions with duties that fit within this definition;
(d) "Other professional employee" means a person from another profession who is properly licensed and who is employed to serve the public schools. This definition includes a registered professional nurse, licensed by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, who is employed by a county board and has completed either a two-year (sixty-four semester hours) or a three-year (ninety-six semester hours) nursing program;
(e) "Service person" or "service personnel", whether singular or plural, means a non-teaching school employee who is not included in the meaning of "teacher" as defined in section one, article one, chapter eighteen of this code, and who serves the school or schools as a whole, in a nonprofessional capacity, including such areas as secretarial, custodial, maintenance, transportation, school lunch and aides. Any reference to "service employee" or "service employees" in this chapter or chapter eighteen of this code means service person or service personnel as defined in this section;
(f) "Principals Academy" or "academy" means the academy created pursuant to section two-b, article three-a of this chapter;
(g) "Center for Professional Development" means the center created pursuant to section one, article three-a of this chapter;
(h) "Job-sharing arrangement" means a formal, written agreement voluntarily entered into by a county board with two or more of its employees who wish to divide between them the duties and responsibilities of one authorized full-time position;
(i) "Prospective employable professional person" whether singular or plural, means a certified professional educator who:
(1) Has been recruited on a reserve list of a county board;
(2) Has been recruited at a job fair or as a result of contact made at a job fair;
(3) Has not obtained regular employee status through the job posting process provided for in section seven-a, article four of this chapter; and
(4) Has obtained a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education within the past year;
(j) "Dangerous student" means a student who is substantially likely to cause serious bodily injury to himself, herself or another individual within that student's educational environment, which may include any alternative education environment, as evidenced by a pattern or series of violent behavior exhibited by the student, and documented in writing by the school, with the documentation provided to the student and parent or guardian at the time of any offense; and
(k) "Alternative education" means an authorized departure from the regular school program designed to provide educational and social development for students whose disruptive behavior places them at risk of not succeeding in the traditional school structures and in adult life without positive interventions; and
(l) "Long-term substitute" means a substitute employee who fills a vacant position:
(1) That the county superintendent expects to extend for at least ninety thirty consecutive days, and is either:
(A) Listed in the job posting as a long term substitute position of over ninety thirty days; or
(B) Listed in a job posting as a regular, full-time position and:
(i) Is not filled by a regular, full-time employee; and
(ii) Is filled by a substitute employee.
For the purposes of section two, article sixteen, chapter five of this code, long-term substitute does not include a retired employee hired to fill the vacant position.
ARTICLE 2. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

§18A-2-2. Employment of teachers; contracts; continuing contract status; how terminated; dismissal for lack of need; released time; failure of teacher to perform contract or violation thereof; written notice bonus for teachers and professional personnel.

