Senate Bill No. 396
(By Senators Love, Deem
, Prezioso, Mitchell, Hunter, Kessler,
Ross, Boley, Snyder, McKenzie, Edgell, Minear, Redd, Sharpe,
McCabe, Facemyer, Rowe, Bowman, Oliverio, Bailey, Unger,
Caldwell, Sprouse, Anderson and Minard)
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[Introduced March 5, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend article five of said
chapter 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;
definitions; requirement and assignment; and state allowance
for improvement of art and music instruction in public
elementary schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter eighteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; that article five of said chapter 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:
§18-1-1. Definitions.
The following words used in this chapter and in any proceedings
pursuant thereto shall, unless the context clearly indicates a
different meaning, be construed as follows:
(a) "School" means the pupils and teacher or teachers assembled
in one or more buildings, organized as a unit;
(b) "District" means county school district;
(c) "State board" means the West Virginia board of education;
(d) "Board" means the county board of education;
(e) "State superintendent" means the state superintendent of
free schools;
(f) "Superintendent" means the county superintendent of
schools;
(g) "Teacher" means teacher, supervisor, principal,
superintendent, public school librarian; registered professional
nurse, licensed by the West Virginia board of examiners for
registered professional nurses and employed by a county board of education, who has a baccalaureate degree; or any other person
regularly employed for instructional purposes in a public school in
this state;
(h) "Service personnel" means all nonteaching school employees
not included in the above definition of "teacher";
(i) "Regular full-time employee" means any person employed by
a county board of education who has a regular position or job
throughout his employment term, without regard to hours or method
of pay;
(j) "Career clusters" means broad groupings of related
occupations;
(k) "Work-based learning" means a structured activity that
correlates with and is mutually supportive of the school-based
learning of the student and includes specific objectives to be
learned by the student as a result of the activity;
(l) "School-age juveniles" means any individual who is entitled
to attend or who, if not placed in a residential facility, would be
entitled to attend public schools, in accordance with: (1) Section
five, article two of this chapter; (2) sections fifteen and
eighteen, article five of this chapter; or (3) section one, article
twenty of this chapter;
(m) "Student with a disability" means an exceptional child,
other than gifted, pursuant to section one, article twenty of this
chapter;
(n) "Low density county" means a county whose ratio of student
population to square miles is less than or equal to the state
average ratio as computed by the state department of education;
(o) "High density county" means a county whose ratio of student
population to square miles is greater than the state average ratio
as computed by the state department of education; and
(p) "Casual deficit" means a deficit of not more than three
percent of the approved levy estimate or a deficit that is
nonrecurring from year to year;
(q) "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; and
(r) "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.
§18-5-18e. Art and music teachers in public elementary schools.
Beginning with the school year two thousand two through two
thousand three, each county school system shall employ at least one
full-time art teacher, or the equivalent, and at least one full-time
music teacher, or the equivalent, as defined in section one, article
one of this chapter, for direct teaching or as a resource teacher,
as described below, for the general art and general music
instruction of students in grades kindergarten through four and any
other elementary grades housed in the same school.
The art and music teachers assigned to deliver general art and
general music instruction in the elementary schools may be
designated as resource teachers who will spend at least fifty
percent of instructional time in direct teaching activities with
students in one or more schools, and shall not devote more than
fifty percent of instructional time to consulting with and assisting
self-contained multisubject classroom teachers through demonstration
lessons, use of technology, provision of lesson plans, workshops,
and other services designed to improve the quality of instruction
in art and music for students enrolled: Provided, That music
teachers may also be assigned to teach electives in choral music or
instrumental music.
Nothing herein shall prohibit a county board of education from exceeding the provisions of this section.
Nothing herein requires a county board of education to employ
more than one art teacher and one music teacher for the kindergarten
through fourth grades.
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 one--two thousand two there
shall be appropriated funds in an amount to be determined by the
Legislature to 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 one, article one of this chapter, for the general art or
general music instruction of students in 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 county for the general art or
general music instruction of students in the elementary grades 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 second day
of January, two thousand three.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define art and music
teachers; beginning in the school year 2002-2003 to require that
each county school system will employ at least one art teacher and
one music teacher, or the full-time equivalent of each to provide
the general art and general music instruction of students in the
elementary grades; and to provide a state allowance for the
improvement of art and music instruction in public elementary
schools.
§§18-5-18e and 18-9A-27 are new, therefore, strike-throughs
and underscoring have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.