COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 125
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Originating in the Committee on Education;
reported April 2, 2001.]
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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 thirteen; and to amend article eight of said
chapter by adding thereto a new section, designated
section five-b, relating to public education; state
board of education; integrating character education
into the public school curriculum; evaluation and
report; funding; and rule for determining how tardiness
is counted toward calculating absence.
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 thirteen; that article eight of said chapter be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
five-b, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-13. Character education integration.
(a) The state board shall establish a comprehensive
approach to integrate character education into all aspects
of school culture, school functions and existing curriculum.
(b) The state board shall require all public schools
that operate from preschool to grade twelve to develop and
integrate components of character development into their
existing curriculum. The schools may incorporate such
programs as "life skills", "responsible students", or any
other program encompassing any of the following components:
(1) Honesty;
(2) Caring;
(3) Citizenship;
(4) Justice;
(5) Fairness;
(6) Respect;
(7) Responsibility;
(8) Voting;
(9) Academic achievement;
(10) Completing homework assignments;
(11) Improving daily attendance;
(12) Avoiding and resolving conflicts;
(13) Alternatives to violence;
(14) Contributing to an orderly positive school
environment;
(15) Participating in class;
(16) Resisting social peer pressures to smoke, drink
and use drugs;
(17) Developing greater self-esteem and self-
confidence;
(18) Effectively coping with social anxiety;
(19) Increasing knowledge of the immediate consequences
of substance abuse;
(20) Increasing knowledge of the consequences of ones
actions;
(21) The corrupting influence and chance nature of
gambling;
(22) The value of decent, honest work; and
(23) The eleven principles set forth by the character
education partnership in their "Eleven Principles of
Effective Character Education".
(c) Character education shall be integrated into each
public school curriculum pursuant to a schedule adopted by
the state board, but in no event shall the integration of
character education not occur by the first day of September,
two thousand two.
(d) The state board shall assist county boards in
developing in-service training regarding integrated
character education as provided in this section.
(e) The state board shall contract with an independent
agency to evaluate the results of the character education as
defined in this section, and report the results to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability
by the first day of September, two thousand three, and every
two years thereafter.
(f) The state department of education is encouraged to
utilize any existing moneys available to the department for
existing character development programs, along with any new
funds appropriated for the purposes of this section, to
secure the maximum amount of any federal funding available
for which the state department is eligible to receive for
implementing character development in the schools.
ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
§18-8-5b. Accumulated tardiness constituting absence.
The state board shall promulgate a rule that specifies how tardiness is counted toward reporting and calculating
days of absence.