(a) Before entering upon their duties, all teachers shall execute a contract with their county boards, which shall state the salary to be paid and shall be in the form prescribed by the state superintendent. Each contract shall be signed by the teacher and by the president and secretary of the county board and shall be filed, together with the certificate of the teacher, by the secretary of the office of the county board: Provided, That when necessary to facilitate the employment of employable professional personnel and prospective and recent graduates of teacher education programs who have not yet attained certification, the contract may be signed upon the condition that the certificate is issued to the employee prior to the beginning of the employment term in which the employee enters upon his or her duties.
(b) A Each teacher's contract, under this section, shall be designated as a probationary or continuing contract. A probationary teacher's contract shall be for a term of not less than one nor more than three years, one of which shall be for completion of a beginning teacher internship pursuant to the provisions of section two-b, article three of this chapter, if applicable. If, after three years of such employment, the teacher who holds a professional certificate, based on at least a bachelor's degree, has met the qualifications for a bachelor's degree and the county board enter into a new contract of employment, it shall be a continuing contract, subject to the following:
(1) Any teacher holding a valid certificate with less than a bachelor's degree who is employed in a county beyond the three-year probationary period shall upon qualifying for the professional certificate based upon a bachelor's degree, if reemployed, be granted continuing contract status; and
(2) A teacher holding continuing contract status with one county shall be granted continuing contract status with any other county upon completion of one year of acceptable employment if the employment is during the next succeeding school year or immediately following an approved leave of absence extending no more than one year.
(c) The continuing contract of any teacher shall remain in full force and effect except as modified by mutual consent of the school board and the teacher, unless and until terminated, subject to the following:
(1) A continuing contract may not be terminated except:
(A) By a majority vote of the full membership of the county board on or before the first Monday of April February 1 of the then current year, after written notice, served upon the teacher, return receipt requested, stating cause or causes and an opportunity to be heard at a meeting of the board prior to the board's action on the termination issue; or
(B) By written resignation of the teacher on or before that date February 1, to initiate termination of a continuing contract;
(2) The termination shall take effect at the close of the school year in which the contract is terminated;
(3) The contract may be terminated at any time by mutual consent of the school board and the teacher;
(4) This section does not affect the powers of the school board to suspend or dismiss a principal or teacher pursuant to section eight of this article;
(5) A continuing contract for any teacher holding a certificate valid for more than one year and in full force and effect during the school year 1984-1985 shall remain in full force and effect;
(6) A continuing contract shall does not operate to prevent a teacher's dismissal based upon the lack of need for the teacher's services pursuant to the provisions of law relating to the allocation to teachers and pupil-teacher ratios. The written notification of teachers being considered for dismissal for lack of need shall be limited to only those teachers whose consideration for dismissal is based upon known or expected circumstances which will require dismissal for lack of need. An employee who was not provided notice and an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to this subsection may not be included on the list. In case of dismissal for lack of need, a dismissed teacher shall be placed upon a preferred list in the order of their length of service with that board. No teacher shall may be employed by the board until each qualified teacher upon the preferred list, in order, has been offered the opportunity for reemployment in a position for which he or she is qualified, not including a teacher who has accepted a teaching position elsewhere. The reemployment shall be upon a teacher's preexisting continuing contract and has the same effect as though the contract had been suspended during the time the teacher was not employed.
(d) In the assignment of position or duties of a teacher under a continuing contract, the board may provide for released time of a teacher for any special professional or governmental assignment without jeopardizing the contractual rights of the teacher or any other rights, privileges or benefits under the provisions of this chapter. Released time shall be provided for any professional educator while serving as a member of the Legislature during any duly constituted session of that body and its interim and statutory committees and commissions without jeopardizing his or her contractual rights or any other rights, privileges, benefits or accrual of experience for placement on the state minimum salary schedule in the following school year under the provisions of this chapter, board policy and law.
(e) Any teacher who fails to fulfill his or her contract with the board, unless prevented from doing so by personal illness or other just cause or unless released from his or her contract by the board, or who violates any lawful provision of the contract, shall be is disqualified to teach in any other public school in the state for a period of the next ensuing school year and the State Department of Education or board may hold all papers and credentials of the teacher on file for a period of one year for the violation: Provided, That marriage of a teacher shall is not be considered a failure to fulfill, or violation of, the contract.
(f) Any classroom teacher, as defined in section one, article one of this chapter, who desires to resign employment with a county board or request a leave of absence, the resignation or leave of absence to become effective on or before July 15 of the same year and after completion of the employment term, may do so at any time during the school year by written notification of the resignation or leave of absence and any notification received by a county board shall automatically extend the teacher's public employee insurance coverage until August 31 of the same year.
(g) Any (1) A classroom teacher who gives written notice to the county board on or before the first day of February December 1 of the school year of their his or her retirement from employment with the board at the conclusion of the school year shall be paid $500 from the Early Notification of Retirement line item established for the Department of Education for this purpose, subject to appropriation by the Legislature. If the appropriations to the Department of Education for this purpose are insufficient to compensate all applicable teachers, the Department of Education shall request a supplemental appropriation in an amount sufficient to compensate all such teachers. Additionally, if funds are still insufficient to compensate all applicable teachers, the priority of payment is for teachers who give written notice the earliest. This payment shall not be counted as part of the final average salary for the purpose of calculating retirement.
(2) The position of a classroom teacher providing written notice of retirement pursuant to this subsection may be considered vacant and the county board may immediately post the position as an opening to be filled at the conclusion of the school year. If a teacher has been hired to fill the position of a retiring classroom teacher prior to the start of the next school year, the retiring classroom teacher is disqualified from continuing his or her employment in that position. However, the retiring classroom teacher may be permitted to continue his or her employment in that position and forfeit the early retirement notification payment if, after giving notice of retirement in accordance with this subsection, he or she becomes subject to a significant unforeseen financial hardship, including a hardship caused by the death or illness of an immediate family member or loss of employment of a spouse. Other significant unforeseen financial hardships shall be determined by the county superintendent on a case-by-case basis. This subsection does not prohibit a county school board from eliminating the position of a retiring classroom teacher.
§18A-2-6. Continuing contract status for service personnel; termination.

