hb2932 sub

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2932

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Trump)
[By Request of the Executive]
(Originating in the Committee on Education)
[March 22, 2001]

A BILL to amend article two, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve, relating to post-secondary and secondary education; student and school safety; establishing and operating a state-wide emergency telephone hotline; state fire marshal responsibilities; advisory council; publicity; report confidentiality; liability; report to legislative oversight commission on education accountability; legislative rules and emergency rules.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article two, 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 twelve, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-12. Call for protective response for schools.

(a) The state fire marshal shall operate in conjunction with the arson notification hotline, a toll-free, state-wide, safe schools telephone hotline. The hotline shall be conducted at all times on a continuous twenty-four hour basis by a trained operator, for the purpose of receiving information concerning any threat of harm to a student, school employee or school facility.

(b) The state fire marshal shall:

(1) Provide a method for students and school employees to contact the hotline during school hours from the school facility via computerized internet service;

(2) Provide technical assistance to the state department of education in delivering the training provided in this section;

(3) Develop in conjunction with the state department of education and the secretary of education and the arts a curriculum for teaching school employees procedures and techniques for keeping schools safe; and

(4) Establish legislative rules according to the provisions of this section which:

(A) Establish varying levels of emergency for different types of reports;

(B) Provide for a method of notifying appropriate individuals in each county or throughout the state in the case of a report made to the hotline; and

(c) Together the department of military affairs and public safety, the office of the state fire marshal, the state department of education, the department of education and the arts and the higher education policy commission shall:

(1) Publicize to school employees, students, parents and citizens of the state the purpose and availability of the hotline for receiving information regarding any threat of harm to a student or school facility; and

(2) Solicit from private businesses and organizations assistance and sponsorship in publicizing the hotline.

(d) Together the fire marshal and the state department of education shall promote among students and the community the merits of programs and organizations administered by students, parents and community members for the purpose of preserving safe school environments. They shall also promote programs such as the "Adopt- A-Cop" program which are geared toward teaching students the value of law enforcement officers, that law enforcement officers are available to protect and serve rather than harm citizens, and that students should not feel intimidated by law enforcement officers.

(e) The state department of education shall:

(1) Educate school employees and students regarding the importance of reporting any potential threat and of considering serious any threat generated;

(2) Train school employees and students regarding strategies for keeping schools safe;

(3) Train school employees regarding responding to reports of safe school violations; and

(4) Deliver safety training to school employees based on the curriculum developed pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.

(f) All information pertaining to any report to the hotline is confidential, and may not be disclosed to any person not authorized under the provisions of this section or rules promulgated pursuant to this section. Information collected by the state fire marshal's office pertaining to any report is not public record and is exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act provided in chapter twenty-nine-b of this code. Nothing in this section prohibits publication of information in a statistical form which does not identify any individual involved or provide personal information.

(g) There is a toll-free, state-wide emergency hotline advisory council established to examine the feasibility of coordinating services among toll-free, state-wide emergency hotlines. The council consists of the following members or their designees: The state superintendent of schools; the higher education policy commission chancellor; the department of education and the arts secretary; a governor's office representative; the department of military affairs and public safety secretary; the state fire marshal; the state police superintendent; a West Virginia sheriff's association representative; a West Virginia deputy sheriff's association representative; a school administrators association of West Virginia representative; a West Virginia school boards association representative; and the office of emergency services director.

(h) The state fire marshal may solicit, accept and expend for the purpose of this section any contribution, grant or appropriation from any source.

(i) No person is liable for reporting information to the hotline where that person does not have actual knowledge of the information reported being factually inaccurate.

(j) As used in this section, "school employee" and "student" includes persons in both secondary and postsecondary education institutions.

(k) The state fire marshal annually shall report statistical information to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability during the January interim meeting period, regarding the number of calls received by the hotline and general information concerning the types of reports received. The report may not identify any individual involved or provide any personal information.

(l) The state fire marshal shall propose legislative rules pursuant to the provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to carry out the purposes of this section. The Legislature finds that an emergency exists, and therefore the initial rule shall be filed as an emergency rule by the first day of July, two thousand one. The rule shall be refiled at the earliest opportunity as a legislative rule for approval by the legislative oversight commission on education accountability and in accordance with the provisions of said article three-a.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.