H. B. 4001
(By Delegate Angotti)
[Introduced January 12, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article five-a,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
that certain votes by members at meetings of local school
improvement council boards be counted as passed if at least
two thirds of the members present vote in favor thereof.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article five-a, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. LOCAL SCHOOL INVOLVEMENT.
§18-5A-3. Authority and procedures for local school improvement
councils to request waivers of certain rules,
policies and interpretations.
The intent of this section is to establish a mechanism which allows local school level initiatives to be designed and
implemented to meet local school needs and circumstances. In
accordance with this intent, a local school improvement council
established under the provisions of this article may propose
alternatives to the operation of the public school which
alternatives will meet or exceed the high quality standards
established by the state board and will increase administrative
efficiency, enhance the delivery of instructional programs,
promote community involvement in the local school system or
improve the educational performance of the school generally. The
proposal of the council shall set forth the objective or
objectives to be accomplished under the proposal, how the
accomplishment of such objective or objectives will meet or
exceed the standards established by the state board, the
indicators upon which the meeting of such standards should be
judged and a projection of any funds to be saved by the proposal
and how such funds will be reallocated within the school. The
alternatives proposed by the council may include matters which
require the waiver of policies or rules promulgated by the state
or county board and state superintendent interpretations:
Provided, That such request for waiver be submitted to the
appropriate board adopting said rule or policy and that board may
approve the waiver. When a county board does not act within two
months after receiving a request for waiver of a county board policy or rule or disapproves such a request, the local school
improvement council may seek an advisory opinion from the state
board regarding the waiver request. The county board shall
furnish the state board with copies of all waiver requests
together with their response thereto: Provided, however, That
when a local school improvement council votes to waive a state
superintendent's interpretation, the state superintendent need
only be notified that the local council intends to waive the
state superintendent's interpretation: Provided further, That
notwithstanding any other provisions of the law to the contrary,
council is not prohibited from permitting off-site classrooms to
be developed in conjunction with local businesses if those sites
have met the requirements established by the local board and if
sites are located off campus. For an alternative to be proposed,
at least two thirds of the members present must vote in favor
thereof: And provided further, That if the alternative to be
proposed relates to a waiver of policies or rules promulgated by
the state or county board and state superintendent
interpretations affecting employees, then prior to the proposal
of the alternative, a majority of the local affected employee
group involved must agree.
A council may also submit a written statement, with
supporting reasons, to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability recommending a waiver of a statute or legislative rule, which the commission shall review and determine
whether a recommendation should be made to the Legislature to
waive such statute or rule.
When a council decides to propose an alternative, it shall
forward a copy of the proposal to the state board and the
affected local board. The state board shall acknowledge receipt
of the proposed alternative, promptly review the proposed
alternative in consultation with the county board or their agents
and, in its discretion, approve implementation of the alternative
or reply to the council within a reasonable time as to its
reasons for not approving the proposed alternative. If the state
board approves a proposed alternative, the state board shall
provide appropriate notice to the local school improvement
council and the county board and shall establish a process for
evaluation of the operation of the alternative. Approval for the
operation of the alternative may be continued or revoked at any
time based on the results and findings of the evaluation.
The state board shall submit a report to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability and the governor
on the first day of September of each year summarizing the
proposed alternatives received, approved or rejected, continued
or revoked during the preceding school year and the results and
findings of the evaluations. The report shall specifically
identify all policy, rule, and interpretation waiver requests including those requests made to county boards by local school
improvement councils received during the preceding year and the
disposition of each.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the requirement
that certain votes by members of local school improvement council
boards be counted as passed if at least two thirds of the members
vote in favor. The new language would require that these certain
votes be counted as passed if at least two thirds of the members
present at the meeting vote in favor.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.