Senate Bill No. 566
(By Senators Jackson and Tomblin)
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[Introduced February 17, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article seven, chapter
thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting the
board of examiners of registered professional nurses from
promulgating standards for higher education institutions
that are higher than the national accrediting bodies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article seven, chapter thirty of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSES.
§30-7-5. Schools of nursing; accreditation; standards; surveys
and reports; failure to maintain standards.
(a) An institution desiring to be accredited by the board for the preparation of practitioners of registered professional
nursing shall file an application therefor with the board,
together with the information required and a fee of fifty
dollars. It shall submit written evidence that: (a) It is
prepared to give a program of nursing education which meets the
standards prescribed by the board; and (b) it is prepared to meet
all other standards prescribed in this article and by the board.
(b) Instruction and practice may be secured in one or more
institutions approved by the board. Such The institution or
institutions with which the school is to be affiliated shall be
surveyed by the executive secretary of the board, who shall
submit a written report of the survey to the board. If, in the
opinion of the board, the requirements for an accredited school
to prepare practitioners of registered professional nursing are
met, it shall approve the school as an accredited school. From
time to time as deemed considered necessary by the board, it
shall be is the duty of the board, through its executive
secretary, to survey all such schools. Written reports of such
surveys shall be submitted to the board. If the board determines that any such accredited school is not maintaining the standards
required by this article and by the board, notice thereof in
writing specifying the defect or defects shall be immediately
given to the school. A school which fails to correct these
conditions to the satisfaction of the board within a reasonable
time shall be removed from the list of accredited schools.
(c) The board may not promulgate or enforce rules that
establish standards for faculty qualifications for institutions
under the board of directors of the state college system or under
the board of trustees of the state university system that are
higher than the standards required by the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of
Higher Education.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the Board of
Examiners of Registered Professional Nurses from promulgating
standards for higher education institutions that are higher than
the national accrediting bodies.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.