H. B. 4054
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Williams and Harrison)
[January 18, 2002]
(Originating in the Committee on Education)
A BILL to amend and reenact section three-a, article three, chapter
eighteen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to education; school
personnel; definitions; disbursement of funds and limitations
thereof; and reimbursement of tuition and fees for certain
courses completed by teachers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-a, article three, chapter eighteen-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. TRAINING, CERTIFICATION, LICENSING, PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
§18A-3-3a. Payment of tuition, registration and other fees for
teachers; maximum payment per teacher.
(a) The West Virginia department of education shall promulgate
rules providing for the reimbursement of tuition, registration and
other required fees for coursework completed by teachers in
accordance with the provisions of this section
. The rules shall
provide for reimbursement for courses completed toward both
certification renewal, and additional endorsement in a shortage
area.
(b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
have the meanings ascribed to them.
(1) "Teacher" has the meaning provided in section one, article
one, chapter eighteen of this code.
(2) "Shortage area", for the purpose of this section, shall be
defined by state board policy to indicate the subject areas for
which an insufficient number of teachers are available.
(3) "Certification" and "certificate" mean a valid West
Virginia:
(A) Professional teaching, service or administrative
certificate, or its equivalent; or
(B) Provisional professional teaching, service or
administrative certificate, or its equivalent.
(4) "Requirements for certification renewal" are those
requirements of the state department of education as provided in
section three of this article.
(5) "Requirements for additional endorsement" are those requirements of the state department of education as provided in
section three of this article.
(6) "State institution of higher education" has the meaning
provided in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this
code.
(c) Payment shall be made to any teacher who:
(1) Holds either a valid West Virginia:
(A) Certificate; or
(B) First class permit for full-time employment; and
(2) Is seeking:
(A) An additional endorsement in a shortage area, and either
resides in the state or is employed regularly for instructional
purposes in a public school in the state; or
(B) Certification renewal, and has a continuing contract with
a county board.
(d) Reimbursement shall be made for the tuition, registration
and other required fees for any course completed at:
(1) Any college or university within the state; or
(2) A college or university outside the state if prior
approval is granted by the department.
(e) A course is eligible for reimbursement if it meets the
requirements for:
(1) An additional endorsement in a shortage area; or
(2) Certification renewal.
(f) The department shall establish in its annual budget a
separate line item for the reimbursement, and shall make payment
from appropriations therefor, to the extent that appropriations are
provided. In the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two
thousand two, funds appro
priated shall be disbursed evenly between
courses completed toward certification renewal and courses
completed toward additional endorsement in a shortage area.
Thereafter, funds shall be divided between renewal and endorsement
in the same proportion that the number of applications for each was
made toward the total number of applications received, except that
reimbursement toward either may not exceed seventy-five percent of
total funds.
(g) Payment made for any single fee may not exceed the amount
of the highest corresponding fee charged at a state institution of
higher education. Reimbursement for courses completed toward
certification renewal is limited to fifteen semester hours of
courses for any teacher.
(h) Nothing in this section requires any specific level of
funding by the Legislature.
This section has been completely rewritten, therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.