After three years of acceptable employment, each service personnel employee who enters into a new contract of employment with the board shall be granted continuing contract status: Provided, That a service personnel employee holding continuing contract status with one county shall be granted continuing contract status with any other county upon completion of one year of acceptable employment if such employment is during the next succeeding school year or immediately following an approved leave of absence extending no more than one year. The continuing contract of any such employee shall remain in full force and effect except as modified by mutual consent of the school board and the employee, unless and until terminated with written notice, stating cause or causes, to the employee, by a majority vote of the full membership of the board before the first day of April February 1 of the then current year, or by written resignation of the employee on or before that date. except that for the school year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight--eighty-nine only, the board shall have until the fourth Monday of April, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, to initiate termination of a continuing contract The affected employee shall have has the right of a hearing before the board, if requested, before final action is taken by the board upon the termination of such employment.
Those employees who have completed three years of acceptable employment as of the effective date of this legislation shall be granted continuing contract status.
§18A-2-7. Assignment, transfer, promotion, demotion, suspension and recommendation of dismissal of school personnel by superintendent; preliminary notice of transfer; hearing on the transfer; proof required.

(a) The superintendent, subject only to approval of the board, shall have authority to may assign, transfer, promote, demote or suspend school personnel and to recommend their dismissal pursuant to provisions of this chapter. However, an employee shall be notified in writing by the superintendent on or before the first Monday in April February 1 if he or she is being considered for transfer or to be transferred. Only those employees whose consideration for transfer or intended transfer is based upon known or expected circumstances which will require the transfer of employees shall be considered for transfer or intended for transfer and the notification shall be limited to only those employees. Any teacher or employee who desires to protest such the proposed transfer may request in writing a statement of the reasons for the proposed transfer. Such The statement of reasons shall be delivered to the teacher or employee within ten days of the receipt of the request. Within ten days of the receipt of the statement of the reasons, the teacher or employee may make written demand upon the superintendent for a hearing on the proposed transfer before the county board of education. The hearing on the proposed transfer shall be held on or before the first Monday in May March 15. At the hearing, the reasons for the proposed transfer must be shown.
(b) The superintendent at a meeting of the board on or before the first Monday in May March 15 shall furnish in writing to the board a list of teachers and other employees to be considered for transfer and subsequent assignment for the next ensuing school year. An employee who was not provided notice and an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may not be included on the list. All other teachers and employees not so listed shall be considered as reassigned to the positions or jobs held at the time of this meeting. The list of those recommended for transfer shall be included in the minute record of such the meeting and all those so listed shall be notified in writing, which notice shall be delivered in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to such the persons' last known addresses within ten days following said the board meeting, of their having been so recommended for transfer and subsequent assignment and the reasons therefor.
(c) The superintendent's authority to suspend school personnel shall be temporary only pending a hearing upon charges filed by the superintendent with the board of education and such the period of suspension shall may not exceed thirty days unless extended by order of the board.
(d) The provisions of this section respecting hearing upon notice of transfer shall is not be applicable in emergency situations where the school building becomes damaged or destroyed through an unforeseeable act and which act necessitates a transfer of such the school personnel because of the aforementioned condition of the building.
§18A-2-8a. Notice to probationary personnel of rehiring or nonrehiring; hearing.

The superintendent at a meeting of the board on or before the first Monday in May
March 15 of each year shall provide in writing to the board a list of all probationary teachers that he or she recommends to be rehired for the next ensuing school year. The board shall act upon the superintendent's recommendations at that meeting in accordance with section one of this article. The board at this same meeting shall also act upon the retention of other probationary employees as provided in sections four two and five of this article. Any such probationary teacher or other probationary employee who is not rehired by the board at that meeting shall be notified in writing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, to such persons' last-known addresses within ten days following said board meeting, of their not having been rehired or not having been recommended for rehiring.
Any probationary teacher who receives notice that he or she has not been recommended for rehiring or other probationary employee who has not been reemployed may within ten days after receiving the written notice request a statement of the reasons for not having been rehired and may request a hearing before the board. Such The hearing shall be held at the next regularly scheduled board of education meeting or a special meeting of the board called within thirty days of the request for hearing. At the hearing, the reasons for the nonrehiring must be shown.
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 are 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.
(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 2006-2007 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 (A) Of good moral character;
(C) (B) Physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform the duties of a teacher; and
(D) (C) At least eighteen years on or before October 1 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 1962-1963 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, 2006 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-3-2a. Authority of state superintendent to issue certificates; kinds of certificates.

