H. B. 4613

(By Delegates Fealy, Paxton, Prezioso, Richards,

Talbott, and Yeager )


(Originating in the House Committee on Education)


[February 24, 1994]



A Bill to amend and reenact section two, article two-e, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section fifteen, article five, chapter eighteen of said code, all relating to the waiver of criterion referenced testing for the current school year; to the beginning date of the school year; and to the noninstructional days that may be scheduled prior to the first day of January in the school term.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section two, article two-e, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section fifteen, article five, chapter eighteen of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
§ 18-2E-2. Statewide testing of educational progress program (WV - STEP); purposes, development and implementation of program.
(a) The state board shall establish a program for the statewide testing of the educational progress of public school students in attaining a high quality education, hereinafter referred to as the WV-STEP program.

The WV-STEP program shall provide information to:
(1) Assess the overall academic progress of students, including (i) identifying individual students' academic weaknesses and readiness, and (ii) identifying students who may need remediation;
(2) Assist the teacher in determining student promotion;
(3) Compare achievement of students in West Virginia to achievement of students on a national basis;
(4) Assess the strengths and weaknesses of school performance;
(5) Assess the effects of state and local educational programs;
(6) Make decisions at the state and local level with regard to educational matters, including (i) the need for new or revised educational programs and the need to terminate existing educational programs, (ii) overall curriculum development and revision activities, and (iii) teacher training and staff development activities; and
(7) Inform the public of the overall quality of education in individual schools and school districts.
(b) The state board shall prepare detailed design specifications for the WV-STEP program which accomplish the following:
(1) Take into account the state learning outcome statements in the basic skill areas of reading, composition, mathematics and other subject areas as determined by the state board; and
(2) Include testing of students' higher level cognitive thinking in each subject area tested.
"Learning outcome statements" means statements developed and adopted by the state board which for the purposes of this article have been fully and properly field tested to ensure their reliability and validity in indicating the knowledge base and skills expected of students for particular subject areas and which may be used to measure indicators of statewide standards for student progress in attaining a high quality education.
(c) The state board shall implement the WV-STEP program as follows:
(1) Beginning in the school year one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one, and continuing thereafter:
(i) An evaluation designed to measure student readiness to begin the formal school curriculum shall be administered to all kindergarten public school students. Such evaluation shall be used solely to assist in making policy decisions at the state and local levels with regard to educational matters as outlined in subdivision six, subsection (a) of this section, and shall not be used for individual diagnostic or placement purposes.
(ii) An evaluation model for children in kindergarten, first and second grades shall be developed by a committee of teachers, parents and principals selected by each regional educational service agency board within each regional educational service agency. The evaluation model shall be developed using the following criteria:
(A) The model shall be based on the fact that kindergarten through second grade is educationally continuous;
(B) The model shall allow for variability in the achievement of children in kindergarten through second grade;
(C) The model shall be applied continuously to reflect assessment as a teaching tool;
(D) Information gathered by the evaluation model shall be used to adapt curriculum and to provide feedback to parents;
(E) The model shall include a measure of achievement of the state learning outcomes.
The evaluation model, as developed by each regional educational service agency committee, shall be made available to the state board and to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability by the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety; and
(iii) A criterion referenced test measuring competencies based on the learning outcome statements shall be administered to all public school students in grades one and two to measure their academic progress in reading and mathematics; and
(iv) A criterion referenced test measuring competencies based on the learning outcome statements shall be administered to all public school students in grades three and four to measure their academic progress in reading, composition and mathematics.
The results of the tests shall be used to identify each student's deficiencies, aid in determining instruction needed by the student in achieving the statewide standards established for the respective grade and assist the teacher in determining student promotion.
(2) Beginning in the school year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one--ninety-two, and continuing thereafter:
(i) A criterion referenced test measuring competencies based on the learning outcome statements for reading, composition and mathematics in grade five shall be administered to all public school students in grade five. Each year thereafter, a criterion referenced test for these subject areas shall be administered to students in the next higher grade through grade eight; and
(ii) Criterion referenced testing measuring competencies based on the learning outcome statements in additional subject areas shall be implemented as funds are available on a schedule determined by the board.
(3) Beginning in the school year one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one, and continuing thereafter, National Assessment of Educational Progress Program tests shall be administered in academic areas at the various grades designated by the National Assessment of Educational Progress officials to provide comparisons of West Virginia students to a national sample.
(d) The state board shall revise and update the learning outcome statements as necessary and shall determine a schedule for the annual administration of the WV-STEP program tests. The state superintendent is responsible for the overall development, implementation and monitoring of the program. The state board may establish a pilot program to implement the WV-STEP program prior to the required implementation dates under subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Any student who is unable to take any of the tests prescribed in this section because of absence from school and provides school authorities with a valid reason for such absence shall be given the missed test as soon as possible following the student's return to school. An exceptional child is subject to testing under the WV-STEP program only to the extent specified in that child's individualized education program (IEP).
(f) The parent or guardian of each student tested under the WV-STEP program shall be notified in writing of the students test score, along with the average test score of all other students in the same grade at the school. The state board shall promulgate rules for the compilation of aggregate test scores by grade in such manner as to permit the comparison of student performance at different schools within and among the various school districts. The test scores of all students taking the test at each school shall be compiled by the district pursuant to such rules, shall be made available for public inspection and shall be included in the school and county report cards under section four of this article. However, no individual student's WV-STEP scores may be disclosed to the public.
(g) The department of education shall take necessary administrative action under section five of this article to monitor and evaluate the curriculum and instruction methods in each school district to ensure compliance with the standards and purposes of this article.
(h) The criterion referenced test mandated in this section shall not be required to be given during school year one thousand nine hundred ninety-three -- ninety-four.
§ 18-5-15. School term; exception; levies; ages of persons to whom schools are open.

