H. B. 4130
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Stalnaker, Beach,
Crosier, Tabb, Williams and Michael)
[Introduced
January 26, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18A-5-4Bill Title of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to Title Languagecondition precedent to required
attendance by teachers at meetings or professional development
functions held by or at direction of state department of
education.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That Enacting Section§18A-5-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. AUTHORITY; RIGHTS; RESPONSIBILITY.
§18A-5-4. Educational meetings.
(a) A county board of education may approve the attendance of
any or all teachers at educational conventions, conferences, or
other professional meetings of teachers on school days when in the
judgment of the superintendent it is necessary or desirable.
Attendance at such meetings may be substituted for an equal amount of teaching or employment and teachers attending shall not suffer
loss of pay. Further, the board is authorized to pay all or any
part of expenses of any personnel whom it may designate to
represent the board at any such professional or educational
meetings or in visitation to another school system.
(b) Every county board of education shall adopt a policy under
which professional educators serving as mentor teachers, serving on
state and county professional staff development councils, serving
on school curriculum teams, and serving on professional support
teams will be granted professional time if required for performance
of their duties during the instructional day or extra duty
compensation if required at other times and for reimbursement for
necessary expenses actually incurred in attending meetings of the
bodies upon which they serve upon. Such policy shall provide for
the coverage of the professional personnel's regular duties during
such release times through the use of paraprofessional aides,
substitutes and other methods if necessary to avoid the
interruption of instruction.
(c) When a meeting or professional development function
requiring the attendance of a teacher is held by or at the
direction of the state department of education or its employees,
divisions or offices and attendance at the meeting or function will
cause the teacher to be absent from his or her regularly assigned
instructional duties in the classroom, the following conditions apply:
(1) The state department of education must employ a substitute
teacher who is highly qualified and fully certified to perform the
regularly assigned instructional duties of the teacher during the
time that the teacher is absent to attend the meeting; or
(2) Attendance at the meeting by the teacher is not required.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the
Department of Education to employ a highly qualified and fully
certified substitute teacher to perform the regularly assigned
instructional duties of a teacher absent from those duties because
of required attendance at a meeting or professional development
function held by or at the direction of the Department. If a
substitute is not employed, attendance by the teacher is not
required.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.