WEST virginia legislature
2017 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 543
By Senators Mullins and Cline
[Introduced March 8, 2017;
Referred
to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-18a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing the maximum number of pupils per teacher to be exceeded by up to five pupils in certain instances; and removing restriction on number of classrooms with two or more grades that include one or more of certain grade levels.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-18a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18a. Maximum teacher-pupil ratio.
County boards of education shall provide by the
school year 1983-84, and thereafter sufficient personnel, equipment and
facilities as that will ensure that each first and second through
sixth grade classroom, or classrooms having two or more grades that include
either the first or second any of the first through sixth grades shall
does not have more than twenty-five pupils for each teacher of the grade
or grades and shall does not have more than twenty pupils for
each kindergarten teacher per session, unless the state superintendent has
excepted a specific classroom upon application therefor by a county
board.
County boards shall provide by the school year
1984-85, and continue thereafter, sufficient personnel, equipment and
facilities as will ensure that each third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade
classroom, or classrooms having two or more grades that include one or more of
the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades, shall not have more than twenty-five
pupils for each teacher of the grade or grades.
Beginning with the school year 1986-87, and
thereafter, no county shall maintain a greater number of classrooms having two
or more grades that include one or more of the grade levels referred to in this
section than were in existence in said county as of January 1, 1983: Provided,
That for the prior school years, and only if there is insufficient classroom
space available in the school or county, a county may maintain one hundred ten
percent of such number of classrooms.
During the school year 1984-85, and thereafter The state superintendent is authorized, consistent
with sound educational policy, (a) to permit on a statewide basis, in grades
four through six, more than twenty-five pupils per teacher in a classroom for
the purposes of instruction in physical education, and (b) to permit more than
twenty pupils per teacher in a specific kindergarten classroom and twenty-five
pupils per teacher in a specific classroom in grades one through six during a
school year in the event of extraordinary circumstances as determined by the
state superintendent after application by a county board of education.
The state board shall establish guidelines for the
exceptions authorized in this section, but in no event shall may
the superintendent except classrooms having more than three five pupils
above the pupil-teacher ratio as set forth in this section.
The requirement for approval of an exception to exceed
the twenty pupils per kindergarten teacher per session limit or the twenty-five
pupils per teacher limit in grades one through six is waived in schools where
the schoolwide pupil-teacher ratio is twenty-five or less in grades one through
six: Provided, That a teacher shall may not have more than three
five pupils above the teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section.
Any kindergarten teacher who has more than twenty pupils per session and any
classroom teacher of grades one through six who has more than twenty-five
pupils shall be paid additional compensation based on the affected classroom
teacher's average daily salary divided by twenty for kindergarten teachers or
twenty-five for teachers of grades one through six for every day times the
number of additional pupils enrolled up to the maximum pupils permitted in the
teacher's classroom. All such additional compensation shall be paid from county
funds exclusively.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to
the contrary, commencing with the school year beginning on July 1, 1994, a
teacher in grades one, two or three or classrooms having two or more such grade
levels, shall not have more than two pupils above the teacher/pupil ratio as
set forth in this section: Provided, That commencing with the school year
beginning on July 1, 1995, such teacher shall not have more than one pupil
above the teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this section: Provided, however,
That commencing with the school year beginning on July 1, 1996, such teacher
shall not have any pupils above the teacher/pupil ratio as set forth in this
section.
No provision of this section is intended to limit the number of pupils per teacher in a classroom for the purpose of instruction in choral, band or orchestra music.
Each school principal shall assign students equitably among the classroom teachers, taking into consideration reasonable differences due to subject areas and/or grade levels.
The state board shall collect from each county board of education information on class size and the number of pupils per teacher for all classes in grades seven through twelve. The state board shall report such information to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability before January 1, of each year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the maximum number of pupils per teacher to be exceeded by up to five pupils in certain instances; and remove restriction on number of classrooms with two or more grades that include one or more of certain grade levels.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.