(a) In accordance with State Board of Education rules for the education of professional educators adopted after consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Arts, the State Superintendent of Schools may issue certificates valid in the public schools of the state. Provided, That
(1) A certificate shall may not be issued to any person who is not a citizen of the United States is not of good moral character, and is not physically, mentally and emotionally qualified to perform the duties for which the certification would be is granted and who has not attained the age of eighteen years on or before October 1 of the year in which the certificate is issued.
Provided, however, That
(2) An exchange teacher from a foreign country or an alien person who meets the requirements to teach may be granted a permit to teach within the public schools of the state.
(b) Certificates authorized to be issued. include
(1) Professional teaching certificates. -- A professional teaching certificate for teaching in the public schools may be issued to a person who
under the following conditions:
(A)
Regular professional preparation. --
(i) Has The applicant holds at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in this state;
(ii) The applicant has completed a program for the education of teachers which meets the requirements approved by the state board of education or has met equivalent standards at institutions in other states; and
(iii) The applicant
has passed appropriate state board approved basic skills and subject matter tests or has completed three years of successful experience within the last seven years in the area for which licensure is being sought; or
(B)
Alternative professional preparation. --
(i) Has The applicant holds
at least a bachelor's degree in a discipline taught in the public schools from an accredited institution of higher education;
(ii) The applicant
has passed appropriate state board approved basic skills and subject matter tests or has completed three years of successful experience within the last seven years in the area for which licensure is being sought;
(iii) The applicant
has completed an alternative program for teacher education approved by the state board; and
(iv) The applicant
is recommended for a certificate by the chairperson of the professional support team of the person's alternative program or the state superintendent based on documentation submitted;
(C) The certificate shall be is endorsed to indicate the grade level or levels or areas of specialization in which the person is certified to teach or to serve in the public schools;
(D) The initial professional certificate shall be is issued provisionally for a period of three years from the date of issuance and may be converted to a professional certificate valid for five years subject to successful completion of a beginning teacher internship, if applicable, or renewed subject to rules adopted by the state board.
(2) Professional administrative certificate. -- A professional administrative certificate, endorsed for serving in the public schools, with specific endorsement as a principal, vocational administrator, supervisor of instructions or superintendent, may be issued to a person who has completed the following requirements all to be approved by the state board: as follows
(A) For A master's degree from an institution of higher education accredited to offer a master's degree;
(B) has successfully completed Successful completion of an approved program for administrative certification, developed by the state board of education in cooperation with the governing boards of the university of West Virginia system and the state college system Higher Education Policy Commission;
(C) has successfully completed Successful completion of
education and training in evaluation skills through the Center for Professional Development, or equivalent education and training in evaluation skills; and
(D) Three years of management level experience; Provided, That anyone having received a certificate during the period from the thirtieth day of August, one thousand nine hundred ninety, until the effective date of this bill without having met the above requirements shall complete those requirements within five years after the effective date of this bill: Provided, however, That any
(E) A person who was serving in the position of dean of students on the effective date of this section shall June 4, 1992, is not be required to hold a professional administrative certificate; Beginning the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two, and
(F) The initial professional administrative certificate shall be is issued provisionally for a period of five years. This certificate may be converted to a professional administrative certificate valid for five years or renewed, subject to the regulations of the state board.
(3) Paraprofessional certificate. -- A paraprofessional certificate may be issued to a person who meets the following conditions:
(A) Has completed thirty-six semester hours of post-secondary education or its equivalent in subjects directly related to performance of the job, all approved by the state board; and
can (B) Is able to demonstrate the proficiencies to perform duties as required of a paraprofessional as defined in section eight, article four of this chapter.
(4) Other certificates; permits. -- Other certificates and permits may be issued, subject to the approval of the state board, to persons who do not qualify for the professional or paraprofessional certificate. Such The certificates or permits shall may not be given permanent status and persons holding such these certificates or permits shall meet renewal requirements provided by law and by regulation rule, unless the state board declares certain of these certificates to be the equivalent of the professional certificate.
Within the category of other certificates and permits, the state superintendent may issue certificates for persons to serve in the public schools as athletic coaches or other extracurricular activities coaches whose duties may include the supervision of students, subject to the following limitations:
(A) Such The person shall be employed under a contract with the county board of education which specifies the duties to be performed, which specifies a rate of pay equivalent to the rate of pay for professional educators in the district who accept similar duties as extra duty assignments and which provides for liability insurance associated with the activity: Provided, That such the persons shall are not be considered employees of the board for salary and benefit purposes other than as specified in the contract;
(B) A currently employed certified professional educator has not applied for the position; and
(C) such The person completes an orientation program designed and approved in accordance with state board rules. which shall be adopted no later than the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise dates for action with respect to hiring, termination, resignation or transfer of teachers and school personnel so that hiring determinations may be made earlier in the year to better allow county boards to recruit new teachers. This bill also allows people who are not United States citizens to receive teaching certificates.

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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