ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
for
H. B. 4149
(By Delegates Pino, Perry and C. White)
[Originating in the Committee on Education]
[February 6, 2002]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen-a, article five,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to school
consolidation and closure; public hearings; requirements;
rules relating to public hearings; and report.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen-a, article five, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-13a. School closing or consolidation.
(a) In addition to the provisions of section thirteen of this
article, prior to any final decision of a county board of education
on any proposal to close or consolidate any school, except in cases
in which a construction bond issue was passed by the voters and which bond issue included the schools to be closed or consolidated,
the county board of education shall:
(1) Prepare and reduce to writing its reasons and supporting
data regarding such the school closing or consolidation. The
written reasons required under this section shall be available for
public inspection in the office of the county school superintendent
during the sixty days preceding four successive weeks before the
date of the public hearing required by this section; and
(2) Provide for a public hearing. Notice of which shall be
advertised by publication the hearing shall be published in a
newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the affected
school at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the
date of the hearing. The notice shall contain the time and place
of the hearing and the proposed action of the school county board.
A copy of such the notice shall be posted at the affected school
any school proposed for closure, and at each school affected by a
proposed consolidation, in conspicuous working places for all
professional and service personnel to observe. and such The notice
shall remain posted for four successive weeks prior to the date of
the required public hearing. At least a quorum of the school
county board members and the county superintendent from the county
wherein the an affected school is located shall attend and be
present at the public hearing. Members of the public shall have
the right to may be present, to submit statements and testimony,
and to question county school officials at the public hearing. Any
such proposal to close or consolidate any school by any county board of education shall be further subject to any current rules
and regulations of the state board of education relating to school
closing or consolidation: Provided, That after the effective date
of this section the state board shall promulgate rules and
regulations which shall prescribe in detail the type of supporting
data a county board of education shall include as part of its
written statement of reasons required by this section for school
closing or consolidation, including the transportation time of the
affected students and which shall include any data required by the
state board of education to amend a county's comprehensive
educational facilities plan.
This section shall take effect on the date of passage and
shall affect any school not physically closed or consolidated as of
that date: Provided, That the written reasons shall include all
supporting data required by the state board of education to amend
a county's comprehensive education facilities plan.
(b) The state board shall provide by rule, and in detail, the
type of supporting data a county board shall include as part of its
written statement of reason required by this section for school
closing or consolidation. The rule shall require at least the
following data:
(1) The transportation time of the affected students; and
(2) Any data required by the state board to amend a county's
comprehensive educational facilities plan.
(c) The state board shall promulgate a rule, in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, that establishes the procedure to be followed by county
boards when conducting a public hearing on the issues of school
consolidation and closing.
(1) In developing the rule, the state board shall consult
with groups representing the various education and community
interests. The groups include, but are not limited to,
professional organizations representing teachers, administrators,
service personnel, and boards of education, school parent-teacher
groups, and
groups organized for the purposes of opposing and
supporting particular school closings and consolidations.
(2) The rule shall provide standards for at least the
following:
(A) The appropriate forum and venue for public hearings to be
held;
(B) A process for affording interested parties the
opportunity for their perspectives to be expressed; and
(C) Scheduling and organizing public hearings when more than
one school within a county is proposed for consolidation or
closure.
(3) It is the purpose of this subsection to provide for
uniformity among the counties in the procedures followed when
scheduling, organizing and conducting public hearings on the issues
of school consolidation and closure. The state board shall develop
the rule by the first day of September, two thousand two. The
board shall present the rule to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability during the October, two
thousand two, interim meeting period.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.