Senate Bill No. 223
(By Senators Love, Bailey, Oliverio, McKenzie, Sprouse,
Minard, Fanning, Mitchell, Redd, Unger, Ball, Dawson,
Edgell, Sharpe, Boley, Prezioso, Minear, Ross, Hunter,
McCabe, Kessler and Snyder)
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[Introduced January 27, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter eighteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen-e; and to amend article nine-a of said chapter by
adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-seven, all relating to art and music teachers in
public schools; requiring art and music instruction in
public schools; definitions; and state allowance for
improvement of art and music instruction in public
elementary schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter eighteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen-e; and that article nine-a of said chapter be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-seven,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-18e. Art and music teachers in the public schools.
For purposes of this section:
(1) "Art teacher" means a professional educator who holds a
valid teaching certificate endorsed for the teaching of art and
indicating the grade levels in which the person is certified to
teach art in the public schools.
(2) "Music teacher" means a professional educator who holds
a valid teaching certificate endorsed for the teaching of music
and indicating the grade levels in which the person is certified
to teach music in the public schools.
Each county board of education, beginning with the school
year, two thousand one through two thousand two, shall provide
the services of art and music teachers for all students enrolled
in grades kindergarten through twelve in the public schools of
the county.
The art and music teachers assigned to deliver the state board adopted instructional goals and objectives for general art
and general music in grades kindergarten through six shall spend
at least eighty percent of instructional time in direct teaching
activities with students, and may not devote more than twenty
percent of instructional time to consulting with and assisting
self-contained classroom teachers through demonstration lessons,
provision of lesson plans, workshops, and other services designed
to improve the quality of instruction in art and music for
students enrolled in the public schools: Provided, That the
music teachers may also be assigned to teach electives in choral
music or instrumental music.
Nothing herein prohibits a county board from exceeding the
provisions of this section.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-27. State allowance for the improvement of art and music
instruction in public elementary schools.
For the school year two thousand--two thousand one there
shall be appropriated from the general revenue fund the amount of
seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to provide one-time grants,
administered by the West Virginia department of education, for
the purpose of providing high quality art and music instruction. Preference shall be given to counties that have not employed the
services of art or music teachers, as defined in section
eighteen-e, article five of this chapter, for the elementary
grades for a period of two or more school years. A county is
eligible to apply for a grant in an amount not to exceed the
annual salary and benefits of one art teacher or one music
teacher, or both if neither has been employed in the elementary
grades by that county in the past two school years.
The department of education shall file a report on the
effects of this initiative to the Legislature no later than the
thirty-first day of December, two thousand one.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require art and music
teachers in all public schools, grades K through 12, beginning
with the school year 2001--2002. Also, the bill provides for a
state allowance of $750,000 for the improvement of art and music
instruction in public elementary schools.
These sections are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted..