H. B. 4677


(By Delegates Heck and Fantasia)
[Introduced March 2, 1994; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section sixteen, article four, chapter eighteen-a of said code, all relating to requiring exclusive use of vehicles owned by county boards of education to transport students on trips of 400 miles or less; and requiring public school employees to be paid at least one seventh of their daily rate per hour for extracurricular work.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section thirteen, article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section sixteen, article four, chapter eighteen-a be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§ 18 - 5 - 13. Authority of boards generally.

The boards, subject to the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the state board, shall have authority:

(1) To control and manage all of the schools and school interests for all school activities and upon all school property, whether owned or leased by the county, including the authority to require that records be kept of all receipts and disbursements of all funds collected or received by any principal, teacher, student or other person in connection therewith, any programs, activities or other endeavors of any nature operated or carried on by or in the name of the school, or any organization or body directly connected with the school, to audit such records and to conserve such funds, which shall be deemed quasi-public moneys, including securing surety bonds by expenditure of board moneys;
(2) To establish schools, from preschool through high school, inclusive of vocational schools; and to establish schools and programs, or both, for post high school instruction, subject to approval of the state board of education;
(3) To close any school which is unnecessary and to assign the pupils thereof to other schools: Provided, That such closing shall be officially acted upon and teachers and service personnel involved notified on or before the first Monday in April, in the same manner as provided in section four of this article, except in an emergency, subject to the approval of the state superintendent, or under subdivision (5) of this section;
(4) To consolidate schools;
(5) To close any elementary school whose average daily attendance falls below twenty pupils for two months in succession and send the pupils to other schools in the district or to schools in adjoining districts. If the teachers in the school so closed are not transferred or reassigned to other schools, they receive one month's salary;
(6) (a) To provide at public expense adequate means of transportation, including transportation across county lines, for all children of school age who live more than two miles distance from school by the nearest available road; to provide at public expense and according to such regulations as the board may establish, adequate means of transportation for school children participating in board-approved curricular and extracurricular activities; and to provide in addition thereto at public expense, by rules and regulations and within the available revenues, transportation for those within two miles distance; to provide in addition thereto, at no cost to the board and according to rules and regulations established by the board, transportation for participants in projects operated, financed, sponsored or approved by the commission on aging: Provided, That all costs and expenses incident in any way to transportation for projects connected with the commission on aging shall be borne by such commission, or the local or county chapter thereof: Provided, however, That in all cases the school buses owned by the board of education shall be driven or operated only by drivers regularly employed by the board of education: Provided further, That the county board may provide, under rules established by the state board, for the certification of professional employees as drivers of board-owned vehicles with a seating capacity of less than ten passengers used for the transportation of pupils for school-sponsored activities other than transporting students between school and home: And provided further, That the use of such vehicles shall be limited to one for each school-sponsored activity: And provided further, That only school buses or vehicles owned by the board of education may be used to transport students to board approved curricular or extracurricular activities which require travel of four hundred miles or less round trip: And provided further, That buses shall be used for extracurricular activities as herein provided only when the insurance provided for by this section shall have been effected;
(b) To enter into agreements with one another to provide, on a cooperative basis, adequate means of transportation across county lines for children of school age subject to the conditions and restrictions of subdivisions (6) and (8) of this section;
(7) (a) To lease school buses operated only by drivers regularly employed by the board to public and private nonprofit organizations or private corporations to transport school-age children to and from camps or educational activities in accordance with rules and regulations established by the board. All costs and expenses incurred by or incidental to the transportation of such children shall be borne by the lessee;
(b) To contract with any college or university or officially recognized campus organizations to provide transportation for college or university students, faculty or staff to and from such college or university: Provided, That only college and/or university students, faculty and staff are being transported. The contract shall include consideration and compensation for bus operators, repairs and other costs of service, insurance and any rules and regulations concerning student behavior;
(8) To provide at public expense for insurance against the negligence of the drivers of school buses, trucks or other vehicles operated by the board; and if the transportation of pupils be contracted, then the contract therefor shall provide that the contractor shall carry insurance against negligence in such an amount as the board shall specify;
(9) To provide solely from county funds for all regular full-time employees of the board all or any part of the cost of a group plan or plans of insurance coverage not provided or available under the West Virginia public employees insurance act;
(10) To employ teacher aides, to provide in-service training for teacher aides, the training to be in accordance with rules and regulations of the state board and, in the case of service personnel assuming duties as teacher aides in exceptional children programs, to provide a four-clock-hour program of training prior to such assignment which shall, in accordance with rules and regulations of the state board, consist of training in areas specifically related to the education of exceptional children;
(11) To establish and conduct a self-supporting dormitory for the accommodation of the pupils attending a high school or participating in a post high school program and of persons employed to teach therein;
(12) To employ legal counsel;
(13) To provide appropriate uniforms for school service personnel;
(14) To provide at public expense and under regulations as established by any county board of education for the payment of traveling expenses incurred by any person invited to appear to be interviewed concerning possible employment by such county board of education;
(15) To allow or disallow their designated employees to use publicly provided carriage to travel from their residences to their workplace and return: Provided, That such usage is subject to the supervision of such board and is directly connected with and required by the nature and in the performance of such employee's duties and responsibilities;
(16) To provide, at public expense, adequate public liability insurance, including professional liability insurance for board employees;
(17) To enter into agreements with one another to provide, on a cooperative basis, improvements to the instructional needs of each county. Said cooperative agreements may be used to employ specialists in a field of academic study or support functions or services, therefor. Such agreements shall be subject to approval by the state board of education; and
(18) To provide information about vocational or higher education opportunities to students with handicapping conditions. The board shall provide in writing to the students and their parents or guardians information relating to programs of vocational education and to programs available at state funded institutions of higher education. Such information may include sources of available funding, including grants, mentorships and loans for students who wish to attend classes at institutions of higher education.
"Quasi-public funds" as used herein means any money received by any principal, teacher, student or other person for the benefit of the school system as a result of curricular or noncurricular activities.
The board of each county shall expend under such regulations as it establishes for each child an amount not to exceed the proportion of all school funds of the district that each child would be entitled to receive if all the funds were distributed equally among all the children of school age in the district upon a per capita basis.
CHAPTER 18A. SCHOOL PERSONNEL.

ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.

§ 18A - 4 - 16. Extracurricular assignments.

(1) The assignment of teachers and service personnel to extracurricular assignments shall be made only by mutual agreement of the employee and the superintendent, or designated representative, subject to board approval. Extracurricular duties shall mean, but not be limited to, any activities that occur at times other than regularly scheduled working hours, which include the instructing, coaching, chaperoning, escorting, providing support services or caring for the needs of students, and which occur on a regularly scheduled basis.

(2) The employee and the superintendent, or a designated representative, subject to board approval, shall mutually agree upon the maximum number of hours of extracurricular assignment in each school year for each extracurricular assignment.
(3) The terms and conditions of the agreement between the employee and the board of education shall be in writing and signed by both parties: Provided, That the employee shall be paid no less than one seventh of his or her regular daily rate of pay for each hour of work.
(4) An employee's contract of employment shall be separate from the extracurricular assignment agreement provided for in this section and shall not be conditioned upon the employee's acceptance or continuance of any extracurricular assignment proposed by the superintendent, a designated representative, or the board.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require school children to be transported in vehicles owned and maintained by county boards of education on trips of 400 miles or less. This bill also provides that school employees are paid no less than one seventh of their daily rate per hour for extracurricular work.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.