Senate Bill No. 137
(By Senators Love and Smith)
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[Introduced January 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article two, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to imposing a
statewide grading scale.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article two, 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 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-6. Classification and standardization of schools; standards
for degrees and diploma; certificates of proficiency;
establishment of alternative education programs.
The state board shall make rules for the accreditation,
classification and standardization of all schools in the state,
except institutions of higher education, which shall include a state-wide grading scale, consisting of a percent to letter grade
to be printed on all report cards, and shall determine the minimum
standards for the granting of diplomas and certificates of
proficiency by those schools. Not later than the school year one
thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one, certificates of
proficiency including specific information regarding the graduate's
skills, competence and readiness for employment or honors and
advanced education shall be granted, along with the diploma, to
every eligible high school graduate. The certificate of
proficiency shall include the program of study major completed by
the student only for those students who have completed the required
major courses, or higher level courses, advanced placement courses,
college courses or other more rigorous substitutes related to the
major, and recommended electives.
No institution of less than collegiate or university status
may grant any diploma or certificate of proficiency on any basis of
work or merit below the minimum standards prescribed by the state
board.
No charter or other instrument containing the right to issue
diplomas or certificates of proficiency shall be granted by the
state of West Virginia to any institution or other associations or
organizations of less than collegiate or university status within
the state until the condition of granting or issuing such diplomas
or other certificates of proficiency has first been approved in writing by the state board.
The state board also may establish policies and procedures for
the approval of alternative education programs for disruptive
students who are at risk of not succeeding in the traditional
school structure. These policies and procedures may provide for
the waiver of other policies of the state board, the establishment
and delivery of a nontraditional curriculum, establishment of
licensure requirements for alternative education program teachers,
and the establishment of performance measures for school
accreditation.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to place in effect a
state-wide percentage grade to be printed on report cards instead
of a letter grade.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.