H. B. 3187
(By Delegates Williams, Shaver, Beach, Perry,
Tabb, Shelton and RennerSPONSOR)
(Originating in the DATE
Committee on EducationCOMMITTEE)
[February 21, 2003]
A BILL to amend article five, chapter eighteenBill Title of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section forty-five-a,
relating to authority of the state superintendent to grant
certain limited exemptions to provisions for the scheduling
and use of instructional days and times in certain
circumstances; providing for application by county board and
purposes; limiting affect; specifying types of exemptions; and
providing for report to oversight commission. Title Language
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter eighteenEnacting Section of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section forty-
five-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-45a. Authority of state superintendent with respect
scheduling of instructional days and times.
(a) The state superintendent
, subject to direction of the state
board, may grant the following limited exemptions to the provisions
for the scheduling and use of instructional days and times in the
public schools as set forth in section forty-five of this section
and state board rules
. The exemptions may be granted upon
application by a county board to modify their school calendar
because of an extraordinary number of instructional days and times
lost during the instructional term incident to circumstances beyond
the control of the county and actions taken by it to protect the
health and safety of the students. The application may include
modifications that will maximize the days and minutes of
instruction realized by the county during the remainder of the
instructional term
and to preserve any previously scheduled days
within the school calendar
. The exemption shall affect only the
instructional term during which it is granted.
(1) Crediting instructional time in excess of the minimum
minutes of instruction per day required by the state board toward
the requirement for an instructional term of one hundred and eighty
separate days of instruction in the county;
(2) Rescheduling any noninstructional and faculty senate days
and times previously scheduled within the school calendar for
instruction;
(3) Restoring instructional days and times lost by the county
for failure to meet any minimum requirement for the percentage of
students enrolled in the county who must be in attendance on an instructional day when the failure to meet the attendance
requirement was incident to circumstances beyond the control of the
county or action taken by the county to protect the health and
safety of the students; and
(4) Exempting the county from the requirement for one hundred
and eighty separate days of instruction when instructional days and
times are lost during the instructional term incident to
circumstances beyond the control of the county and actions taken by
it to protect the health and safety of the students, and
will not
be entirely made up through other exemptions granted pursuant to
this section and other lawful means.
(b) The state superintendent shall report to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability w
hen requested on
any waivers approved for a modification of a school calendar and to
make up for lost instructional days and times.
§18-5-45a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been eliminated.