
H. B. 2278



(By Delegates Spencer, Mezzatesta,





Michael and Fleischauer)



[Introduced January 15, 2003; referred to the



Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article five, chapter eighteen-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to the reimbursement to institutions of higher
education of qualifying noncapital expenditures incurred in
the provision of services to students with physical, learning,
or severe sensory disabilities; requiring that any funds
allocated under this section be disbursed according to a
formula to be developed by the higher education policy
commission; providing the parameters which shall be used in
the development of the aforementioned reimbursement formula;
and requiring that the disbursement of any funds allocated
under this section be on a pro rata basis to be determined by
the ratio of the qualifying audited expenses submitted for
consideration for reimbursement to the total amount authorized
and appropriated for reimbursement purposes consistent with this section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article five, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. HIGHER EDUCATION BUDGETS AND EXPENDITURES.
ยง18B-5-9. Higher education assistance reimbursement program.

(a) The Legislature finds that an increasing percentage of
students entering higher education reported impairments of hearing,
speech, orthopedic, learning, health-related, partially-sighted or
blind, or other type of disabling condition. The Legislature
further finds that these students view a college education as being
important to obtaining a good job, earning a higher income and
preparing for graduate or professional school. Further, the
Legislature finds that most students with an identified disability
come from families with slightly lower than median incomes, have
earned average to below-average grades in high school, and are at
risk of failing in their attempts to achieve their goals without
proper student support services. Finally, the Legislature finds
that it is in the public interest to encourage students with
identified disabilities to pursue postsecondary educational
opportunities at in-state institutions of higher education and that
reimbursing those institutions of higher education within the limit of funds available, if any, for noncapital expenditures made by
them to provide services to support the education of students with
a disability is an acceptable means of supporting programs that
enhance each student's chance to succeed in obtaining a college
education and increasing the likelihood that each student will
embark upon a productive life.

(b) There is established the higher education assistance
reimbursement program, hereafter referred to as the "HEAR" program.
The program established and authorized by this section is
administered by the senior administrator. Moneys appropriated or
otherwise available shall be allocated by line item to an
appropriate account. Any moneys remaining in the fund at the close
of a fiscal year shall be carried forward for use in the next
fiscal year.

(c) To achieve the goals and objectives of the "HEAR" program,
the commission shall develop a disability services resource
allocation model for the allocation of any general revenue funds
appropriated specifically for the purposes set forth in this
section for the state system of higher education. In developing
the disability services resource allocation model, the commission
shall consider such factors as enrollment information regarding
students with identified disabilities, audited disability services
expenditure information, the extent to which services are currently
provided with other funding sources such as grants and fees for services, and any other data that furthers an equitable pro rata
distribution of disability services reimbursement funds for higher
education. The commission shall develop the model prior to the
first day of July, two thousand three, and may modify the model
thereafter: Provided, That these modifications are subject to the
provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

(d) The commission shall propose a legislative rule pursuant
to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a to implement the
provisions of this section which shall be filed with the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability by the
first day of July, two thousand three. The Legislature hereby
declares that an emergency situation exists and, therefore, the
commission may establish by emergency rule, under the procedures of
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, legislative
rules to implement the provisions of this section, after approval
by the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability.

(1) The legislative rule shall provide that only those
expenditures which meet the following criteria are eligible for
reimbursement under this section:

(A) Noncapital expenditures made for providing support
services to students with identified disabilities including, but
not limited to: Books on tape, bus drivers, interpreters, peer and
professional tutors, academic advising services, counseling services, personal assistant services, note-takers and workshops;

(B) Only those noncapital expenditures which are capable of
being audited shall be eligible for reimbursement under the
allocation model. Further, noncapital expenditures covered by
other secured funding including, but not limited to, grants and
fees for services are not eligible for reimbursement under the
"HEAR" program.

(2) The legislative rule shall provide that institutions of
higher education submit their noncapital costs to the commission
not later than thirty days following the conclusion of the spring
academic semester to be eligible for reimbursement under the model.
Institutions shall submit their costs in a format to be specified
by the rule.

(3) The legislative rule shall provide for a pro rata
distribution of allocated funds, if any, to be determined by
applying the percentage derived from a calculation of the ratio of
each institution's total qualifying audited expenses to the total
of all institutions' qualifying audited expenses to the total
amount which may be appropriated for reimbursement purposes
consistent with this section.

(4) The legislative rule shall provide for an appropriate
process for distribution of funds directly to the eligible
institutions of higher education on the first day of the
immediately succeeding fiscal year in which funds have been appropriated to the "HEAR" program. The rule shall further provide
that any funds not so distributed to eligible institutions of
higher education shall be carried forward for use in the next
fiscal year.

(e) The senior administrator shall report annually, by the
first day of December, on the status of the "HEAR" program to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for
reimbursement to institutions of higher education of qualifying
noncapital expenditures incurred in the provision of services to
students with physical, learning, or severe sensory disabilities
and that any funds allocated under this section be disbursed
according to a formula to be developed by the higher education
policy commission.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.