Senate Bill No. 399
(By Senator Jones)
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[Introduced March 18, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven-a, article four,
chapter eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
the transfer of teachers in grades kindergarten through five
during the school year.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.
§18A-4-7a. Employment, promotion and transfer of professional
personnel; seniority.
A county board of education shall make decisions affecting
the hiring of professional personnel other than classroom
teachers on the basis of the applicant with the highest
qualifications. Further, the county board shall make decisions
affecting the hiring of new classroom teachers on the basis ofthe applicant with the highest qualifications. In judging
qualifications, consideration shall be given to each of the
following: Appropriate certification and/or licensure; amount of
experience relevant to the position or, in the case of a
classroom teaching position, the amount of teaching experience in
the subject area; the amount of course work and/or degree level
in the relevant field and degree level generally; academic
achievement; relevant specialized training; past performance
evaluations conducted pursuant to section twelve, article two of
this chapter; and other measures or indicators upon which the
relative qualifications of the applicant may fairly be judged.
If one or more permanently employed instructional personnel apply
for a classroom teaching position and meet the standards set
forth in the job posting, the county board of education shall
make decisions affecting the filling of such the positions on the
basis of the following criteria: Appropriate certification
and/or licensure; total amount of teaching experience; the
existence of teaching experience in the required certification
area; degree level in the required certification area;
specialized training directly related to the performance of the
job as stated in the job description; receiving an overall rating
of satisfactory in evaluations over the previous two years; and
seniority. Consideration shall be given to each criterion with
each criterion being given equal weight. If the applicant with
the most seniority is not selected for the position, upon the
request of the applicant a written statement of reasons shall begiven to the applicant with suggestions for improving the
applicant's qualifications.
The seniority of classroom teachers as defined in section
one, article one of this chapter with the exception of guidance
counselors shall be determined on the basis of the length of time
the employee has been employed as a regular full-time certified
and/or licensed professional educator by the county board of
education and shall be granted in all areas that the employee is
certified and/or licensed.
Upon completion of one hundred thirty-three days of
employment in any one school year, substitute teachers shall
accrue seniority exclusively for the purpose of applying for
employment as a permanent, full-time professional employee. One
hundred thirty-three days or more of said employment shall be
prorated and shall vest as a fraction of the school year worked
by the permanent, full-time teacher.
Guidance counselors and all other professional employees, as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter, except
classroom teachers, shall gain seniority in their nonteaching
area of professional employment on the basis of the length of
time the employee has been employed by the county board of
education in that area:
Provided,
That if an employee is
certified as a classroom teacher, the employee accrues classroom
teaching seniority for the time that that employee is employed in
another professional area. For the purposes of accruing
seniority under this paragraph, employment as principal,supervisor or central office administrator, as defined in section
one, article one of this chapter, shall be considered one area of
employment.
Employment for a full employment term shall equal one year
of seniority, but no an employee may not accrue more than one
year of seniority during any given fiscal year. Employment for
less than the full employment term shall be prorated. A random
selection system established by the employees and approved by the
board shall be used to determine the priority if two or more
employees accumulate identical seniority:
Provided,
That when
two or more principals have accumulated identical seniority,
decisions on reductions in force shall be based on
qualifications.
Whenever a county board is required to reduce the number of
professional personnel in its employment, the employee with the
least amount of seniority shall be properly notified and released
from employment pursuant to the provisions of section two,
article two of this chapter:
Provided,
That all persons employed
in a certification area to be reduced who are employed under a
temporary permit shall be properly notified and released before
a fully certified employee in such a position is subject to
release:
Provided, however,
That an employee subject to release
shall be employed in any other professional position where such
the employee is certified and was previously employed or to any
lateral area for which such the employee is certified and/or
licensed, if such the employee's seniority is greater than theseniority of any other employee in that area of certification
and/or licensure.
After the fifth day prior to the beginning of the
instructional term, or after the first day of the second half of
the instructional term, no a person employed and assigned to a
professional position may not transfer to another professional
position in the county during that half of the instructional
term:
Provided,
That such the person may apply for any posted,
vacant positions with the successful applicant assuming the
position at the beginning of the next half of the instructional
term:
Provided, however,
That in grades kindergarten through
five, the person may apply for any posted, vacant positions with
the successful applicant assuming the position only at the
beginning of the next school year:
Provided,
however,
these vacancies prior to the next semester
instructional term. The superintendent may fill a position
before the next instructional term when it is determined to be in
the best interest of the students.
All professional personnel whose seniority with the county
board is insufficient to allow their retention by the county
board during a reduction in work force shall be placed upon a
preferred recall list. As to any professional position opening
within the area where they had previously been employed or to any
lateral area for which they have certification and/or licensure,
such the employee shall be recalled on the basis of seniority ifno regular, full-time professional personnel, or those returning
from leaves of absence with greater seniority, are qualified,
apply for and accept such the position. Before position openings
that are known or expected to extend for twenty consecutive
employment days or longer for professional personnel may be
filled by the board, the board shall be required to notify all
qualified professional personnel on the preferred list and give
them an opportunity to apply, but failure to apply shall not
cause such the employee to forfeit any right to recall. The
notice shall be sent by certified mail to the last known address
of the employee, and it shall be the duty of each professional
personnel to notify the board of continued availability annually
of any change in address or of any change in certification and/or
licensure.
Boards shall be required to post and date notices of all
openings in established, existing or newly created positions in
conspicuous working places for all professional personnel to
observe for at least five working days. The notice shall be
posted within twenty working days of such the position openings
and shall include the job description. Any special criteria or
skills that are required by the position shall be specifically
stated in the job description and directly related to the
performance of the job. No A vacancy shall not be filled until
after the five-day minimum posting period. If one or more
applicants meets the qualifications listed in the job posting,
the successful applicant to fill the vacancy shall be selected bythe board within thirty working days of the end of the posting
period:
Provided,
That a position held by a certified/or
licensed teacher who has been issued a permit for full-time
employment and is working toward certification in the permit area
shall not be subject to posting if the certificate is awarded
within five years. Nothing provided herein shall prevent the
county board of education from eliminating a position due to lack
of need.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the code to the
contrary, where the total number of classroom teaching positions
in an elementary school does not increase from one school year to
the next, but there exists in that school a need to realign the
number of teachers in one or more grade levels, kindergarten
through six, teachers at the school may be reassigned to grade
levels for which they are certified without that position being
posted:
Provided,
That the employee and the county board of
education mutually agree to the reassignment.
When the total number of classroom teaching positions in an
elementary school needs to be reduced, such the reduction shall
be made on the basis of seniority with the least senior classroom
teacher being recommended for transfer:
Provided,
That a
specified grade level needs to be reduced and the least senior
employee in the school is not in that grade level, the least
senior classroom teacher in the grade level that needs to be
reduced shall be reassigned to the position made vacant by the
transfer of the least senior classroom teacher in the schoolwithout that position being posted:
Provided, however,
That the
employee is certified and/or licensed and agrees to the
reassignment.
Any board failing to comply with the provisions of this
article may be compelled to do so by mandamus and shall be liable
to any party prevailing against the board for court costs and
reasonable attorney fees as determined and established by the
court. Further, employees denied promotion or employment in
violation of this section shall be awarded the job, pay and any
applicable benefits retroactive to the date of the violation and
payable entirely from local funds. Further, the board shall be
liable to any party prevailing against the board for any court
reporter costs including copies of transcripts.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit the transfer of
a teacher into grades kindergarten through five only at the
beginning of the school year.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.