ENGROSSED
H. B. 2268

(By Delegates Paxton, Susman,
Poling, Perry and Beach)

[Introduced January 15, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Education.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article four, chapter eighteen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article four by adding thereto a new section, designated section six, all relating to providing priority in selection for Underwood-Smith scholarships to qualified applicants with the highest academic abilities who intend to pursue careers in areas of critical need and shortage; providing legislative findings and intent for establishing special Underwood-Smith provisions for scholarships for teachers affected by reduction in force; providing separate eligibility requirements; providing for modified scholarship agreement; limiting amount of scholarship appropriations that may be expended for special program; requiring implementation of programs, course work and delivery methods to facilitate access to teacher preparation, continuing education and professional development; and requiring collaboration with workforce development office on other potential sources of funds to assist professional educators affected by reduction in force to gain additional certification in areas of critical need and shortage.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article four, chapter eighteen-c

of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section six, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. UNDERWOOD-SMITH TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.

§18C-4-2. Selection criteria and procedures.

(a) The governor shall designate an existing scholarship selection agency or panel to select the recipients of Underwood-Smith teacher scholarships who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this section. If no such agency or panel exists, the governor shall appoint a scholarship selection panel for this purpose which shall consist of seven persons representative of public school administrators, teachers, including preschool teachers, and parents.
(b) Eligibility for an Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship award shall be limited to West Virginia resident students who:
(1) Have graduated or are graduating from high school, and rank in the top ten percent of their graduating class or the top ten percent statewide of those West Virginia students taking the American college test;
(2) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least three and twenty-five one hundredths on a possible scale of four after successfully completing two years of course work at an approved institution of higher education;
(3) Are public school aides or paraprofessionals as defined in section eight, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code, and who have a cumulative grade point average of at least three and twenty-five one hundredths on a possible scale of four after successfully completing two years of course work at an approved institution of higher education; or
(4) Are graduate students at the master's degree level who have graduated or are graduating in the top ten percent of their college graduating class.
(c) In accordance with the rules of the governing boards, the senior administrator shall develop criteria and procedures for the selection of scholarship recipients that reflect the purposes of this article and the areas in which particular efforts will be made in the selection of scholars as set forth in section one of this article and which also may include, but not be limited to, the grade point average of the applicant, involvement in extracurricular activities, financial need, current academic standing and an expression of interest in teaching as expressed in an essay written by the applicant. Such criteria and procedures further may require the applicant to furnish letters of recommendation from teachers and others. It is the intent of the Legislature that academic abilities be the primary criteria for selecting scholarship recipients: Provided, That the qualified applicants with the highest academic abilities who intend to pursue teaching careers in areas of critical need and shortage as determined by the state board of education shall be given priority.
(d) In developing the selection criteria and procedures to be used by the panel, the senior administrator shall solicit the views of public and private education agencies and institutions and other interested parties. These views: (1) Shall be solicited by means of written and published selection criteria and procedures in final form for implementation; and (2) may be solicited by means of public hearings on the present and projected teacher needs of the state or such other methods as the senior administrator may determine to be appropriate to gather such information.
(e) The senior administrator shall make application forms for Underwood-Smith teacher scholarships available to public and private high schools in the state and in other locations convenient to applicants, parents and others, and shall make an effort to attract students from low-income backgrounds, ethnic or racial minority students, students with disabilities, and women or minority students who show interest in pursuing teaching careers in mathematics and science and who are under represented in those fields.

§18C-4-6. Special provisions for the additional certification of reduction in force teachers in areas of critical need and shortage.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that there exist within the state areas of critical need and shortage of fully and appropriately certified classroom teachers and that these areas exist by level and area of certification, and geographically. The Legislature further finds that many school systems in the state must reduce their teaching forces because of declining enrollment and because of this many certified classroom teachers are released from employment who could be of further service within the state if they were certified to teach in a different level or area. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to assist classroom teachers who are fully certified and whose employment is terminated due to a reduction in force to take additional course work to gain certification in areas of critical need and shortage.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, a classroom teacher in the public schools of this state whose contract with a county board of education is not renewed due to a reduction in force in the county, is eligible for award of an Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship, subject to the availability of funds, in accordance with the following:
(1) In lieu of the eligibility requirements set forth in subsection (b), section two of this article, the vice chancellor for administration shall develop selection criteria and procedures which consider the following criteria in priority order:
(A) The highest area of critical need and shortage as determined by the state board of education;
(B) A satisfactory rating on the last two evaluations of performance as a classroom teacher;
(C) Total teaching experience in the state;
(D) Degree level; and
(E) Amount of course work needed to be certified for employment in an area of critical need and shortage.
(2) The recipient shall enter into an agreement with the vice chancellor for administration as provided in section three of this article, except that the agreement shall provide that:
(A) The recipient is pursuing a course of study leading to certification in an area of critical need and shortage as established by the state board of education;
(B) Any teaching time by the recipient prior to the award of the scholarship and prior to completion of the course work for which the scholarship was awarded shall not be counted as satisfying the teaching service conditions of the scholarship; and
(C) The recipient is pursuing a full-time course of study at an accredited institution of higher education, in which case the scholarship is limited to two-years duration or the amount of time needed to complete the needed course work to obtain certification in the area of critical need and shortage as specified in the agreement on a full-time basis whichever is less, or, if employment by a county board of education is accepted by the recipient after award of the scholarship, the recipient may be enrolled and pursuing the course of study at less than full-time, in which case the scholarship is limited to four years duration and the amount of the scholarship shall be prorated in accordance with the course work taken. A recipient who does not notify the vice chancellor for administration of his or her enrollment at less than full-time is in noncompliance of the scholarship agreement; and
(D) The recipient shall seek and be unable to find full-time employment under contract with a county board of education in this state in the area of critical need and shortage for which the scholarship was granted before other provisions for compliance with a scholarship agreement in subdivision (2), subsection (a), section three of this article become applicable.
(c) The vice chancellor for administration shall expend not more than one-third of the appropriations for the Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship program for the purposes of this section. (d) The vice chancellor for administration, the chancellor and the state superintendent shall cooperate through the use of resources within their respective systems on the implementation of programs, course work and delivery systems which facilitate access to teacher preparation, continuing education and high quality professional development throughout the state to enhance instructional quality and address areas of critical need and shortage. Such access shall recognize the need for quality programs which are relevant to the various disciplines taught in the public schools and to the barriers imposed by both geographical distance and public school instructional schedules which may include year-round and summer instruction. The use of electronic media such as the internet shall be considered as a delivery method as a part of this cooperative effort. The vice chancellor for administration, the chancellor and the state superintendent shall make a progress report to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability no later than the legislative interim meetings in September, two thousand three.
(e) In addition to the provisions for addressing areas of critical need and shortage for professional educators through the award of scholarships as provided in this section, the vice chancellor for administration, the chancellor and the state superintendent shall collaborate with the governor's workforce development office on other potential sources of funds to assist professional educators whose contract of employment with a county board of education were not renewed due to a reduction in force to gain additional certification in areas of critical need and shortage.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.