H. B. 2096
(By Delegate Craig)
[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to required courses of instruction
in the public schools by including the subject of physics as
a required course for graduation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-9. Required courses of instruction; violation and penalty.
(a) In all public, private, parochial and denominational
schools located within this state, there shall be given prior to
the completion of the eighth grade at least one year of instruction
in the history of the State of West Virginia. The schools shall
require regular courses of instruction by the completion of the
twelfth grade in the history of the United States, in civics, in the Constitution of the United States, and in the government of the
State of West Virginia for the purpose of teaching, fostering and
perpetuating the ideals, principles and spirit of political and
economic democracy in America and increasing the knowledge of the
organization and machinery of the government of the United States
and of the State of West Virginia. The state board shall, with the
advice of the State Superintendent, prescribe the courses of study
covering these subjects for the public schools. It shall be the
duty of the officials or boards having authority over the
respective private, parochial and denominational schools to
prescribe courses of study for the schools under their control and
supervision similar to those required for the public schools. To
further such study, every high school student eligible by age for
voter registration shall be afforded the opportunity to register to
vote pursuant to section twenty-two, article two, chapter three of
this code.
(b) The state board shall require all of the public secondary
schools in this state to teach the subject of physics as a required
course for graduation.
(b)(c) The state board shall cause to be taught in require
all of the public schools of this state to teach the subject of
health education, including instruction in any of the grades six
through twelve as considered appropriate by the county board, on:
(1) The prevention, transmission and spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases; (2)
substance abuse, including the nature of alcoholic drinks and
narcotics, tobacco products, and other potentially harmful drugs,
with special instruction as to their effect upon the human system
and upon society in general; (3) the importance of healthy eating
and physical activity to maintaining healthy weight; and (4)
education concerning CPR and First Aid. The course curriculum
requirements and materials for the instruction shall be adopted by
the state board by rule in consultation with the Department of
Health and Human Resources. The state board shall prescribe a
standardized health education assessment to be administered within
health education classes to measure student health knowledge and
program effectiveness.
An opportunity shall be is afforded to the parent or guardian
of a child subject to instruction in the prevention, transmission
and spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other
sexually transmitted diseases to examine the course curriculum
requirements and materials to be used in the instruction. The
parent or guardian may exempt the child from participation in the
instruction by giving notice to that effect in writing to the
school principal.
(d) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not exceeding $10 for each violation, and each week during which there is a violation shall constitute a separate offense. If
the this convicted person so convicted occupy occupies a public
school position, in connection with the public schools, that person
shall automatically be the person shall be removed from that
position and shall be ineligible for reappointment to that or a
similar position for the period of one year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the teaching of
physics in all public secondary schools of this state as a required
course for graduation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.