Senate Bill No. 257

(By Senators Browning, Green, Stollings, Wells, Plymale and Chafin)

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[Introduced February 16, 2009; referred to the Committee on Education.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5-1 and §18-5-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the creation of a nonvoting student member position on each local county board of education within this state.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-5-1 and §18-5-1a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-5-1. Supervision and control of county school districts;
number, nomination and election of members.
(a) Each county school district shall be under the supervision and control of a county board of education, which shall be composed of five members, nominated and elected by the voters of the respective county without reference to political party affiliation. No more than two members shall be elected from the same magisterial district.
(b) Each county school district shall also have an additional nonvoting student member of its county board of education to serve a one year term beginning July 1 and ending June 30, the following year, and otherwise as prescribed in subsections (h) through (j), section one-a, article five, chapter eighteen of this code.
§18-5-1a. Eligibility of members; training requirements.
(a) No person shall be eligible for membership on any county board who is not a citizen, resident in such county, or who accepts a position as teacher or service personnel in the school district in which he or she is a resident or who is an elected or an appointed member of any political party executive committee, or who becomes a candidate for any other office than to succeed oneself.
(b) No member or member-elect of any board shall be eligible for nomination, election or appointment to any public office, other than to succeed oneself, or for election or appointment as a member of any political party executive committee, unless and until after that membership on the board, or his or her status as member-elect to the board, has been terminated at or before the time of his or her filing for such nomination for, or appointment to, such public office or committee. Provided, That "Office" or "committee", as used in this subsection and subsection (a) of this section, does not include service on any board, elected or appointed, profit or nonprofit, for which the person does not receive compensation and whose primary scope is not related to the public schools.
(c) A member or member-elect of a county board, or a person desiring to become a member of a county board, may make a written request to the West Virginia Ethics Commission for an advisory opinion on whether another elected or appointed position held or sought by the person is an office or public office which would bar serving on the board pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Within thirty days of receipt of the request, the Ethics Commission shall issue a written advisory opinion in response to the request and shall also publish such opinion in a manner which to the fullest extent possible does not reveal the identity of the person making the request. Any county board member who relied in good faith upon an advisory opinion issued by the West Virginia Ethics Commission that holding a particular office or public office is not a bar from membership on a county board of education and against whom proceedings are subsequently brought for removal from the county board on the basis of holding such office or offices shall be entitled to reimbursement by the county board for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs incurred by the member in defending against such proceedings, regardless of the outcome the proceedings. Further, no vote cast by the member at a meeting of the board shall be invalidated due to a subsequent finding that holding the particular office or public is a bar to membership on the county board. Good faith reliance on a written advisory opinion of the West Virginia Ethics Commission that a particular office or public office is not a bar to membership on a county board of education is an absolute defense to any civil suit or criminal prosecution arising from any proper action taken within the scope of membership on the board, becoming a member-elect of the board or seeking election to the board.
(d) Any person who is elected or appointed to a county board on or after May 5, 1992, shall possess at least a high school diploma or a general educational development (GED) diploma. Provided, That This provision shall not apply to members or members-elect who have taken office prior to May 5, 1992, and who serve continuously therefrom.
(e) No person elected to a county board after July 1, 1990, shall assume the duties of board member unless he or she has first attended and completed a course of orientation relating to boardsmanship and governance effectiveness which shall be given between the date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office. Provided, That A portion or portions of subsequent training such as that offered in orientation may be provided to members after they have commenced their term of office. Provided, however, That However, attendance at the session of orientation given between the date of election and the beginning of the member's term of office shall permit such member or members to assume the duties of board member, as specified in this section. Members appointed to the board shall attend and complete the next such course offered following their appointment. Provided further, That In addition, the provisions of this section relating to orientation shall not apply to members who have taken office prior to July 1, 1988, and who serve continuously therefrom.
(f) Commencing on the effective date of this section, members shall annually receive seven clock hours of training in areas relating to boardsmanship, governance effectiveness, and school performance issues including, but not limited to, pertinent state and federal statutes such as the "Process for Improving Education" set forth in section five, article two-e of this chapter and the "No Child Left Behind Act" and their respective administrative rules. Such orientation and training shall be approved by the state board and conducted by the West Virginia School Board Association or other organization or organizations approved by the state board. Provided, That The state board may exclude time spent in training on school performance issues from the requisite seven hours herein required. Provided, however, That However, if the state board elects to exclude time spent in training on school performance issues from the requisite seven hours, such training shall be limited by the state board to a feasible and practicable amount of time. Failure to attend and complete such an approved course of orientation and training relating to boardsmanship and governance effectiveness without good cause as determined by legislative rules of the State Board shall constitute neglect of duty.
(g) In the final year of any four-year term of office, a member shall satisfy the annual training requirement before January 1. The state board shall petition the circuit court of Kanawha County to remove any county board member who has failed to or who refuses to attend and complete the approved course of orientation and training. If the county board member fails to show good cause for not attending the approved course of orientation and training, the court shall remove the member from office.
(h) Pursuant to subsection (b), section one, article five, chapter eighteen of this code, the nonvoting student member of a county board of education shall only:
(1) Be living within the school district the county board of education has jurisdiction over;
(2) Be enrolled in a public school as a full-time regular student in the eleventh or twelfth grade;
(3) Have achieved a minimum of a three-point grade point average throughout his or her studies throughout public school from ninth grade to throughout his or her term as a nonvoting student member of the applicable county board of education;
(4) Have attended ninety-five percent of his or her classes from ninth grade to throughout his or her term as a nonvoting student member of the applicable county board of education, and also be of good character;
(5) Be eligible to participate in all county board of education meetings except those in executive or closed session;
(6) Be required to attend all regular and special board meetings, and represent the board at public functions;
(7) Be provided with the complete agenda and materials received by the regular board members except those materials related to executive or closed sessions;
(8) Be allowed to attend an executive session or closed meeting by a majority vote of the board; and
(9) Be entitled to all expense allowances granted to other board members.
(i) The nonvoting student member of the county board of education shall be removed from office by a majority vote of the board upon his or her failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria as contained in subsection (h) of this section.
(j) The county board of education shall adopt rules regarding the appointment and removal of the nonvoting student member.



NOTE: This bill calls for the creation of a nonvoting student member position on each local county board of education within this state.

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