(a) The board shall provide a school term for its schools which shall be comprised of (1) an employment term for teachers and (2) an instructional term for pupils. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the establishment of year-round schools in accordance with rules to be established by the state board.

The employment term for teachers shall be no less than ten months, a month to be defined as twenty employment days exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays: Provided, That the board may contract with all or part of the personnel for a longer term. The employment term shall be fixed within such beginning and closing dates as established by the state board: Provided, however, That the time between the beginning and closing dates does not exceed forty-three weeks.
Within the employment term there shall be an instructional term for pupils of not less than one hundred eighty nor more than one hundred eighty-five instructional days: Provided, That the minimum instructional term may be decreased, by order of the state superintendent of schools, in any West Virginia county declared to be a federal disaster area by the federal emergency management agency. Instructional and noninstructional activities may be scheduled during the same employment day. Noninstructional interruptions to the instructional day shall be minimized to allow the classroom teacher to teach. The instructional term shall commence no earlier than the first day of September twenty-sixth day of August and shall terminate no later than the eighth day of June.
Noninstructional days in the employment term may be used for making up canceled instructional days, curriculum development, preparation for opening and closing of the instructional term, in-service and professional training of teachers, teacher-pupil-parent conferences, professional meetings and other related activities. In addition, each board shall designate and schedule for teachers and service personnel six days to be used by the employee outside the school environment. However, no more than eight noninstructional days, except holidays, may be scheduled prior to the first day of January in a school term.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law to the contrary, if the board has canceled instructional days equal to the difference between the total instructional days scheduled and one hundred seventy-eight, each succeeding instructional day canceled shall be rescheduled, utilizing only the remaining noninstructional days, except holidays, following such cancellation, which are available prior to the second day before the end of the employment term established by such county board.
Where the employment term overlaps a teacher's or service personnel's participation in a summer institute or institution of higher education for the purpose of advancement or professional growth, the teacher or service personnel may substitute, with the approval of the county superintendent, such participation for not more than five of the noninstructional days of the employment term.
The board may extend the instructional term beyond one hundred eighty-five instructional days provided the employment term is extended an equal number of days. If the state revenues and regular levies, as provided by law, are insufficient to enable the board of education to provide for the school term, the board may at any general or special election, if petitioned by at least five percent of the qualified voters in the district, submit the question of additional levies to the voters. If at the election a majority of the qualified voters cast their ballots in favor of the additional levy, the board shall fix the term and lay a levy necessary to pay the cost of the additional term. The additional levy fixed by the election shall not continue longer than five years without submission to the voters. The additional rate shall not exceed by more than one hundred percent the maximum school rate prescribed by article eight, chapter eleven of the code, as amended.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that excess levies as they currently exist create unequal educational opportunities from county to county based on the difference in the will of the voters and also based on the differences in property wealth among the counties; that prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, the Legislature shall proceed to equalize educational opportunities over and above the opportunities afforded by each county's property values by considering the existence or nonexistence of excess levies as a factor in the distribution of equity moneys; and that on and after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, the Legislature shall implement a plan for the equitable distribution of funds so as to eliminate the inequities resulting from county excess levies.
(c) The public schools shall be open for the full instructional term to all persons who have attained the entrance age as stated in section five, article two and section eighteen, article five, chapter eighteen of this code: Provided, That any student suspended or expelled from public or private school shall only be permitted to enroll in public school upon the approval of the superintendent of the county where the student seeks enrollment: Provided, however, That in making such decision, the principal of the school in which the student may enroll shall be consulted by the superintendent and the principal may make a recommendation to the superintendent concerning the student's enrollment in his or her new school: Provided further , That if enrollment to public school is denied by the superintendent, the student may petition the board of education where the student seeks enrollment.
Persons over the age of twenty-one may enter only those programs or classes authorized by the state board of education and deemed appropriate by the county board of education conducting any such program or class: Provided, That authorization for such programs or classes shall in no way serve to affect or eliminate programs or classes offered by county boards of education at the adult level for which fees are charged to support such programs or classes.